Roberto Ragazzoni, president of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), has been awarded the Gamow Medal by the Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University in Ukraine. The medal was conferred remotely on Monday, August 17, by university rector Vyacheslav Truba during the XXVI Gamow International Astronomical Conference, held online from August 17 to 21 for security reasons amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The award recognizes Ragazzoni's exceptional and internationally acknowledged contributions to the progress of astrophysics and astronomical instrumentation, his pioneering research in adaptive optics and high-angular-resolution astronomy, and his development of technologies for next-generation telescopes. The citation also highlights his many years of work training young scientists and promoting astronomy, his authoritative scientific leadership of INAF, and his role in strengthening scientific cooperation between Italy and Ukraine.
Ragazzoni described the recognition as an honor and a privilege, noting that even a virtual ceremony cannot diminish the weight of a figure as legendary as George Gamow. He recalled reading Gamow's book «Biografia della fisica» before reaching adulthood and said he still uses some of its quotations. In his conference contribution, Ragazzoni chose to begin with books, reflecting on the fact that more than ninety years after the Nazi book burnings, and following the recent wartime episode at the Petrivka book market in Kyiv, Europe continues to see specters that seemed to have vanished forever.
Ragazzoni also used the occasion to acknowledge INAF's support for Ukrainian astronomy, thanking colleagues who have worked to host and sustain researchers from Kharkiv and Odessa. He remembered the late Massimo Capaccioli, with whom he had participated in the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Rome in July of the previous year. Capaccioli himself received the Gamow Medal in 2019, and Filippo Zerbi received it in 2022.
Beyond the personal honor, Ragazzoni said the medal represents recognition of INAF's commitment to promoting international cooperation and scientific diplomacy. He described it as an incentive to continue on that path, with the awareness that international relations require constant, often discreet work that is essential for the scientific community.
George Gamow was a leading figure in the scientific revolution of the twentieth century, making significant contributions to nuclear physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. The conferences bearing his name continue a tradition that Gamow himself began at the University of Washington between 1935 and 1942, reflecting his distinctive research approach characterized by the ability to tackle even complex problems with creativity and originality. This year's conference is dedicated to the 122nd anniversary of Gamow's birth, with a theme covering astronomy and beyond, including astrophysics, cosmology, gravitation, astroparticle physics, radio astronomy, astrobiology, and genetics.