Prof. Dr. Carlo Rubbia | Research Institute for Sustainability

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Carlo Rubbia

Prof. Dr. Carlo Rubbia

Honorary Senior Fellow (Alumni)

Carlo Rubbia was born in Gorizia on 31st March 1934. He graduated in Physics at Scuola Normale of Pisa. In 1959 he obtained his PhD from Columbia University (USA).

Since 1961 he has been working at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, becoming its Director General from 1989 to 1994.

In 1976, he suggested adapting CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) to collide protons and antiprotons in the same ring and the world's first antiproton factory was built. The collider started running in 1981 and, in early 1983, an international team of more than 100 physicists headed by Rubbia and known as the UA1 Collaboration, detected the intermediate vector bosons. In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for this discovery.

From 1972 to 1989 Carlo Rubbia has held the Higgins Professorship of Physics at Harvard University. He was the President of Sincrotrone Trieste - Synchrotron Light Radiation Source (1986 -1994), the company in charge of building ELETTRA, one of the first third-generation synchrotron radiation sources in the world, together with Berkeley and Grenoble.

During the 1990s Rubbia proposed the concept of an energy amplifier (ADS) - a novel and safe way of producing practically unlimited nuclear energy exploiting present-day accelerator technologies from natural thorium and depleted uranium. The energy resources potentially deriving from this technology, which is actively being studied worldwide, will be practically unlimited and non-proliferating.

During his term as President of ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (1999-2005), he developed a novel method for concentrating solar power at high temperatures for energy production, known as the Archimedes Project, which is presently being developed by industry for commercial use.

From 2005 to 2009 he was the principal Scientific Adviser of the Spanish Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT), since 2007 he was a member of the high-level Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change set up by EU's President Barroso. In 2009 he was appointed Special Adviser for Energy to the Secretary General of ECLAC, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. From June 2010 untill May 2015 he was the Scientific Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS e.V.) in Potsdam.

Carlo Rubbia is a member of numerous academies and holds 33 honorary degrees. He is the author of more than 500 scientific papers. Carlo Rubbia has received numerous honours, amongst which, the Italian "Cavaliere di Gran Croce" in 1985, the French "Officier de la Légion d'Honneur" in 1989 and the Polish Order of Merit in 1993. In August 2013 he was appointed Senator for life of the Italian Republic.

Publications at the RIFS

2016

Journal articles

Geißler, T., Abánades, A., Heinzel, A., Mehravaran, K., Müller, G., Rathnam, R. K., Rubbia, C., Salmieri, D., Stoppel, L., Stückrad, S., Weisenburger, A., Wenninger, H., & Wetzel, T. (2016). Hydrogen production via methane pyrolysis in a liquid metal bubble column reactor with a packed bed. Chemical Engineering Journal, 299, 192-200. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2016.04.066.
Abánades, A., Rathnam, R. K., Geißler, T., Heinzel, A., Mehravaran, K., Müller, G., Plevan, M., Rubbia, C., Salmieri, D., Stoppel, L., Stückrad, S., Weisenburger, A., Wenninger, H., & Wetzel, T. (2016). Development of methane decarbonisation based on liquid metal technology for CO2-free production of hydrogen. International journal of hydrogen energy, 41(19), 8159-8167. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.11.164.
Thomas, H., Marian, A., Chervyakov, A., Stückrad, S., & Rubbia, C. (2016). Efficiency of superconducting transmission lines: An analysis with respect to the load factor and capacity rating. Electric Power Systems Research, 141, 381-391. doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2016.07.007.
Thomas, H., Marian, A., Chervyakov, A., Stückrad, S., Salmieri, D., & Rubbia, C. (2016). Superconducting transmission lines – Sustainable electric energy transfer with higher public acceptance? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 55, 59-72. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.041.

2015

Journal articles

Geißler, T., Plevan, M., Abánades, A., Heinzel, A., Mehravaran, K., Rathnam, R. K., Rubbia, C., Salmieri, D., Stoppel, L., Stückrad, S., Weisenburger, A., Wenninger, H., & Wetzel, T. (2015). Experimental investigation and thermo-chemical modeling of methane pyrolysis in a liquid metal bubble column reactor with a packed bed. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 40(41), 14134-14146. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.08.102.
Martinez-Val, J. M., Rubbia, C., Sait, H. H., Abbas, R., & Muñoz-Antón, J. (2015). A coherent integration of design choices for advancing in solar thermal power. Solar Energy, 119, 474-485. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2015.06.016.
Muñoz-Antón, J., Rubbia, C., Rovira, A., & Martínez-Val, J. M. (2015). Performance study of solar power plants with CO2 as working fluid. A promising design window. Energy Conversion and Management, 92, 36-46. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2014.12.030.
Plevan, M., Geißler, T., Abánades, A., Mehravaran, K., Rathnam, R. K., Rubbia, C., Salmieri, D., Stoppel, L., Stückrad, S., & Wetzel, T. (2015). Thermal cracking of methane in a liquid metal bubble column reactor: Experiments and kinetic analysis. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 40(25), 8020-8033. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.04.062.

2014

Journal articles

Grilli, F., Chervyakov, A., Zermeno, V., Marian, A., Grasso, G., Goldacker, W., & Rubbia, C. (2014). Numerical modeling of MgB2 conductors for high power AC transmission. Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications, 504, 167-171. doi:10.1016/j.physc.2014.04.037.
Montes, M. J., Rubbia, C., Abbas, R., & Martínez-Val, J. M. (2014). A comparative analysis of configurations of linear Fresnel collectors for concentrating solar power. Energy, 73, 192-203. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.06.010.
Rovira, A., Rubbia, C., Valdés, M., & Martínez-Val, J. M. (2014). Thermodynamic cycles optimised for medium enthalpy units of concentrating solar power. Energy, 67, 176-185. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.029.

Monographs, book chapters, special issues

Rubbia, C. (2014). Innovative Scientific and Technological Developments for a Coherent Energy Policy. In F. Schmidt, & N. Nuttall (Eds.), Contributions Towards a Sustainable World. In Dialogue with Klaus Töpfer (pp. 123-125). München: oekom verlag.

2013

Journal articles

Abánades, A., Rubbia, C., & Salmieri, D. (2013). Thermal cracking of methane into Hydrogen for a CO2-free utilization of natural gas. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 38(20), 8491-8496. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.08.138.
Rubbia, C. (2013). Concentrated solar power in the future of electricity generation: a synthesis of reasons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 371(1996), 20110437. doi:10.1098/rsta.2011.0437.

2012

Journal articles

Abánades, A., Rubbia, C., & Salmieri, D. (2012). Technological challenges for industrial development of hydrogen production based on methane cracking. Energy, 46(1), 359-363. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2012.08.015.

Monographs, book chapters, special issues

Rubbia, C. (2012). Transforming Carbon Dioxide from a Liability into an Asset. In R. Lal, K. Lorenz, R. F. Hüttl, B. U. Schneider, & J. von Braun (Eds.), Recarbonization of the biosphere: ecosystems and the global carbon cycle (pp. 465-479). Dordrecht [u.a.]: Springer.

Reports and further scientific publications

Escobar, R., Luna de Abreu, S., Mir, I., & Hentzschel, F.(2012). Rationale for a Latin American Solar Energy Research Center (CELES): Report prepared by the "Latin American Solar Task Force" at IASS on the Potential of CSP in Latin America [With the cooperation of C. Rubbia (IASS), J. Martínez-Val (IASS), M. Coviello (CEPAL), D. Salmieri (IASS), F. Bernardelli (IASS)]. Potsdam: Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS).

2011

Reports and further scientific publications

Abánades, A., Rubbia, C., & Salmieri, D. (2011). CO2-free Thermal Cracking of Methane into Hydrogen. In BIT's 1st Annual Low Carbon Earth Summit 2011. Theme: Leading the Green Economy, Returning to Harmony with Nature (pp. 618).

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