Young Woman of Science Award 2022 – Interview with Maura Pilia

Why are initiatives such as the FestivalScienza important? We asked Maura Pilia, winner of the “2022 Young Woman of Science Award“. The award, supported by the councilorship and the commission for equal opportunities of the Municipality of Cagliari, was awarded to Dr. Maura Pilia as an example for future generations of Sardinian female scientists because, after a course of study in various Italian and European universities, she returned to Sardinia and made her skills available in her land, carrying out her research through the Sardinia Radio Telescope, which is located in Gerrei, her homeland. The research that Maura Pilia carries out concerns the Pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts. These are frontier researches that have contributed to developing the technology of the Sardinian radio telescope and to forge new collaborations for the development of instruments for the astronomy of the future. Maura Pilia combines her research work with teaching and dissemination activities. In the latter sector, in particular, we note the creation of a virtual reality game for the search for pulsar or FRB-type signals involving high school students.