Paolo Valente is an experimental physicist, director of research at the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN).
He has participated in numerous particle physics experiments, particularly working on detectors and data acquisition and analysis systems, such as ATLAS, NA62, and UA9 at CERN, and PADME at the Frascati Laboratories, an experiment aimed at searching for light dark matter, of which he is one of the main proponents. He is active in the field of research and technology transfer, particularly in the area of irradiation for space applications.
He founded and coordinated (2013-2019) the Beam-Test Facility (BTF) at the Frascati Laboratories and is involved in the development of crystal extraction techniques, both for positrons and ions, for therapeutic purposes.
Since July 2023, he has been the director of the Rome Unit of INFN, and previously also member of the Board of Directors as a representative of the researchers (2011-2015) and of the Ministry of University and Research (2019-2023), dealing with the scientific and managerial matters of the Institution, as well as evaluation, organizational regulations, and research safety.
Since June 2021, he has been the secretary of the Council of the Presidents of the Italian Research Centers (COPER), assisting the President and the Board in managing relations between the Institutions and the Ministries, as well as in organizing and regulating matters, evaluation, research safety, and integrity, and coordinating the activities of working groups.