Francesca Bonaiti

Francesca is a theoretical nuclear physicist who studies how protons and neutrons interact to form atomic nuclei and how these systems relate to some of the most extreme environments in the cosmos, such as neutron stars. Originally from Villa di Serio, a small town near Bergamo, she earned her Bachelor and Master degrees in Physics from the University of Trento, where her passion for nuclear theory first blossomed. 

She then moved to Germany to pursue her PhD at Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, where she obtained it in July 2024. During her doctoral studies, Francesca visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee twice, an experience that inspired her to continue her research career in the United States. She is now a Theory Fellow of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University, hosted by ORNL. 

This is a prestigious five-year position that supports independent research in low-energy nuclear physics. In her work, she combines theoretical modeling with high-performance computing to explore the properties of atomic nuclei and their connection to the Universe’s most fascinating phenomena.