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News from ICTP 101 - Monitor
Soo-Jong Rey, researcher at the Centre for Theoretical
Physics of Seoul National University in Korea and recipient of
the 2001 ICTP Prize in honour of Hans Bethe in the field of high
energy physics, lectured on "Holographic View of Noncommutative
Baryon" at the ICTP Prize award ceremony, which took place
in the Centre's Main Lecture Hall on 21 March. Soo-Jong Rey has
authored more than 90 papers in the field of string theory, cosmology
and particle physics. Among his most noteworthy contributions
are the discovery of string solitons and instantons, which have
played a crucial role in enhancing scientific understanding of
the non-perturbative dynamics of string theory. Such insights
culminated in the discovery of various dualities in string theory
in the mid-1990s. More recently, Soo-Jong Rey's research has examined
the matrix theory formulation of the heterotic string.
Fennessy Departs
John Fennessy (8th from left), ICTP director of administration
since June 1998, has retired from the UN system after 26 years
of service to assume the position of head of administration and
finance, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
in Skoplje, Macedonia. During his tenure, the ICTP Main Building
and guesthouses underwent major refurbishing, including an unprecedented
expansion of the Centre's lecture halls and an upgrading of the
cafeterias. Fennessy also spearheaded the drive to hold Trieste's
first UN Day at the Centre last fall. Gallieno Denardo
has been appointed temporary ICTP director of administration.
He assumed his duties on 1 July and will remain at the post until
a permanent director is selected. Denardo, who has been associated
with ICTP since the 1970s, served as long-time head of the Office
of External Activities. He remains responsible for ICTP research
and training activities related to lasers and optics.
Trieste: City of Science
Trieste Città della Scienza (Trieste City of Science), an elegant, fully illustrated book with concise but detailed texts on the scientific institutions that comprise the Trieste System, has been published by Aps-Agenzia Promostampa. A ceremony announcing the publication of the book took place at the corporate headquarters of Friulia S.p.A., Trieste, on 24 June. For additional information about the publication, contact sci_info@ictp.trieste.it.
ICTP on the Air
About four million Italians, tuning into the popular Raiuno science programme Superquark on Wednesday evening 26 June, had an opportunity to view a segment that featured Tadele Adamtie Mengesha, a young Ethiopian mathematician attending ICTP's Diploma Course. The segment not only told about Mengesha's recent experience in Trieste but also about his life growing up in Ethiopia, including his years of study at the University of Addis Ababa, where he earned his degree. Film footage for the segment was shot last March. Another television transmission on the Centre, featuring an extensive interview with former ICTP director Miguel Virasoro, was broadcast by Rai International at the end of May.
Retirements
Ines Radatti (second from right in the photo under "Fennessy Departs"), who had been with the ICTP Publications Office since 1967 and had supervised the office for the past 20 years, retired from the Centre this June.
Bruna Marcuzzi, who was in charge of housekeeping at the Centre's guesthouses for the past 19 years, also retired in June. Staff and scientists extend their warm thanks and well wishes to Ines and Bruna.
Victor Weisskopf, a renowned theoretical physicist who
made important contributions to quantum mechanics in Germany in
the 1920s and in the USA in the 1970s, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
USA, on 21 April aged 94. Weisskopf was a member of the first
ICTP Scientific Council. Born in Vienna, then the capital of the
Austrian-Hungarian empire, Weisskopf served as a group leader
of the Manhattan Project in the US during World War II. He witnessed
the world's first atomic explosion in Alamogordo, New Mexico,
in 1945. In the early 1960s, he served as Director General of
CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), based in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Martino Rizzotti, professor of biology at the University of
Padua, was Italy's most renowned Italian exobiologist. His research
interests ranged from the chemistry of proteins to the evolution
of early cells. Rizzotti died in Padua in March at the age of
55. He attended and contributed to all six conferences on chemical
evolution that have been organised at ICTP since 1992.
