Cinzia Da Vià is an Italian scientist working at the intersection of radiation detection and its applications in High Energy Physics, Medicine and Quantum Imaging. She is a Professor of Physics at the University of Manchester UK and a Visiting Professor at Stony Brook University in New York. Dr. DaVià is chief editor of the journal, Frontiers in Physics, Radiation Detectors & Imaging. Her research interests include innovative detectors for fundamental science and medical applications, vertically integrated systems and quantum entanglement at X-ray energies.
Cinzia spent several years at the European Center for Particle Physics (CERN), near Geneva where she co-discovered the “Lazarus Effect”, a phenomenon which recovers the properties of heavily irradiated silicon sensors at low temperatures. She also formed and led the ATLAS 3D R&D Collaboration, which developed, industrialised and installed in an experiment for the first time, the radiation hardest silicon detector ever fabricated. She served as Chair of the 2019 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, the flagship conference of the NPS Society, with a 44% representation by women in chair positions.
Cinzia has always believed in the possibility of cross-fertilizing fields. This is the reason why she dedicated her Ph.D. thesis to the “Technology Transfer from High Energy Physics to Medical Applications” and later, formed a European Platform on Radiation Detectors and Imaging (ERDIT) including all possible fields of application. She now serves as co-chair of the ATTRACT Initiative's Independent Committee, which funds detection and imaging innovation in Europe. Cinzia also leads a Climate Change Initiative within the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Science Society (NPSS), a member of the Technical Innovation Group at the European Physical Society and an EU-ERC panel member.
Cinzia supervised many Ph.D. and Master Students and mentored several young colleagues. When she joined the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Science Society, she joined the “Instrumentation “Schools Activities in Developing Countries” like South Africa as Distinguished Lecturer and started organizing WIE events at schools. She considers this one of the most enriching experiences of her life!
She received her Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, while being awarded a CERN fellowship. She formed and led an international collaboration to develop a novel detector design (3D) with unprecedented radiation tolerance and speed. 3D detectors were successfully installed in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), one of those which discovered the Higgs Boson in 2012. Cinzia has co-authored more than 800 papers, the book, “Radiation Sensors with 3D Electrodes”, and a chapter in "From Physics to Daily Life". She is a regular Speaker, Chair, and International Scientific Committee Member of several conferences and instrumentation schools. She was a recent speaker at Meetings and Schools on “Harvesting Energy : The Only Solution for a Viable Future” and “Women and Climate Chance: Upskilling and Reskilling”.
Cinzia also holds a Master in Psychology from Brunel University, UK with a thesis on the “Role of the Internet in Psychoanalytical Treatments”
Media: Video & Articles
WIE Committee Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award (2022)
From Physics to Daily Life (BUY)
Publons.com - Publications
August 2016 - Feature - El Mundo
Radiation Sensors with 3D Electrodes (BUY)
May 2012 - Feature - Silicon Sensors go 3D
January 2003 - Feature - Radiation Hard Silicon Detectors
IEEE NPSS NSS Chair (2019)
Women attending the IEEE NPSS WIE event remotely in Dakar, Sendgal (December 2020)
With High School girls at the IEEE NPSS WIE event, Instrumentation School at Ithemba Lab, Cape Town, South Africa
Presenting in Geneva
With Ramalatha Marimuthu at the WIE retreat in Washington in 2018
Barcelona, Spain - El Mundo feature article
Visiting FBK fabrication facility clean room
WIE Committee meeting in New Orleans
Selected IEEE Accomplishments
IEEE Senior Member
IEEE NPSS Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Awards Committee, 2019-2022
IEEE Nuclear Science Plasma Society Distinguished-Lecturer, 2016-present
IEEE NPSS Nuclear Science Symposium Chair, Manchester, UK, 2019
International Scientific Committee Member IEEE ANIMMA Conference, 2017-present
Member of the IEEE NPSS Transnational Committee representing the UK, 2013-present
Reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 2000-present
NPS-Liaison Representative, Women in Engineering, 2017-2022
IEEE Anual Election Candidate, 2021
NPS-Functional Committee Chairpersons, Women in Engineering, 2017-2022
IEEE Women in Engineering Committee Member and NPSS Liaison, 2017-present
Member of WIE Conference and Visibility sub-committees (2017-18)
IEEE NPSS RITC Committee Member, 2015-2017 and 2021-2023
IEEE WIE coordinator at NPSS Conferences, 2017-present
Chair of the 2022 WIE 25th Anniversary Celebration Ad Hoc Sub-Committee
Lecturer and WIE coordinator at IEEE NPSS Instrumentation Schools in Developing Countries (South Africa, Indonesia, Senegal, Vietnam), 2018-present
Recipient of IEEE NPSS Initiative Funds to sponsor WIE events at Instrumentation
Schools in Developing Countries (South Africa, Indonesia, Senegal, Vietnam), 2020-present
Sponsor of several women for IEEE Awards, 2016-present
TAB Awards and Recognition Committee, Corresponding Member NPSS, 2022
TAB Strategic Planning Committee, Corresponding Member NPSS, 2022
TAB Climate Program, Corresponding Member NPSS, 2021-present
2022 Recipient, IEEE WIE Committee Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award
While chairing the NPSS Flagship Conference Nuclear Science Symposium, selected 44% women on the main conference technical committee position
Promoted IEEE WIE to students and both young and established professional women in developing countries
“As the Chair of the 2022 IEEE WIE 25th Anniversary Celebrations, I worked together with an outstanding group of volunteers to promote all the ongoing work and activities of WIE around the world. Thanks to the invaluable help of the WIE staff and WIE members we bridged across Societies, Councils and Regions to collect ideas and experiences. Among the several activities: scientific presentations from “Extraordinary Women” in the “Extraordinary Women Extraordinary Science” seminar series, and a panel discussion with Female Leaders within IEEE who reflected on the past and future of the society. We also organized an exciting exploration of the critically important potential of women in IEEE’s Societies and Councils in addressing and solving women's issues. Women in STEM across the globe presented their ideas in a sponsored competition called ‘W2W’ and winners were celebrated during the International Leadership Conference, ILC, In June 2022. We also met virtually on the 8th of March for a “Global Marathon” intended to bridge for 12 hours all the WIE members around the world. Men who supported women were also celebrated. Please see what they thought in these interviews available in the special edition of the WIE Magazine- Special Issue WIE@25 Magazine.
Click below to learn more about the WIE 25th Anniversary Celebrations
“Since I joined the WIE International Committee in 2017, I have appreciated the rich environment, diversity, and enthusiasm that drives women when they have the opportunity to work together for change. I joined several sub-committees and proposed and implemented several ideas on how to engage with women in STEM around the world in significant ways. In Africa and Asia, I utilised my network to gain local support; it was marvellous ! In Jakarta, Indonesia, we hosted an IEEE NPSS WIE symposium solely composed of female speakers on Medical Imaging. This first time only event attracted over 100 participants in East Asia. We also engaged with women at an IEEE NPSS WIE event at Ithemba Lab (Cape Town, South Africa); Dakar, Senegal.”
“The first time I attended an in-person IEEE WIE meeting, I felt the power of discussing common interests with women from many professional fields and different cultural and geographical backgrounds from around the world. We were all talking “the same language” and we understood each other. Only a global organisation like IEEE can offer such opportunities. Equality for women and minorities is an issue requiring attention more than ever after the pandemic that has exposed inequalities in the global population at many levels”.
