Theoretical physicist Luciano Maiani has been nominated president of Italy's national research council, the CNR.

Maiani headed Italy's national institute for nuclear physics from 1993 before taking over at CERN, Europe's particle-physics lab near Geneva, in 1997. But the CNR, which runs 100 or so institutes across the country, may be the toughest challenge so far.

The council has been subject to a stream of ineffectual reforms for the past decade or more, demoralizing the staff and making long-term planning difficult. Maiani, who will take up office in spring, says that his priorities will be to restore the confidence of the scientific staff and get the production of science rolling again.

Maiani was selected by an independent search committee ? a new procedure introduced last year by research minister Fabio Mussi to break with the notorious political spoils system.