Rate My Professor Marzia Rosati

Marzia Rosati is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Assistant Chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Iowa State University. She received her Laurea in Physics from La Sapienza Università di Roma in 1985 and her Ph.D. in Physics from McGill University in 1992. Throughout her career, Rosati has dedicated herself to experimental nuclear physics, with a particular emphasis on relativistic heavy ion collisions.

Her research investigates the properties of nuclear matter, which near normal density consists of point-like quarks and gluons confined within hadrons such as protons and neutrons. Under extreme compression or heating, nuclear matter transitions to a quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a state where quarks and gluons move freely over distances larger than typical hadronic sizes. This phase mirrors conditions in the early universe microseconds after the Big Bang and is recreated in high-energy collisions at accelerators like the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Rosati participates in the sPHENIX experiment at RHIC, focusing on quarkonium and heavy flavor production to characterize QGP properties and study the energy evolution of these effects using data complementary to LHC observations. The sPHENIX detector began commissioning and data taking in May 2023. Rosati's publication record, encompassing contributions to heavy ion physics, is available through the INSPIRE-HEP database. In teaching, she employs active learning methods, group work, and an open-door policy to foster excitement for physics and prepare students for independent problem-solving, while mentoring undergraduate researchers in her group.