Anna Grassellino, senior scientist at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the director of the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, received the Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic during a ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 13 in Washington, D.C. Knight is one of the five ranks of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the highest honor in Italy.

Anna Grassellino, originally from Marsala, Italy, is a pioneering physicist and leader in the field of superconducting quantum technologies. She has revolutionized particle accelerator science through her groundbreaking work on superconducting radiofrequency cavities. Her discovery of nitrogen doping — a transformative technique that dramatically enhances the efficiency of SRF cavities — has set a global standard for accelerator technology.