The ''Gran Sasso Science Institute'' (GSSI) is an international school for advanced studies located in

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

, Italy. Founded in 2012 as a

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

and superior graduate school dependent on the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), the

academic institution An academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university. Types * Primary schools – (from French ''école primaire'') institutions where childre ...

has been made autonomous in 2016.

History

The institute was first proposed after the earthquake in L'Aquila of 2009, when the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD) organized several meetings to plan the economic revitalization of the area. A proposal was made to establish an educational institution for the purposes of teaching and research which would make use of the National Laboratories of Gran Sasso of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics located right near the capital of Abruzzo. The GSSI was officially established in 2012 and later activated in the academic year 2013 – 2014. Among its founders are the academics Eugenio Coccia, appointed the first director of the institute,

Paola Inverardi Paola Inverardi (born 1957) is an Italian computer scientist specializing in software engineering. She is a professor in the Department of Information Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics at the University of L'Aquila in Italy, and the ...

and Pierangelo Marcati. The inauguration took place on 14 November 2013 in the presence of Prime Minister

Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republ ...

, and the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

Carlo Rubbia Carlo Rubbia (born 31 March 1934) is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN. Early life and educatio ...

. The institute initially operated on a trial basis as an international post graduate teaching and research institute with a special statute supported by the

INFN The Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN; "National Institute for Nuclear Physics") is the coordinating institution for nuclear, particle, theoretical and astroparticle physics in Italy. History INFN was founded on the 8th of August 1951 ...

, the

University of L'Aquila The University of L'Aquila () is a public research university located in L'Aquila, Central Italy. It was founded in 1964 (its history begins in 1596) and is organized in nine departments. The university presents a scientific-technological charac ...

, the IMT of Lucca, the

International School for Advanced Studies The International School for Advanced Studies (Italian: ''Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati''; SISSA) is an international, state-supported, post-graduate-education and research institute in Trieste, Italy. SISSA is active in th ...

of Trieste and the

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies () is a special-statute, highly selective public research university located in Pisa, Italy. Together with the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, it is part of the Pisa University ...

of Pisa. In 2015 the activities of the 2012–2015 period were evaluated by the National Agency of the University System Evaluation and Research (ANVUR), which concluded with a positive assessment of the research institute. This lead, on 25 March 2016, to the establishment of the University through a special decree of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

. 8 August 2016 the director, Eugenio Coccia, was appointed rector of the university.

Research areas

The research activities of the Gran Sasso Science institute focus on four main areas, namely

Astroparticle Physics Astroparticle physics, also called particle astrophysics, is a branch of particle physics that studies elementary particles of astrophysical origin and their relation to astrophysics and cosmology. It is a relatively new field of research emergi ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

, Mathematics for Natural, Life and Social Sciences and Regional Sciences and Economic Geography. The official language of the institute is English. The

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

programs provided by the institute are characterised by an average duration of 4 years. Apart from the courses that constitute an integrating part of the Ph.D. programs, several

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

given by international lecturers are held at the institute.

Admission procedure

Each year the Gran Sasso Science Institute awards an average of 40 Ph.D. positions, 10 for each research area of the GSSI. The applications are evaluated by four selection committees, one for each Ph.D. program. The admission to the Ph.D. programs is based on the academic background, skills, scientific value and general aptitude to research of the applicants with respect to the subjects of the interdisciplinary programs. The selected Ph.D. students are awarded with a fellowship, free accommodation at the GSSI facilities and use of a canteen. In 2017 more than 1400 applications were submitted, most of which from abroad, making the GSSI the institute with the highest number of international applications in Italy and one of the most attractive research centers in Europe.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities in Italy Graduate schools in Italy Science and technology in Abruzzo L'Aquila Universities and colleges in Abruzzo