John Cabot University is deeply honored to announce that Professor Giorgio Parisi — Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Sapienza University of Rome, and one of Italy's most distinguished scientists — will serve as Commencement Speaker at JCU's 2026 Commencement Ceremony. During the ceremony, John Cabot University will bestow upon Professor Parisi the degree of Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to scientific research.
Professor Parisi was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for groundbreaking contributions to the theory of complex systems, specifically for his discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales. His work has proven foundational not only in theoretical physics but across a remarkable range of disciplines — from mathematics and biology to neuroscience and machine learning.
Born and raised in Rome, Professor Parisi graduated from Sapienza University of Rome in 1970 under the guidance of Nicola Cabibbo and has remained one of the defining figures of Italian and international science ever since. Over the course of his career, he has made decisive contributions to particle physics, statistical mechanics, fluid dynamics, condensed matter physics, and the study of complex systems. He is the author of over 600 scientific articles and four books. A member of the Accademia dei Lincei (the Italian National Academy of Sciences), of which he has served as president, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the French Académie des Sciences, Professor Parisi has received numerous international honors, including the Boltzmann Medal, the Dannie Heineman Prize, the Max Planck Medal, and the Wolf Prize.
"Professor Parisi's theories have been described as applicable at all scales — from glass to the brain, to the flight of birds, to finance, to the climate," President Franco Pavoncello noted. " That is precisely the kind of thinking we want our graduates to carry with them: the courage to find hidden patterns in apparent disorder, and the imagination to apply insight across every boundary. We are truly grateful to Professor Parisi for accepting our invitation to be the Commencement Speaker for JCU’s Class of 2026, the largest in our university’s history."
JCU's 2026 Commencement Ceremony will be held at Villa Miani in Rome, on May 18, 2026.
