High-energy physics: award for Insubria PhD student Sofia Mangiacavalli for the best oral presentation at the national Ifae 2026 event.

An important recognition for young research at the University of Insubria comes from Ifae 2026, the 22nd edition of the “Incontri di Fisica delle Alte Energie”, held in Bologna from 8 to 10 April. Sofia Mangiacavalli, a first-year PhD student in Physics and Astrophysics, won the award for best oral presentation.

The event is one of the main national meetings dedicated to the presentation and discussion of the latest developments in high-energy physics research. In this context, Sofia Mangiacavalli presented the “Oreo – Oriented calorimeter” project, developed within National Commission V of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and part of the CERN “DRDCalo” collaboration, which is engaged in the development of calorimeters for future experiments.

The project led to the creation of a prototype calorimeter made of lead tungstate crystals oriented with respect to the direction of incoming particles. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the extent of the electromagnetic shower and therefore to design more compact calorimeters.

This is a solution of particular interest for fixed-target experiments, for research dedicated to light dark matter and for the construction of gamma-ray satellites.

The award presented to Sofia Mangiacavalli recognises the quality of the scientific work presented and confirms the contribution of young researchers to the most advanced developments in the field of experimental physics.