Mariafelicia De Laurentis named EHT project scientist.

Mariafelicia De Laurentis, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at theUniversity of Naples Federico II and a researcher at INFN,has been appointed project scientist of theEvent Horizon Telescope - EHT, the international collaboration that has produced the first direct visual evidence of the existence of black holes, capturing their shadows for the first time.

"The Event Horizon Telescope has opened a new era in the study of black holes, turning into reality what seemed impossible just a few years ago," comments Mariafelicia De Laurentis. "This appointment represents an exciting challenge for me: my commitment will be directed toward strengthening the EHT's ability to answer the big questions in physics and astrophysics, working with the international community to develop new observational and analytical strategies. The future holds extraordinary discoveries, and I am ready to do my utmost to contribute to this unprecedented scientific enterprise."

The Project Scientist is a central figure in the scientific leadership of the EHT, with responsibility for defining and guiding the research strategy of the collaboration. This role involves not only coordinating scientific activities and optimizing observations and analyses, but also taking a long-term view of the project, steering it toward new discoveries. This is the first time a woman has held this role within the collaboration, marking a significant step change in female representation at the top of international scientific research.

Mariafelicia De Laurentis is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Naples Federico II and an INFN researcher. She has taught at Tomsk State Pedagogical University (Russia) and at the Institut für Theoretische Physik of the Goethe-University in Frankfurt (Germany), where she joined the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration.

Her contribution was instrumental in making the first direct images of supermassive black holes, including Messier 87 (M87*) and, most importantly, Sagittarius A*, at the center of our galaxy. For SgrA*, he played a key role in leading the gravity tests, coordinating the Gravitational Physics Input working group and directing the dedicated scientific publication. Her studies aim to understand the physics of black holes, testing general relativity under extreme conditions and investigating possible deviations from Einstein's theory.

Previously, she was Deputy Project Scientist at EHT and a member of the collaboration's Scientific Council.

She has received prestigious awards, including the Einstein 2020 Medal and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. With more than 250 scientific publications, his research focuses on the physics of gravitation and relativistic astrophysics, with an emphasis on testing general relativity in strong field environments, such as that of supermassive black holes.

He received his Ph.D. from the Polytechnic University of Turin and his B.S. in Physics from the University of Naples Federico II.