2018: A Year in Review A Year in Review — 2018 Contents Foreword 6 ICTP Research 8 ICTP Impact 12 A Hub for Global Scientific Excellence 16 Awarding Scientific Excellence 18 Education and Training 20 Partner Institutes 24 A Year in Review 2018 Outreach 26 The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics Compiled by the ICTP Public Information Office Supporting Gender Equality 28 Designed by Jordan Chatwin Photos: Roberto Barnabà, ICTP Photo Archives, except those specified as follows: Governance 30 page 11: TWAS; pages 12-13: ICTP scientists; pages 14-15: Giovanni Ortolani; page 17: Jennifer Thomson courtesy of OWSD; Shigefumi Mori courtesy of Kyoto University; page 23: Giovanni Ortolani; page 24: Scientific and Administrative Staff 2018 33 ICTP-SAIFR, MCTP; page 25: UCAS; page 27: PWF (middle photo); page 29: Giovanni Ortolani Print: Art Group Graphics s.r.l. Public Information Office The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Strada Costiera, 11 I – 34151 Trieste Italy e-mail: [email protected] www.ictp.it ISSN 1020–7007 4 5 Foreword The year 2018 was very active for ICTP, so much so that key players in quantum computing from the private In October, ICTP officially opened two partner Several ICTP scientists received international only a few events can be highlighted here. ICTP started sector (Google, IBM) and the European Commission institutions: the East African Institute for Fundamental recognitions, including Erio Tosatti, who was awarded off its new year of quality scientific activities with the Flagship programme on Quantum Technologies. Research in Kigali, Rwanda, and ICTP-AP (Asian the prestigious Fermi Prize, and Bobby Acharya, KFAS-funded Salam Distinguished Lecture Series. For Pacific) in Beijing, China. EAIFR was opened with two who received the Lawrence Bragg Medal in part for 2018, the featured speaker was Alan Guth, the Victor ICTP’s colloquia series was diverse and of top quality, activities: A revival of the African Physical Society, his contributions to science in developing countries, F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics and a Margaret ranging from the president of OWSD, Jennifer Thomson, and a Career Development Workshop for Women including his leading role in the traditional African MacVicar Faculty Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of talking on the Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified in Science. A master physics programme was also School of Fundamental Physics and the ICTP Physics Technology. Guth is widely recognized as the father of the Crops to the 2017 Physics Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne started. ICTP-AP will begin its activities in 2019. Without Frontiers programme. Renato Padovani, who inflationary theory of the Universe, the leading description delivering a colloquium on Geometrodynamics: coordinates the ICTP-IAEA-University of Trieste Master of early-universe cosmology. He delivered a series of The Nonlinear Dynamics of Curved Spacetime. His In the spirit of open access, ICTP decided to cancel its in Medical Physics programme, received recognition three lectures, from 29 to 31 January, titled Inflationary presence was very inspiring for the ICTP community, subscription to Elsevier’s bundle of science journals from the International Organization for Medical Physics. Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse? especially the Diploma and PhD students. after negotiations with the publisher failed to produce an acceptable solution for the Centre. The growing costs ICTP had a major loss after the sudden passing of In March, ICTP honoured the 2017 Dirac Medallists ICTP collaborates closely with Italian research institutes of the contract, which has been in effect since 2001, GianCarlo Ghirardi, one of the founding figures of many with a ceremony and lectures by the three winners: in Trieste, which collectively are known as the “Trieste did not represent a good value for money. With this ICTP programmes and renowned researcher, teacher and Charles Bennett, David Deutsch and Peter Shor. The System”. In 2018, the Centre took concrete steps to action, ICTP joined science institutes and universities recent recipient of the Spirit of Salam award. GianCarlo three were recognized for their ground-breaking formalize those ties by creating two joint initiatives: the around the world who have been steadily staging revolts will be much missed by the whole ICTP community. work in applying fundamental concepts of quantum Institute for Geometry and Physics (IGAP) in collaboration against the high costs of large publishers’ bundled mechanics to solving basic problems in computation and with SISSA, and the Institute for Fundamental Physics of the journal packages by cancelling their subscriptions. I would like to finish by stating that all the successful communication, bringing together the fields of quantum Universe (IFPU) in collaboration with SISSA, INFN and INAF. achievements of ICTP regarding our more than 150 mechanics, computer science, and information theory. These initiatives aim at strengthening the collaborations In 2018 we were pleased to welcome several new young students, postdocs and visitors are thanks to a shared among the institutions by having joint activities, programmes, faculty members: Kyriakos Papadodimas, Pavel Putrov, effort by the ICTP community, scientists and administrative The ceremony provided ICTP with an opportunity to projects and training in these fields. The activities have Emanuel Carneiro, and Edgar Roldán to reinforce our staff that work very hard to make this institution so special. organize a public event after the Dirac ceremony on boosted the scientific collaborations within the Trieste research, education and outreach in Mathematics, a theme related to that of the three Dirac Medallists’ system. In addition, ICTP, SISSA and the University of Trieste Quantitative Life Sciences and High Energy Physics. research: quantum technologies. Titled Quantum announced their intentions to collaborate on research Their arrival has already made a great impact on the Technologies: Dawn of a New Industrial Revolution, related to quantum technologies. The three partners agreed academic environment of the institution. the event was held in downtown Trieste and to form the Trieste Institute for the Theory of Quantum Fernando Quevedo attended by nearly 200 people. Speakers included Technologies (TQT), which will formally be launched in 2019. Director, ICTP 6 7 Q3 Q4 ICTP’s Quality Q2 Q1–78% ICTP Researchers Research ICTP Research Q2–14% More than 75% of ICTP research is Q1 in Numbers, 2018 published in the most-cited physics Q3–5% journals, an indication of the quality of ICTP is proud of its long research tradition, which began in 1964 when ICTP research (pie chart shows portion in Q4–2% most-cited (Q1) to least-cited journals) Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam founded the centre. Over the decades, number of researchers ICTP has stayed true to its roots, maintaining a strong presence of (staff, consultants, longterm visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows) Number of papers theoretical physics research. At the same time, the Centre has had 183 produced within ICTP the foresight to branch out into new research areas that address key sustainability concerns, such as Earth system physics and 500 number of countries 400 renewable energy, as well as fields that encourage a multidisciplinary represented by approach, such as its Quantitative Life Sciences section. ICTP researchers 300 54 200 ICTP’s unique strength lies in its ability to bring together large 100 numbers of gifted scientists from developing and developed 1964 2018 countries to participate in joint research. From its early focus on LDC Region of origin, Developed ICTP researchers: theoretical high energy physics, the Centre’s research areas have countries Total number of citations evolved in response to the needs of physicists and mathematicians 48% – Developed to ICTP Papers 44% – Developing from the developing world, and now include the areas below. 25,000 8% – LDC Developing 20,000 countries 15,000 10,000 5,000 1964 2018 High Energy, Cosmology and Condensed Matter and Mathematics Applied Physics Earth System Physics Quantitive Life Sciences Astroparticle Physics Statistical Physics ICTP’s Mathematics section From archaeology to X-ray imaging, Understanding the various Scientists in ICTP’s newest The High Energy, Cosmology Research in the CMSP section spans emphasizes two core functions: and from optics and lasers to satellite components of the Earth system, research section, Quantitative and Astroparticle Physics section some of the most exciting areas the creation of new mathematical navigation and fast detectors, including their interactions and Life Sciences, are uncovering at ICTP is studying some of the of theoretical condensed matter knowledge and its global ICTP’s Applied Physics section processes, forms the basis of the underlying physics in the most exciting areas in physics physics, including the physics of dissemination, in particular to encompasses diverse areas of research by ICTP’s Earth System broad domain of life sciences today, from string theory to nanostructures, of many-body quantum developing countries. Research research that respond to the most Physics section. From building and that encompasses disciplines physics at large energy colliders, systems at, or far from equilibrium, by ICTP’s mathematicians reflects critical needs of the ICTP scientific using models of climate change ranging from molecular and from neutrino phenomenology the computer simulations of fluids the important