| Description: | At a ceremony held yesterday at the residence of the Italian Ambassador, the Head of the Astronomy Group of ASTRON, Prof. Raffaella Morganti, received a Presidential Decoration awarded to her by President Giorgio Napolitano, and presented to her by the Italian Ambassador Dr. Francesco Azzarello. Prof. Morganti was appointed Commendatore dell' Ordine della Stella d'Italia which translates to 'Commander in the Order of the Star of Italy', or 'Commandeur in de Orde van de Ster van Italie'. Knighthoods in the Ordine della Stella d'Italia are given to expatriates who have made an outstanding contribution to Italian prestige abroad. The Star of Italy is an old Italian identity symbol, it plays a similar role as 'de Nederlandse Leeuw'. It is the second Italian recognition Raffaella Morganti receives, after the Mondo Italia Award of last year.
Raffaella Morganti has been Head of the Astronomy Group of ASTRON since 2007. In this period, the Astronomy Group has grown considerably and has become a very successful research group which plays a leading role in international radio astronomy. Thanks to the stimulating environment at ASTRON, Raffaella Morganti has been able, despite her duties as Head of the Astronomy Group, to remain successful in doing her own research, demonstrated by the fact she received a prestigious Advanced Research Grant from the European Research Council in 2012.
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