Francesco Sette, an Italian born in 1957, holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rome.

A pioneer in research with synchrotron radiation, he spent eight years at the AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill (USA) and has received prestigious awards for his work.

Twenty years ago, Sette co-invented the world’s first high energy resolution, high intensity soft X-ray source, which quickly found its way into many synchrotron light facilities around the globe. Later, as a group leader at the ESRF, he developed a new generation of inelastic X-ray scattering beam lines, which made possible the study of atomic motions and electronic properties of condensed matter at unprecedented energy resolution.

Since 2001 Francesco Sette has been a Director of Research at the ESRF, playing a pivotal role in maintaining the ESRF among the world’s leading synchrotron radiation sources, and in enlarging its user base, which today comprises more than 4000 scientists.

Sette is also a member of the Advisory Committees of major light sources like DESY in Hamburg (Germany) and LCLS in Stanford (USA).

Francesco Sette became a staff member of the ESRF in 1991, where he will continue to serve until the end of next year as one of the two Directors of Research.