The character arc of Fabiola Gianotti
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 29 October 1960 in Italy, to a Sicilian mother who encouraged her in the fine arts and a Piedmontese geologist father who encouraged her scientific interests. Between then and now sit a classical education focused on music and philosophy, a biography of Marie Curie that changed the direction of it, a doctorate in experimental particle physics at the University of Milan in 1989, a fellowship at CERN from 1996, work on four experiments, the spokesperson role for the ATLAS collaboration from 2009, and election as the first female director-general of CERN in 2016. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Fabiola Gianotti?
She read one biography, and changed subject entirely.
Her mother was from Sicily and encouraged her in the fine arts, and her father was a well-regarded geologist from Piedmont who encouraged her love of learning and her interest in science. She was interested in nature and in the world around her from early on. What she actually studied, though, was the humanities: music and philosophy, at a classical secondary school, which in the Italian system is as far from a physics track as it is possible to be.
She found her passion for scientific research after reading a biography of Marie Curie. That is the turn on this line, and it is worth noticing how small it is: one book, read by a music and philosophy student, and the whole direction changed. She took a doctorate in experimental particle physics from the physics department of the University of Milan in 1989.
Since 1996 she has worked at CERN, starting with a fellowship and becoming a full-time research physicist, and she has worked on four of its experiments, on detector development, software and data analysis. In 2009 she was promoted to project leader and spokesperson of the ATLAS collaboration, one of the two experiments that found the Higgs boson. In 2016 she was elected the first female director-general of CERN, and was reappointed for a second term that ran to 2026. She has sat on scientific councils and advisory committees in France, the United States and across Europe.
The moments
Fabiola Gianotti's timeline.
The 1960s
Two parents, two subjects
Everyday. An arts encouragement from one parent and a scientific one from the other.
The 1970s
A classical education
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Music and philosophy, which is a long way from a physics department.
The 1980s
One biography
Milestone, and it changed everything. One book about one scientist, and she changed subject.
Humanities, or physics
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: change subject, taken, or stay with the arts. She took a doctorate in particle physics and became the first female director-general of CERN in 2016.
A doctorate in particle physics
Milestone, and it changed everything. From a classical secondary school to a doctorate in particle physics.
The 1990s
A fellowship at CERN
Milestone, and it changed her direction. In the door at the biggest physics laboratory in the world.
The 2000s
Four experiments
Milestone. Detectors, software and data, on four different experiments.
Spokesperson for ATLAS
Milestone, and it changed everything. The voice of one of the two experiments that found the Higgs boson.
The 2010s
The first woman to run it
Milestone, and it changed everything. Sixty years of the laboratory, and she was the first woman to lead it.
The 2020s
A second term
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Reappointed, which the laboratory does not do lightly.
Geneva has had her in charge of the largest machine human beings have built, twice over. What it has set moving is not only the physics: a laboratory that had never had a woman at the top of it in sixty years has now had one for a decade, and the next appointment will be an ordinary one.
Your turn
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Sources
- Fabiola Gianotti, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- CERN records for the office of director-general, 2016 to 2026.
- University of Milan doctoral records, 1989.