Mariafelicia De Laurentis, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at the University of Naples Federico II and researcher at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), has been elected President of the Italian Society for General Relativity and Gravitation (SIGRAV). She is the first woman to hold the position since the Society was established in 1990.
An internationally recognised expert in gravity, black holes and tests of gravitational theories, De Laurentis serves as Project Scientist for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), the global collaboration that produced the first-ever images of a black hole.
“I am deeply honoured by the confidence that the SIGRAV community has placed in me,” said Mariafelicia De Laurentis. “This election is both a great responsibility and a powerful motivation to contribute to the continued growth of a scientific community that I regard as my academic home. SIGRAV has been an integral part of my research journey since the very beginning of my career. Today, at an extraordinary time for our field, marked by the first images of black holes, the discovery of gravitational waves and new tests of general relativity. I look forward to strengthening the Society’s role both nationally and internationally, while promoting scientific excellence, supporting early-career researchers, and fostering research that is increasingly open, interdisciplinary and collaborative.”
Founded in 1990, SIGRAV is Italy’s leading scientific society for researchers working in general relativity, gravitation, relativistic astrophysics, cosmology, gravitational waves, black holes and, more broadly, fundamental physics. The Society brings together researchers from universities, the INFN, the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and numerous other research institutions, promoting scientific collaboration, the education and development of the next generation of scientists, and public engagement in the field of gravitation.
Among SIGRAV’s most prestigious distinctions is the Edoardo Amaldi Medal, named in honour of one of the founding figures of modern Italian physics and a founder of the INFN. The medal is awarded to scientists who have made outstanding contributions to gravitation physics and has, over the years, recognised some of the world’s most distinguished researchers in the field.
