XLV National Congress of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy
The 45th National Congress of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy will take place in Genova on 9-12 September 2025.
The main venue will be the Department of Physics of the University of Genova.
The Congress
The Congress is one of a well-established series that SISFA has been organizing yearly since its foundation. It aims at promoting research activities in the history of physics and astronomy in Italy, carried out not only by academic historians but also by independent scholars and school teachers willing to explore the role of the history of physics and astronomy in the present-day teaching of the disciplines. At the same time, the Congress provides an opportunity to strengthen collaborations and establish new links among the members of SISFA and the members of other scholarly societies, as well as researchers working in the same and related fields.
Historians of physics and astronomy are then invited to participate and the invitation is extended to all the scholars and researchers sharing the same kind of interests.
The Congress will host both invited talks and oral communications. The official languages will be both Italian and English.
The SISFA award for the Best Graduate Thesis in History of Physics or History of Astronomy (Premio di Laurea SISFA 2025) will be awarded during the Congress.
Topics
Proposals for oral communications should mainly address the history of physics and astronomy, also in connection with the related areas of mathematics, chemistry, and the history of science and culture. Studies focusing on historical instruments and documentary sources regarding the mentioned fields are also relevant to the purposes of the Congress, as well as the applications of the history of physics and astronomy in science education and museum displays.
Thematic sessions:
Gian Domenico Cassini: 400 anni dalla nascita / Gian Domenico Cassini: Four Hundred Years After his Birth
Mathematician and astronomer, Gian Domenico Cassini (1625-1712) born in Perinaldo (IM) and educated at the Collegio Gesuita in Genova, was professor of astronomy at the University of Bologna, then astronomer at the Observatoire Royal in Paris (1669-1712), as well as one of the most important astronomers in the XVII century. This session will celebrate the 400th anniversary of Cassini’s birth and intends to focus on the major developments that led to the birth of modern astronomy in the XVI-XVII centuries.
Dalla Vecchia Teoria dei Quanti alla Meccanica Quantistica: / From the Old Quantum Theory to Quantum Mechanics
From 1925 onwards some articles appeared in the scientific literature that deeply influenced the development of Quantum Theory. W. Heisenberg, E. Schrödinger, N. Bohr and other physicists were the godfathers of the new Quantum Mechanics. This session aims to analyze the themes and the interpretations of the QM.
La Fisica e il Mare: conoscere, navigare, esplorare / Physics and the Sea: Knowing, Sailing, Exploring. /
This session will explore the role of physics in relation to the sea, weaving together historical and contemporary perspectives. From cartography intertwining science and art to the physics of tides; from the problem of determining longitude in navigation to the development of instruments such as sextants, clocks and other devices, up to the KM3NeT, the European telescope and its neutrino detectors located at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
Musei, Archivi e collezioni scientifiche di fisica e astronomia in Italia e nel mondo / Museums, Archives, and Scientific Collections of Physics and Astronomy in Italy and Abroad
The historical collections of instruments and documents testify to scientific progress, and they are still resources for teaching and research. This session will give space to Italian and foreign historical collections
Dialogo tra storia, didattica e divulgazione in fisica e astronomia / Dialogue Between History, Teaching and Dissemination in Physics and Astronomy
This session will focus on the connections between science education, public engagement and the history of physics and astronomy.
Registration and abstract submission
The conference is open to both members and non-members, but non-members who have never attended a SISFA conference should also submit their CV to congresso@sisfa.org
To attend the conference it is necessary to be registered. Registration will be open after the acceptance of abstracts. Non-invited speakers have to finalize the registration after paying the conference fee. The conference fee will include lunches and coffee breaks and will be used to partially cover the cost of the publication of the proceedings of the conference that will be published online and open access by FedOAPress.
Titles and abstracts of oral communications should be submitted in English. The length of the abstract should be between 100 and 250 words and include no bibliography. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed on behalf of the SISFA scientific committee.
Grants
Three grants of 350 euros each will be available for young scholars under the age of 35.
Applicants must be up to date with the SISFA 2025 membership fee and submit their abstracts by the deadline, indicating their interest in the grant by checking the appropriate box during the abstract submission process.
Grant recipients whose abstracts are accepted will be required to publish an article in the SISFA proceedings and will be exempt from the Conference fees.
Important Note
To submit an abstract, please use your INDICO or IDEM account. If you do not have one, request it on https://indico.ict.inaf.it/login by writing: For the SISFA Congress in the form webpage. It will be quickly activated.
Per inviare un abstract, usa il tuo account INDICO o IDEM. Se ne fossi sprovvisto, richiedilo su https://indico.ict.inaf.it/login scrivendo nell'apposito modulo: Per il congresso SISFA. Ti sarà attivato rapidamente.
