The great adventure which led SISSA to become a prestigious international scientific institution began on 6th March 1978 by Presidential Decree. The numerous awards which it continues to win bear witness to its excellence and to the quality of its research and education.
Throughout 2018, a series of events will be held to celebrate these achievements. We began with the Student Day on 21st February and will continue with the first of the SISSA Colloquia, which will be held by Karen Vogtmann of Warwick University on 4th April. On 9th May, SISSA will organise the event “When women in science get together: the role of networks”; on 15th June, “SISSA in festa” will be held, which will be followed by the SISSA Summer Festival. The last event will be held in November with the foundation of the SISSA’s Alumni Society to coincide with the start of the 2018-2019 Academic Year. The invitation is to take part in all these events, to celebrate our School together.
On the occasion of this important anniversary I would like to express my gratitude and a sincere wish. First and foremost to the scientific staff, teachers, researchers and to PhD students, for their ability to grasp the highest challenges of science every day and achieve such important goals, and to the technical-administrative staff, for their essential, ongoing and highly efficient work, without which nothing would be possible. My personal thanks to each and every one of them. My wish is that by remaining faithful to the spirit which led it to take its first steps, SISSA remains young, brilliant, creative and able to explore new directions and take on new challenges. This is how it was in the past and this is how it should be in the future. By daring a little, I like to think of SISSA as a Peter Pan of science. After all, our School is 40 years old, but it doesn't show it.
Happy birthday SISSA!
SISSA Director
Stefano Ruffo