Q-NEXT collaborator Laura Gagliardi, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, has been elected a foreign member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious scientific academies. The induction ceremony for new members was held in Rome on Nov. 12.

Gagliardi is the Richard and Kathy Leventhal Professor in the University of Chicago’s Department of Chemistry and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, with a joint appointment at the James Franck Institute. She is also the director of the Chicago Center for Theoretical Chemistry and the Inorganometallic Catalyst Design Center.

“I’m very honored by this recognition,” Gagliardi said. ​“For one, the Accademia is a very prestigious intuition, but I also feel honored because it is in my country of origin. I’ve had tremendous opportunities abroad, but I’ve always felt grateful to my country for the education I received there.”

Gagliardi’s research aims to develop novel quantum chemical methods and apply them to study phenomena related to sustainable energies, with special focus on chemical systems relevant to catalysis, spectroscopy, photochemistry and gas separation. In October, Gagliardi and her team published findings in Science that demonstrated how the metal-organic framework MOF-303 pulls potable water from the air.

The Italian National Academy of Sciences was founded in 1603 by Federico Cesi and counted Galileo Galilei among its earliest members. The academy is housed within the Palazzo Corsini in Rome and has long served as a scientific advisor to Italy and the broader global community. Notable members include Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. Giorgio Parisi, who was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in physics, serves as the academy’s vice president.

Gagliardi is also a member of the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is a member of Academia Europaea, the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, and the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists. She is an associate editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.