Alessandro Volta Prize Award Ceremony and Symposium in honor of Prof. Jean Dalibard

Friday 2 Oct 2026, 00:15 → 21:00 Europe/Zurich

TEATRO SOCIALE

Silvia Bencivelli (Science journalist and science communicator)

09:30 → 10:00 ARRIVAL, REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE

10:00 → 10:30 WELCOME adresses: Local authorities, Acinque, Fondazione Volta, SIF

Conveners: Alessandro Fermi (Assessore Università, Ricerca e Innovazione presso regione Lombardia), Alessandro Rapinese (Sindaco di Como), Alessio Butti (Sottosegretario alla Presidenza del Consiglio. Delega Innovazione Tecnologica e Transizione Digitale.), Prof. Angela Bracco (Presidente Società Italiana di Fisica), Prof. Paola Dubini (Presidente Fondazione Volta), Prof. Umberto Piarulli (Il Prorettore vicario dell'Università Insubria)

10:30 → 10:40 Science, Innovation and Local Communities: Acinque's vision

Convener: Matteo Barbera (President Acinque)

10:40 → 11:00 The Alessandro Volta Prize: origins, objectives and scientific significance

Conveners: Prof. José Maria De Teresa (President European Physical Society), Prof. Giulio Casati (Scientific Coordinator, Fondazione Alessandro Volta, University of Insubria)

11:00 → 11:30 Laudationes for the Award Recipient

Conveners: Prof. Alain Aspect (Nobel Laureate in Physics 2022, Institut d'Optique - Université Paris-saclay and Ecole Polytechnique), Prof. William D. Phillips (Nobel Laureate in Physics 1997, NIST and University of Maryland)

11:30 → 11:40 AWARDS CEREMONY: Award Ceremony

Conveners: Matteo Barbera (President Acinque), Prof. José Maria De Teresa (President European Physical Society)

11:40 → 12:20 Ultracold Gases: Where Matter Becomes Quantum

The advent of tunable lasers in the 1970s made it possible to cool and trap atoms with light, opening the door to ultralow temperatures. Beyond enabling unprecedented precision measurements, ultracold atoms reveal striking collective phenomena and new forms of quantum matter. I will review some key milestones and applications of this rapidly expanding field.

Convener: Prof. Jean Dalibard (Laboratoire Kastler Brossel and Collège de France)

12:20 → 12:30 Closing remarks

Convener: Stefano Cetti (Amministratore Delegato Acinque)

12:30 → 13:30 LUNCH BREAK OFFERED TO MORNING PARTICIPANTS AT THE TEATRO SOCIALE

13:30 → 13:50 Transfer by feet to CHIOSTRO DI SANT ABBONDIO: - via di Sant'Abbondio 12 (about 20 min walk)

13:50 → 14:00 AFTERNOON REGISTRATION

14:00 → 14:15 OPENING OF THE SYMPOSIUM: Session Chair: Prof. Massimo Inguscio (Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma) WELCOME ADDRESSES BY:

Conveners: Prof. Umberto Piarulli (Prorector University Insubria), Prof. Michela Prest (Director of the Disat department)

14:30 → 15:05 Laser Cooling and the Birth of Ultracold Atomic Physics

Speaker: Prof. William D. PHILLIPS (UMD Physics Dept)

PHILLIPS_ABSTRACT.pdf

15:05 → 15:40 Quantum Entanglement : From Foundational Tests to Modern Quantum Technologies

Speaker: Prof. Alain ASPECT (ENS Paris-Saclay)

ASPECT_ABSTRACT.pdf

15:40 → 16:15 Bose-Einstein Condensation and Superfluidity in Ultracold Atomic Gases

Speaker: Prof. Sandro STRINGARI (Emeritus, University of Trento, Italy)

STRINGARI_ABSTRACT.pdf

16:15 → 16:50 Quantum Simulation with Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices

Speaker: Prof. Immanuel BLOCH (LMU, Munich, Germany)

16:50 → 17:25 Dipolar Quantum Gases: Exploring Novel Phases of Ultracold Matter

Speaker: Prof. Francesca FERLAINO (IQOQI, Innsbruck, Austria)

FERLAINO_ABSTRACT.pdf

17:25 → 18:00 Collective Phenomena and Phase Transitions in Dipolar Quantum Gases

Speaker: Prof. Lauriane CHOMAZ (Universität Heidelberg, Germany)

Chomaz_abstract.pdf

18:00 → 18:05 Closing remarks

Speakers: Prof. José Maria De Teresa (President European Physical Society), Prof. Massimo Inguscio (Università di Firenze & INRIM)

18:15 → 18:45 CONCERT - Two-violin sonata by Ysaÿe; a selection from Bartók’s Duos

Conveners: Mrs Francesca Conte (violinist), Mr Samuele Piccolo (violinist)

18:45 → 20:00 COCKTAIL