SISSA was founded in 1978 , as a part of the reconstruction following the Friuli earthquake of 1976 . Although the city of Trieste itself did not suffer any damage , physicist Paolo Budinich asked and obtained from the Italian government to include in the interventions the institution of a new , post-graduate teaching and research institute , modeled on the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa . The school became operative with a PhD course in theoretical physics , and Budinich himself was appointed as general director . In 1986 , Budinich left his position to Daniele Amati , who at the time was at the head of the theoretical division at CERN . Under his leadership , SISSA expanded its teaching and research activity towards the field of neuroscience , and instituted a new interdisciplinary laboratory aiming at connecting humanities and scientific studies . From 2001 to 2004 , the director was the Italian geneticist Edoardo Boncinelli , who fostered the development of the existing research areas . Other directors were appointed in the following years , which saw the strengthening of SISSA collaboration with other Italian and European universities in offering master 's degree programs in the three areas of the School ( mathematics , physics and neuroscience ) . The physicist Stefano Ruffo , the current director , was appointed in 2015 . He signed a partnership with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology to set up a new PhD program in Molecular Biology , with teaching activity organized by both institutions
Friuli earthquake
1976 Friuli earthquake
International School for Advanced Studies