G Franco BassaniAfter receiving his doctorate in physics from the University of Pavia in 1952, Franco Bassani had a brilliant career in various institutions in the United States and in Italy. As a research associate in the Department of Physics of the University of llinois, then led by Professor Frederick Seitz, and later at Argonne National Laboratory, he developed a powerful method for band structure studies in semiconductors. As a professor of theoretical physics at the Universities of Messina, Pisa, and Rome and, currently, at Scuola Normale Superiore, he has established an internationally recognized school of condensed matter theory focussed on the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors and insulators, thus providing the scientific basis for their applications in optoelectronics.

In his distinguished career, Professor Bassani has received many honors including honorary degrees from several European universities. He is a member of the prestigious "Academia Nazionale dei Lincei," and in 1979 was awarded the "Somaini" Prize by the Italian Physical Society. In 1994 he received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from Purdue University for his innovative pioneering researches on the band structure and optical properties of semiconductors and for his intellectual leadership in condensed matter physics. Read More Read Less