The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is the world’s premier particle research facility. Now, in its 60th year of existence, it probes perhaps its deepest question yet: Why has the council ever been lead by a woman? That will change in January of 2016, when Italian researcher Dr Fabiola Gianotti will take over as Director-General for the next five years.

“It is a great honour and responsibility for me to be selected as the next CERN Director-General following 15 outstanding predecessors,” said Dr Gianotti. “CERN is a centre of scientific excellence, and a source of pride and inspiration for physicists from all over the world. CERN is also a cradle for technology and innovation, a fount of knowledge and education, and a shining, concrete example of worldwide scientific cooperation and peace. It is the combination of these four assets that renders CERN so unique, a place that makes better scientists and better people. I will fully engage myself to maintain CERN’s excellence in all its attributes, with the help of everybody, including CERN Council, staff and users from all over the world.”

Dr Gianotti has an impressive CV. Perhaps most notably, she was the leader of CERN’s ATLAS project, during which CERN’s Large Hadron Collider experiments ATLAS and CMS resulted in the discovery of the Higgs boson, sometimes called the “God particle.” She has also received many prestigious awards and recognitions for her work.

“Fabiola Gianotti is an excellent choice to be my successor,” said CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer. “It has been a pleasure to work with her for many years. I look forward to continuing to work with her through the transition year of 2015, and am confident that CERN will be in very good hands.”

If you hurry, you can catch a live webcast of the press conference, where the announcement is expected to be made.