The new Scientist of the Year 2025 knows the Science Ball from her own experience. Last year, Francesca Ferlaino was a member of the team of Austrian quantum physicists who presented their QuantA network with a spectacular presentation in the ballrooms. Ultimately, it is this inclination and ability to communicate highly complex concepts in a popular way that earned Ferlaino the award from the Club of Education and Science Journalists, which was presented to her at the Concordia Press Club on January 7 – together with honorary tickets for the ball.

Born in Naples, she conducts research on ultracold quantum gases at the Institute for Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck. The promotion of women in STEM subjects, and especially in experimental physics, is a cause close to her heart. In addition, she has been a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences since 2021 and deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the ÖAW, also in Innsbruck. Incidentally, attending the Science Ball is not a prerequisite for being elected Scientist of the Year. But it doesn’t hurt either…