Leonida Antonio Gizzi, Research Director at the National Institute of Optics of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-INO), has been appointed Scientific Director of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), a European research facility distributed across three sites—in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania—specializing in access to high-power, state-of-the-art laser systems.

In this role, Gizzi will oversee the coordination of the integrated scientific programme for ELI users, working in close collaboration with facility management and the scientific leadership at the three sites to define research priorities and foster high-impact, interdisciplinary activities.

An expert in laser-plasma interactions, high-intensity laser systems, and advanced radiation sources, Gizzi has served as Director of the Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory (ILIL) at CNR-INO in Pisa. His research has focused on plasma-based radiation sources and ultrafast phenomena, with applications spanning fundamental physics, medicine, energy, and materials science.

Gizzi has been actively involved in the ELI initiative since its early design stages and has contributed to shaping its strategic research directions, particularly in laser-driven particle acceleration, X-ray and gamma-ray sources, and plasma diagnostics. He has also taken part in numerous European research collaborations in the field of laser science.

As Scientific Director, he will be responsible for managing user access to the facility, promoting multidisciplinary research programmes, and representing ELI to partners, stakeholders, and the broader scientific community. The scientific programme under his direction aims to strengthen ELI’s impact in strategic areas such as health, energy, and the environment, contributing both to fundamental knowledge and to the development of practical technological applications.

Gizzi commented: “We are entering a new era for laser science, and ELI is uniquely positioned to lead it. This appointment is both an honour and an opportunity: to guide a scientific programme that is as ambitious as it is essential. My goal is to ensure that ELI delivers not only groundbreaking discoveries, but also lasting value for science, industry, and society.”