Sara Buson

Professor Sara Buson is a prominent astrophysicist at the University of Würzburg, holding a position at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics within the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy. Since 2018, she has been based in Germany as both a scientist at the DESY research center in Berlin and a Professor at the University of Würzburg. Previously, she worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (USA) and the University of Padova (Italy). She has served as the convener of the Active Galactic Nuclei working group and time-domain group of the Fermi-LAT Collaboration.

Prof. Buson's research focuses on multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics with special emphasis on high-energy gamma-ray transients and variable sources. Her work aims to understand the physical processes in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and the origin of astrophysical neutrinos. She employs state-of-the-art theoretical models, multiwavelength observations of AGNs, and data from multimessenger facilities including the IceCube neutrino Observatory and Antares/KM3NeT.

Her recent work includes the groundbreaking discovery of the most energetic neutrino ever observed (220 PeV) using the KM3NeT neutrino telescope, published in Nature in February 2025. This discovery opens new avenues in neutrino astronomy and multimessenger astrophysics.

• Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (awarded January 19, 2023)
• ERC Starting Grant (ID: 949555, "Mapping Highly-Energetic Messengers across the Universe" or "MessMapp") which began in June 2021 and will develop over five years with funding support for up to 1.5 million euros

Prof. Buson leads the MessMapp research group which received significant recognition for its contributions to understanding the possible blazar origins of ultra-high-energy neutrinos. The group actively collaborates with international teams across the electromagnetic spectrum, utilizing data from NASA Fermi Large Area Telescope and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Her team has identified seventeen blazars as possible astrophysical counterparts to ultra-high-energy neutrinos, with three showing particularly significant variability at the time of neutrino detection.

The MessMapp team operates within the University of Würzburg's Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, contributing to the institution's research profile in global challenges and participating in the broader European astrophysics community. The group maintains strong connections with research institutions across Europe and has been involved in significant collaborative efforts such as the SIGN Network of Italian Scientists in Germany.