Daniele Sette

Daniele Sette (1918-2013) condensed matter physicist and professor emeritus at the University of Roma “La Sapienza” passed away last 2 November 2013 in Rome. After graduating in Rome in Electro-technical Engineering in 1941, he got a PHD in Acoustical Physics in 1951 at the Catholic University in Washington DC, where he has been visiting research professor in the 1950-1953 period. During World War II, serving in the Military Scientific Corps (Genio Militare), participated to setting up the Italian naval radar prototype.

Scientist at the O.M. Corbino Ultra-acoustics National Institute of the National Research Council (CNR) since 1945, he became full professor in Physics in 1959, initially in Messina and then in Rome since 1961 until retirement.

He participated in pioneering studies of correlation and relaxation effects in condensed matter dynamics with ultra-acoustics absorption and laser excited Brillouin light scattering. His contributions are remembered in modern acoustics methodology developments, and their applications to liquids, fragile glasses, liquid crystals, and semiconductors.

In 1961, soon after Maiman’s laser, urging the Italian Government to consider the emerging laser technology for its potential in telecommunication, was charged with E. Gatti and G. Toraldo di Francia to create the first three Italian centres on laser physics developments and applications. These seed activities, gave birth to a lasting and productive school of laser science in Italy, with remarkable results in both fundamental and applied physics fields. Sette specifically contributed to laser-optics and coherence studies, including the first Italian efforts on optical fibers for telecommunications applications.

Sette engagement to develop a strong and structured condensed matter physics community in Italy was pivotal to the creation within CNR of the National Group of the Structure of Matter (GNSM) in 1964, which he co-founded and headed from 1972 to 1979.

Consultant to the Ugo Bordoni Foundation and member of the Technical Council of the Telecommunication Ministry, he contributed to valorise applications resting on results from fundamental research in semiconductors, optics and optical fibres.

Chairman of the Physics Institute at the Faculty of Engineering in Rome University from 1961 to 1987, he adapted the physics teaching to the Engineering Faculty students, and wrote general physics textbooks, which are still in use in the Italian Universities and kept to date by his colleagues.

He was vice-president of IUPAP (the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics) from 1978 to 1984, and in the frame of UNESCO activities member of the Commission for the Education in Physics (1960-72), member and secretary of the Acoustics Commission (1966-75), and chairman of the Physics Commission for the Development (1984-90).

He was part of the Italian Education Ministry Delegation to the Organization for the Cooperation and Economic Development (OCSE) from 1961 to 1995, and chairman of its Education Committee from 1980 to 1984.

He was a member of the Council of the European Physical Society (1988-1992).

Sette was very attentive on all aspects of human culture and heritage, with a particular passion for modern painting. He spent a long and wonderful life with his wife, daughters, sons, grand-daughters, grand-sons, friends and colleagues, who will remember him as a man who has always valued life for its infinite, subtle and marvellous features.

Mario Bertolotti
Adriano Alippi
Dipartimento di Scienze di Base ed Applicate all’Ingegneria
Facoltà di Ingegneria
Università di Roma “La Sapienza”