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On the 125th anniversary of Enrico Fermi’s birth and the 100th anniversary of his article on monatomic gas—written during his time in Florence—a conference will be held to commemorate the scientific journey that led the young Fermi to discover the quantum statistics of fermions, and to highlight the importance of Fermi’s discoveries in 20th-century physics and in current cutting-edge research in physics and astrophysics.
The conference, will be held in Arcetri, at the historic headquarters of the Institute of Physics at the University of Florence, where Enrico Fermi was appointed to teach courses in Rational Mechanics and Mathematical Physics during the academic years 1924–25 and 1925–26. The event is aimed specifically at students in undergraduate, master and doctoral programs in physics and astrophysics.
The conference is organized by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence, in collaboration with GGI, INAF, INFN, CNR-INO, and LENS.
Preliminary program
10:15 10:30 – Official greetings
10:30 11:15 - R. Casalbuoni (Unifi), From Florence to Fermions: A Historical Reconstruction of the Origins of Fermi Statistics, One Hundred Years Later
11:15 12:00 - L. Fallani, E.Lusso, G. Panico (UNIFI) , Current Implications of Enrico Fermi’s Statistics and Other Discoveries
12:00 12:30 - coffee
12:30 13:15 - A. Bracco (Unimi, presidente SIF e CREF), The Life and Discoveries of Enrico Fermi
13:15 14:30 - lunch
14:30 15:05 - Fermi and The Experimental Physics of Fundamental Interactions
15:05 15:40 - Fermi and The Theoretical Physics of Fundamental Interactions
15:40 16:15 - Fermi and Experimental Matter Physics
16:15 16:45 - coffee
16:45 17:20 - Fermi and Theoretical Matter Physics
17:20 17:55 - Fermi and Astrophysics
17:55 18:30 - Fermi and Applied Physics
The conference will also be streamed live at the Sesto Fiorentino Polo Scientifico, specifically for students in the undergraduate program. For organizational reasons (limited seating), anyone interested in attending in person at Arcetri must register here by Friday, September 11, 2026