Professor Andrea Ferrari was awarded the decoration of Knight Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy on 19 June 2017 in recognition of his contributions to science as well as his promotion of Italian science and scientists.
The order was awarded by Pasquale Terracciano, Ambassador of Italy to The United Kingdom on behalf of the President of Italy, in a ceremony attended by former Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi.
Professor Ferrari is the founding Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre and of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology. He was one of the key investigators of the EU Graphene Flagship since its very beginning, serving first as Chair of its Executive Board, then as Chair of its Management Panel and Science and Technology Officer. Professor Ferrari is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Fellow of the Materials Research Society, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Optical Society and he has been recipient of numerous awards, such as the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for Innovation, the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, the Marie Curie Excellence Award, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, The EU-40 Materials Prize, to name a few.
The Italian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Pasquale Terracciano spoke with admiration of Professor Ferrari and all he has achieved in his career to date. Highlighting Professor Ferrari’s work as part of the Italian scientific advisory board for the Italian Embassy, Ambassador Teracciano spoke of the importance of diplomatic and scientific relations.
Professor Ferrari stressed the importance of ensuring the free movement of students, scientists and researchers throughout Europe as the UK and EU move forward to a new partnership over the next few years.