In 2025, Giacinto Scoles would have turned ninety. To honor the life and legacy of one of the most brilliant and cosmopolitan Italian scientists of the twentieth century, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste will host, from 17 to 19 November 2025, the international symposium “Giacinto Scoles: The Scientist, the Man.”
The event, co-organized by the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, ICTP, and CNR Nanotec, will bring together colleagues, former students, collaborators, and friends who shared with Scoles experiences of research, life, and friendship.
The symposium will be an opportunity to remember his scientific and human contributions — his boundless curiosity, generosity, and that brilliant and ironic spirit which deeply influenced generations of researchers.
Giacinto Scoles’ career was marked by an interdisciplinary vision and a lifelong commitment to a science that is open, creative, and responsive to society’s needs. From his early research in Genoa and Trento, to his years in Waterloo, Canada — where he founded a pioneering molecular beam group — and later to his periods at Princeton University and Temple University, Scoles integrated physics, chemistry, and biology, fostering dialogue across disciplines and people.
Upon returning to Italy, he played a key role in the development of the Trieste scientific community, collaborating with SISSA, Elettra, ICTP, and CNR Nanotec. His keen attention to the social impact of science also led him to establish a start-up for innovative cancer diagnostics in collaboration with the Udine Hospital. In recent years, his work with CNR Nanotec in Lecce provided a new dimension of scientific inquiry and human exchange, always alongside young researchers — the enduring theme of his life.
The symposium sessions will retrace the milestones of his scientific journey: from molecular beam physics to DNA nanotechnology, from self-assembly to nanomedicine, culminating in a final session devoted to his scientific legacy and his unwavering support for young scientists.
The legacy of Giacinto Scoles lives on in the people he trained and in the ideas he inspired — a model of research that unites intuition and rigor, knowledge and wonder.
- Local Organizing Committee: Carlo CALLEGARI (Elettra Sincrotone Trieste), Loredana CASALIS ((Elettra Sincrotone Trieste)
Alessandro LAIO (SISSA), Sandro SCANDOLO (ICTP) - Secretariat support: Gabriella Zammillo (Cnr Nanotec), Alessandra Valleri (Cnr IRSA)
The symposium “Giacinto Scoles: The Scientist, the Man” will take place at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Leonardo Building – Euler and Lagrange Lecture Halls, located in the Miramare area of Trieste, Italy.
