Francesca Vidotto

Francesca Vidotto is a NWO Veni Fellow at Radboud University's Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP) in Nijmegen, Netherlands. She is affiliated with the Theoretical High Energy Physics group within the Faculty of Science.

Her research focuses on fundamental questions about space, time, and matter's origins, specifically addressing open problems in early cosmology through the lens of quantum gravity. Her primary expertise lies in Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) and its application to cosmology.

Vidotto pioneered a covariant version of quantum cosmology based on complete Loop Quantum Gravity, which she named Spinfoam Cosmology. This represents a significant contribution to the field, applying the Spinfoam formalism (the covariant version of LQG) to cosmological models.

Her work shows strong connections between theoretical physics, philosophy of cosmology, and epistemology, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to understanding quantum gravity.

• Class.Quant.Grav. Highlights of 2011-2012 for 'Many-nodes/many-links spinfoam: the homogeneous and isotropic case'
• James B. Hartle Award for best student presentation at GR19
• Gravity Research Foundation Honorable Mention

Vidotto actively supervises bachelor and master students in Loop Quantum Gravity research, offering stage opportunities focused on Loop Quantum Cosmology and Spinfoam Cosmology. Her administrative experience includes serving on faculty councils and equal opportunity committees during her time at the University of Padova.