Prof. Dr. Luciano Rezzolla in conversation with Dr. Paolo Ferri: „Gravitational waves: how and why our view of the Universe has changed?”

28.05.2026, 18:30

6.30 pm: Opening speech with Massimo Darchini, Consul General of Italy (in English and Italian)

6.45 pm: Interview in English with Prof. Dr. Luciano Rezzolla (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)
Introducion and moderation: Dr. Paolo Ferri (Italian Culture Club ESOC – EUMETSAT)

Predicted by Einstein more than 100 years ago and considered too evanescent to be ever measured, the detection of gravitational waves represents a radical change in the way in which we observe the Universe. In a dialogue with Paolo Ferri, Luciano Rezzolla will discuss what gravitational waves are, how they are produced, and how they will be measured with a futuristic new European detector, the Einstein Telescope.

Prof. Dr. Luciano Rezzolla is presently the Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP) in Frankfurt, Germany. His main research topics are the physics and astrophysics of compact objects, such as black holes and neutron stars, which he investigates by means of numerical simulations performed on supercomputers. Together with his collaborators, he has developed some of the most sophisticated codes in numerical relativity and is the author of a well-known textbook in relativistic hydrodynamics. He is member of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHTC), where is acts as a member of the Executive Board. He is the recipient of the Karl Schwarzschild Prize (2017), of the Frankfurt Physics Prize (2019), of the Golden Seal of the University of Bari (2019), of the NSF Diamond Achievement Prize (2019, shared with the EHTC), of the 2020 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics (2019, shared with the EHTC), of the Einstein Medal (2020, shared with the EHTC), and of the AAS Bruno Rossi Prize (2019, shared with the EHTC), and the PRACE HPC Excellence Award. He is also the Andrews Professor in Astronomy at Trinity College, Dublin and the Claus Wilhelm Fueck Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics. He has also received an ERC Synergy Grant to perform theoretical and observational studies on supermassive black holes and an ERC Advanced Grant to explore the physics and astrophysics of relativistic jets.

Dr Paolo Ferri is a physicist who worked for almost forty years for the European Space Agency (ESA) in Darmstadt. He headed the Agency’s Mission Operations Department and was responsible for various space missions, including Rosetta, Mars Express and ExoMars. Currently he deals with training and education activities and collaborates as a guest lecturer with the Technische Universität Dresden and the Julius Maximilian Universität in Würzburg. He was the first Italian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Astronautical Federation and in 2020 he received the honor of Cavaliere of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. This is his third book for the general public, after The Comet Hunter. Journal of an Adventure in Outer Space (2020) and The Dark Side of the Sun. The space exploration of our star (2022), both published in Italy by Laterza.

The event is part of the Galileo Galilei Science and Space Festival and is a cooperation with the Italian Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main. Admission free, registration via e-email to francoforte.culturale(at)esteri.it until 26.05.2026.