Legal Organs
Scientific Committees
Head of Division : March 2017 - April 2028
Prof. Paul Lecoq - Switzerland
CERN
Prof. Paul Lecoq has spent his entire scientific career at CERN. He received his diploma in Physics Instrumentation Engineering from the École Polytechnique de Grenoble in 1972, under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Louis Néel, and earned his PhD in Nuclear Physics from the University of Montreal (Canada) in 1974. He subsequently joined CERN, where he participated in five major international particle physics experiments, including one led by Nobel Laureate Samuel Ting.
Prof. Lecoq was responsible for the construction of the scintillator-based electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment, a key component in the discovery of the Higgs boson. In 1990, he initiated the creation of the Crystal Clear international and multidisciplinary collaboration, hosted by CERN, as well as the SCINT conference series, dedicated to advancing new inorganic scintillators for both scientific and industrial applications.
Prof. Lecoq has served as Head of the Physics Division of the European Academy of Sciences since March 2017, across three consecutive mandates: March 2017 – March 2020; March 2020 – March 2023 extended until April 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; May 2025 – April 2028 (current and final consecutive term, in accordance with the EurASc Bylaws)
Officer : February 2022 - April 2028
Prof. Chiara Mariotti - Italy
INFN TORINO
Prof. Chiara Mariotti is an experimental high energy physicist and senior scientist at INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), Turin, Italy. She earned her PhD working on the NMC experiment at CERN. Later, she joined the DELPHI experiment at the LEP accelerator at CERN, where she made significant contributions to the high-precision measurement of Standard Model parameters and initiated her work on the search for the Higgs boson.
Within DELPHI, she held multiple leadership roles, including coordination of analysis groups and overall physics coordination. Since 2000, she has been actively involved in the CMS experiment at the LHC, leading several teams focused on the Higgs boson search and, subsequently, on the precision measurement of its properties. In 2009, she founded and led the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group, which played a key role in the discovery and characterisation of the Higgs boson.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions, the European Physical Society (EPS) awarded her the Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics in 2018. She is a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and an Adjunct Professor at Boston University.
Prof. Mariotti has served as Officer of the Physics Division since February 2022 across two consecutive mandates: February 2022 – February 2025; May 2025 – April 2028 (current and final consecutive term, in accordance with the EurASc Bylaws)
Officer : March 2020 - March 2023*
Prof. Antonio Bianconi - Italy
UNIVERSITY OF ROME
Prof. Antonio Bianconi is a distinguished physicist renowned for his contributions to quantum materials and high-temperature superconductivity. He earned his Doctorate in Physics from the University of Rome in 1969, focusing on liquid helium films . Following his doctorate, he undertook postdoctoral research at the Euratom Plasma Laboratory in Frascati from 1969 to 1971 .
Prof. Bianconi has held several prominent academic positions. Since 1986, he has served as a Full Professor of Physics at both the University of L’Aquila and the University of Rome. From 1992 to 2012, he held the Chair of Biophysics at La Sapienza University of Rome . His international experience includes visiting professorships at Stanford University (USA), the University of Paris VI (France), and the University of Tokyo (Japan) .
Currently, Prof. Bianconi is the Director of the Rome International Center for Materials Science Superstripes (RICMASS), an institution dedicated to the study of complex quantum materials . He also serves as the President of the Superstripes Scientific Association and is affiliated with the Institute of Crystallography of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) .
Prof. Bianconi’s research has significantly advanced the understanding of local lattice fluctuations in complex materials. His work has been widely published and cited, reflecting his influence in the field .
Prof. Bianconi has been an Officer of the Physics Division of the European Academy of Sciences since March 2017, serving across three consecutive mandates: March 2017 – March 2020; March 2020 – March 2023 extended until April 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic ; May 2025 – April 2028, in accordance with the EurASc Bylaws limiting Division Officers to a maximum of three consecutive terms.
Officer : May 2025 - April 2028
Prof. Luis Oliveira e Silva - Portugal
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TÉCNICO - UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA
Prof. Luís Oliveira e Silva is Full Professor of Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is internationally recognised for his pioneering contributions in the field of plasma physics, particularly in the areas of laser-plasma interactions, plasma-based particle acceleration, and astrophysical plasma modelling.
Prof. Oliveira e Silva leads the GoLP (Group for Lasers and Plasmas) research group and the Extreme Plasma Physics team at IST, and has coordinated several major European research projects. His scientific excellence has been acknowledged through numerous awards and distinctions, including prestigious ERC Advanced Grants and election as Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc).
Elected as Officer of the Physics Division of the European Academy of Sciences in May 2025, with a mandate from May 1st, 2025 to April 30th, 2028, in accordance with the Bylaws.
Officer : May 2025 - April 2028
Prof. Tejinder Virdee - France
IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
Prof. Tejinder (Jim) Virdee is Professor of Physics at Imperial College London and one of the founding figures of the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC). A world-leading experimental particle physicist, he played a central role in the design, construction, and leadership of the CMS detector, which was instrumental in the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012.
Prof. Virdee has authored over 1,000 scientific publications and is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, and the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc). His exceptional contributions to science have been recognised with numerous international honours, including a knighthood (KBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2014.
Elected as Officer of the Physics Division of the European Academy of Sciences in May 2025, with a mandate from May 1st, 2025 to April 30th, 2028, in accordance with the Bylaws.