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Antonio Ereditato

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ereditato in 2015

Antonio Ereditato (born 2 June 1955) is an Italian physicist.[1] He is a research professor at the University of Chicago, associate researcher at Fermilab, Batavia, United States, and Emeritus professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland, where he has been Director of the Laboratory for High Energy Physics from 2006 to 2020.[2] From 2021 to 2022 Ereditato has been Visiting Professor at the Yale University, United States.[3]

He carried out research activities in the field of experimental neutrino physics,[4] of weak interactions and strong interactions with experiments conducted at CERN, in Japan, at Fermilab in United States and at the LNGS in Italy.[5][6] Ereditato has accomplished several R&D studies on particle detectors: wire chambers, calorimeters, time projection chambers, nuclear emulsions, detectors for medical applications.[7]

Biography

[edit]

Ereditato was born on 2 June 1955 in Naples. He obtained the degree in physics (1981) and the PhD (1987) at the University of Naples Federico II. He worked at CNRS Strasbourg, at CERN and at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Naples, where he obtained the position of Director of Research since 1998. From 2006 to 2020 Ereditato has been Ordinary Professor of Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Bern.[8]

He has served in several international scientific committees: SPSC, CNGS and LHCC at CERN, and is presently member of the PAC of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research of Dubna. Ereditato has been also member of the Swiss National Science Foundation. He served in Advisory Committees of international conferences, such as the Calorimetry Conference. Referee and peer review member of international journals and of Funding Agencies, Ereditato is currently Editor-in-Chief of Instruments.[9] He is also member of the Aspen Institute Italia[10][better source needed] and has been president of SAIS (Association of the Italian Academics in Switzerland).[11][better source needed]

From 2008 to 2012 Antonio Ereditato has been the spokesperson of the OPERA neutrino experiment that he proposed in 1997 together with Kimio Niwa and Paolo Strolin. The experiment studied neutrino oscillations along the CNGS beam from CERN to the LNGS Gran Sasso Laboratory. On 31 May 2010 Ereditato announced the detection of the first tau-neutrino by OPERA. This was the first indication of the direct appearance of neutrino oscillations. In September 2011 the OPERA Collaboration announced that an anomaly was detected in the measurement of the neutrino velocity, pointing to the possibility of superluminal muon neutrinos, see (mistaken) faster-than-light neutrino anomaly. The source of the anomaly was then found by the OPERA researchers as due to an instrumental problem.[12]

As head of the ATLAS Bern group, Ereditato contributed to the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012.[13] In the framework of the T2K experiment in Japan, in 2013 he took part in the discovery of the appearance of neutrino oscillations [14] and with the OPERA collaboration he shared the discovery of tau-neutrino appearance.[15] For these results Ereditato was one of the recipients of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. He is involved in the United States neutrino program. He has been one of the founders of the DUNE experiment for the high precision study of neutrino oscillations and astroparticle physics. Ereditato's group contributed to the realization of the Near Detector of the experiment with the so-called ArgonCube liquid argon time projection chamber.

The research group of Ereditato has been leader in the R&D for detectors with liquid argon TPCs[16] and for the use of emulsion detectors in various applications, such as those for cosmic muon radiography.[17] Antonio Ereditato has also contributed to setting up a research laboratory in Bern centered on a cyclotron for medical research.[18]

Ereditato is author of more than 1500 scientific publications[19] and of over 40 talks at international conferences.[20]

He was awarded the 2017 Caccuri Prize for Literature and Science[21] and the 2017 Maria Antonia Gervasio Prize.

Scientific achievements

[edit]

Ereditato is known for contributions to neutrino physics, calorimetry, and detector development.[22] His early work at CERN included leading trigger and calorimeter studies in the NA10 experiment and CHARM II, contributing to precision electroweak measurements.[23]

He played a key role in calorimeter R&D through the SPACAL project and co-founded the CALOR Conference. He proposed and led detector innovations for the CHORUS experiment, established leading short-baseline neutrino oscillation limits, and was a co-originator of the OPERA experiment, which achieved the first direct observation of ντ appearance.[24][25]

At the Laboratory for High Energy Physics, he expanded programs in neutrino physics, antimatter studies, and medical applications, contributing to milestone results including the first indication of nonzero θ13 and νe appearance in T2K experiment and the discovery of the Higgs boson with ATLAS experiment.[2] He also pioneered liquid argon detector advances through ARGONTUBE, MicroBooNE, and DUNE, and contributed to antimatter interferometry through AEgIS experiment and QUPLAS.[26]

As full professor of experimental particle physics at the University of Bern from 2006 to 2020, Ereditato transformed Bern into a major international center for neutrino and detector physics.[8] He directed the Laboratory for High Energy Physics,[2] co-directed the Physics Institute, and later served as director of the Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics and deputy dean of the Faculty of Science.[3] Under his leadership Bern became deeply involved in major international collaborations including ATLAS Collaboration, T2K Collaboration, MicroBooNE, SBND, and DUNE.[2] His work contributed to the discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN, the first evidence for nonzero θ13 neutrino mixing, the discovery of electron-neutrino appearance, measurements of muon-antineutrino disappearance, and hints for CP violation in neutrino oscillation.[27]

A major focus of Ereditato's later career has been innovation in liquid-argon time projection chamber technology. His ARGONTUBE detector achieved world-record drift-track lengths in liquid argon and pioneered ultraviolet laser calibration methods that became foundational for next-generation neutrino observatories.[26] The Bern led ARGONCUBE project, produced the first proof-of-principle pixelated readout architecture for liquid-argon detectors and became central to detector design for the international DUNE experiment.[28] Ereditato's instrumentation work also extended into antimatter physics, contributing to the first observation of antimatter quantum interferometry through the QUPLAS program, as well as isotope-production systems for the Bern cyclotron laboratory with applications in nuclear medicine.[3]

Ereditato has held numerous institutional leadership roles across global physics governance, including service on CERN's Large Hadron Collider Committee, CERN SPS Committee,[29] the Swiss National Science Foundation Council, Fermilab's International Executive Board for the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility, the U.S. Department of Energy International Neutrino Council, and advisory committees at Dubna and CERN.[30] He has also played influential editorial roles, serving on the boards of New Journal of Physics and Advances in High Energy Physics, and as founding editor-in-chief of Instruments.[3] Ereditato is currently Faculty of the Collegio Europeo di Parma and Chairs the Scientific Committee of the Collegio La Sapienza  of the ONAOSI, in Perugia.[31]

His scholarly output includes more than 1,660 scientific papers, over 292,000 citations, and a Google Scholar h-index exceeding 230, placing him among the most highly cited experimental physicists of his generation. He has delivered more than forty invited international conference lectures and supervised dozens of doctoral researchers who have gone on to major careers in international science.[1]

Beyond technical scholarship, Ereditato is a science writer. His books—including Le Particelle Elementari,[32] Ever Smaller,[33] The State of the Art of Neutrino Physics,[2] Il Mio Neutrino,[34] Zitto e Calcola!,[35] Lettera agli Scienziati del Futuro[36], The New Nuclear Power,[37] Il Sarto e il Calzolaio di Boltzmann have helped make modern particle physics accessible to broader audiences.[38]

Awards and honors

[edit]

His honors include the Italian Physical Society Young Researcher Prize (1985),[39] the shared 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for the contributions to the discovery of neutrino oscillations, the Premio Caccuri for Literature and Science (2017), the Maria Antonia Gervasio Prize for scientific communication (2017),[3] appointment as Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2018),[40] honorary citizenship of Caccuri, the "I Numeri Uno" Prize of the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Switzerland (2021), the shared 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognizing precision measurements and discoveries at the Large Hadron Collider,[41] the 2026 Premio Villa Buitoni for "Courageous Careers".[42]

Selected scientific publications

[edit]
  • Adam, T., Agafonova, N., Aleksandrov, A., Altinok, O., Ereditato, A., et al. (2012). Measurement of the neutrino velocity with the OPERA detector in the CNGS beam.[12]
  • Abe, K., Adam, J., Aihara, H., Akiri, T., Andreopoulos, C., Ereditato, A., et al. (2013). Observation of electron neutrino appearance in a muon neutrino beam.[14]
  • Agafonova, N., et al. (Ereditato, A., collaboration spokesperson). (2015). Discovery of tau neutrino appearance in the CNGS neutrino beam with the OPERA experiment. Direct confirmation of νμ→ντ oscillation.[15]
  • Ariga, A., Ariga, T., Ereditato, A., et al. (2018). A nuclear emulsion detector for muon radiography of glacier structure.[17]
  • DUNE Collaboration (Ereditato, A., co-founder contributor). (2024). DUNE Phase II: Scientific opportunities, detector concepts, technological solutions.[43]

Selected books

[edit]
  • De Lellis, G., Antonio Ereditato, & Niwa, K. (2011). Nuclear emulsions. Springer.[44]
  • Amaldi, E., Braccini, S. (Ed.), Antonio Ereditato (Ed.), & Scampoli, P. (Ed.). (2013). The adventurous life of Friedrich Georg Houtermans, physicist (1903–1966). Springer.[45]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2017). Le particelle elementari. Il Saggiatore.[32]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2018). The state of the art of neutrino physics (Advanced Series on Directions in High Energy Physics, Vol. 28). World Scientific.[46]
  • Edoardo Boncinelli, & Antonio Ereditato. (2018). Il cosmo della mente. Il Saggiatore.[47]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2019). Guida turistica per esploratori dello spazio. Il Saggiatore.[48]
  • Edoardo Boncinelli, & Antonio Ereditato. (2020). L'infinito gioco della scienza. Il Saggiatore.[49]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2020). Ever smaller. MIT Press.[33]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2021). Un breve viaggio chiamato Terra. Il Saggiatore.[50]
  • Edoardo Boncinelli, & Antonio Ereditato. (2022). Tutto si trasforma. Il Saggiatore.[51]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2022). Il mio neutrino. Rubbettino.[34]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2023). Zitto e calcola!. Eurilink University Press.[35]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2023). Lettera agli scienziati del futuro. Il Saggiatore.[52]
  • Buono, S., & Antonio Ereditato. (2025). Il nuovo nucleare. EGEA.[37]
  • Buono, S., & Antonio Ereditato. (2025). The new nuclear power. EGEA.[37]
  • Antonio Ereditato. (2026). Il sarto e il calzolaio di Boltzmann. EGEA[38]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Leaders of Faster-Than-Light Experiment Step Down". Science. doi:10.1126/article.27546 (inactive 15 June 2026).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of June 2026 (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 cern (2020-05-18). "A first taste of neutrino physics". CERN Courier. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ereditato joins Yale Physics as Visiting Professor | Department of Physics". physics.yale.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  4. ↑ Ereditato, Antonio (2017), "Front matter", The State of the Art of Neutrino Physics, Advanced Series on Directions in High Energy Physics, vol. 28, WORLD SCIENTIFIC, pp. i–viii, doi:10.1142/9789813226098_fmatter, ISBN 978-981-322-608-1, retrieved 2026-05-15
  5. ↑ "A strength test for the strong force". symmetry magazine. Archived from the original on 2026-03-26. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  6. ↑ "The high-intensity frontier". CERN Courier. 2004-09-05. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  7. ↑ "Double celebration for neutrino lab". Physics World. 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  8. 1 2 "Fermilab and the University of Bern join forces for neutrino research". www.jahresbericht2019.unibe.ch. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  9. ↑ "Instruments".
  10. ↑ Aspen Institute Italia
  11. ↑ SAIS
  12. 1 2 Adam, T.; et al. (2012). "Measurement of the neutrino velocity with the OPERA detector in the CNGS beam". Journal of High Energy Physics (10) 93. arXiv:1109.4897. Bibcode:2012JHEP...10..093A. doi:10.1007/JHEP10(2012)093.
  13. ↑ "Inspire".
  14. 1 2 Abe, K.; et al. (2014). "Observation of Electron Neutrino Appearance in a Muon Neutrino Beam". Physical Review Letters. 112 (6) 061802. arXiv:1311.4750. Bibcode:2014PhRvL.112f1802A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.061802. hdl:10044/1/20051. PMID 24580687. S2CID 2586182.
  15. 1 2 Agafonova, N.; et al. (2015). "Discovery of Neutrino Appearance in the CNGS Neutrino Beam with the OPERA Experiment". Physical Review Letters. 115 (12) 121802. arXiv:1507.01417. Bibcode:2015PhRvL.115l1802A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.121802. PMID 26430986. S2CID 31544004.
  16. ↑ "Development of novel detectors for particles and radiation". Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP). 20 March 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  17. 1 2 Ariga, Akitaka; Ariga, Tomoko; Ereditato, Antonio; Käser, Samuel; Lechmann, Alessandro; Mair, David; Nishiyama, Ryuichi; Pistillo, Ciro; Scampoli, Paola; Schlunegger, Fritz; Vladymyrov, Mykhailo (2018). "A Nuclear Emulsion Detector for the Muon Radiography of a Glacier Structure". Instruments. 2 (2): 7. doi:10.3390/instruments2020007.
  18. ↑ "Medical Applications". Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP). 10 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "FIND AUTHOR EREDITATO - Search Results - INSPIRE-HEP". inspirehep.net. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "Ereditato, Antonio - Profile - INSPIRE-HEP". inspirehep.net. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  21. ↑ "Ereditato: "Italia investa 3% del PIL in ricerca"". www.premiocaccuri.it. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  22. ↑ "The Data That Threatened to Break Physics - Nautilus". nautil.us. 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  23. ↑ "Neutrino 'faster than light' scientist resigns". BBC News. 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  24. ↑ "Antonio Ereditato | Yale High Energy Physics". hep.yale.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  25. ↑ Dacey, James (2012-08-28). "Lessons learned by leading OPERA man". Physics World. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  26. 1 2 "Yale Physics Wright Lab researchers developing new neutrino detector technologies | Department of Physics". physics.yale.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  27. ↑ Lewis, Renee. "The mystery of the Higgs boson". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  28. ↑ Asaadi, Jonathan; Auger, Martin; Ereditato, Antonio; Goeldi, Damian; Kose, Umut; Kreslo, Igor; Lorca, David; Luethi, Matthias; Rudolf von Rohr, Christoph; Sinclair, James; Stocker, Francesca; Weber, Michele (2020). "First Demonstration of a Pixelated Charge Readout for Single-Phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers". Instruments. 4: 9. doi:10.3390/instruments4010009.
  29. ↑ "'Unexpected results' at Cern". BBC News. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  30. ↑ "Personal Page". Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP). 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  31. ↑ Mosconi, Franco (2022-06-24). "Una politica industriale per l'Europa". Pandora Rivista (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  32. 1 2 Ereditato, Antonio (2017). Le particelle elementari. La cultura. Milano: Il Saggiatore. ISBN 978-88-428-2352-0.
  33. 1 2 Ereditato, Antonio; Segre, Erica; Carnell, Simon; Lockyer, Nigel (2017). Ever smaller: nature's elementary particles, from the atom to the neutrino and beyond. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-04386-1.
  34. 1 2 Ereditato, Antonio (2022). Il mio neutrino. Rubbettino. ISBN 978-88-498-7247-7.
  35. 1 2 Ereditato, Antonio (2023). Zitto e calcola! Corso introduttivo di meccanica quantistica per studenti principianti ma curiosi. Eurilink. ISBN 979-12-80164-56-8.
  36. ↑ "Lettera agli scienziati del futuro". Il Saggiatore (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  37. 1 2 3 Buono, Stefano; Ereditato, Antonio (2025). The New Nuclear Power: A Journey Through the Future of Energy (1st ed.). Chicago: Bocconi University Press. ISBN 979-12-81627-61-1.
  38. 1 2 Ereditato, Antonio (2026-04-09). "La fatica di capire | Perché la fisica non si può spiegare con frasi a effetto". Linkiesta.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  39. ↑ "Antonio Ereditato | Yale High Energy Physics". hep.yale.edu. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  40. ↑ "The Scientific Committee | Management Innovation". Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  41. ↑ "ATLAS Collaboration – 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  42. ↑ VivoGubbio (2026-06-05). "Premio Villa Buitoni - Carriere Coraggiose 2026: emozioni e prestigio". Vivo Gubbio | News dal Territorio: Gubbio, Perugia e Umbria (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  43. ↑ Collaboration, DUNE; Abud, A. Abed; Abi, B.; Acciarri, R.; Acero, M. A.; Adames, M. R.; Adamov, G.; Adamowski, M.; Adams, D. (2024-08-22). "DUNE Phase II: Scientific Opportunities, Detector Concepts, Technological Solutions". Journal of Instrumentation. 19 (12) 12005. arXiv:2408.12725. Bibcode:2024JInst..19P2005A. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/19/12/P12005.
  44. ↑ Ariga, Akitaka; Ariga, Tomoko; Lellis, Giovanni De; Ereditato, Antonio; Niwa, Kimio (2020). "Nuclear Emulsions". Particle Physics Reference Library. pp. 383–438. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-35318-6_9. ISBN 978-3-030-35317-9.
  45. ↑ Amaldi, Edoardo (2013). The Adventurous Life of Friedrich Georg Houtermans, Physicist (1903-1966). SpringerBriefs in Physics Ser. Saverio Braccini, Antonio Ereditato, Paola Scampoli (1st ed.). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-642-32854-1.
  46. ↑ Ereditato, Antonio (2018). The state of the art of neutrino physics: a tutorial for graduate students and young researchers. Advanced series on directions in high energy physics. Hackensack: World scientific. ISBN 978-981-322-608-1.
  47. ↑ Boncinelli, Edoardo; Ereditato, Antonio (2018). Il cosmo della mente: breve storia di come l'uomo ha creato l'universo. Cultura. Milano: Il Saggiatore. ISBN 978-88-428-2503-6.
  48. ↑ "Guida turistica per esploratori dello spazio". www.sif.it. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  49. ↑ "L'infinito gioco della scienza | Il Bo Live". ilbolive.unipd.it (in Italian). 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  50. ↑ "Un breve viaggio chiamato Terra. Come è iniziata la nostra vita e in quali mo... | eBay". eBay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  51. ↑ "Tutto si trasforma". Il Saggiatore (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  52. ↑ "Lettera agli Scienziati del Futuro — Libro". Macrolibrarsi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
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