Press Release
The 42nd Annual PRI International Symposium on Pizza Sciences concluded last week with record attendance of 412 registered participants from 28 countries. The three-day conference featured 67 original paper presentations, 14 poster sessions, and a plenary keynote by President Dr. Francesca Napolitano on the future of computational pizzology.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHEESEVILLE, OH — The 42nd Annual PRI International Symposium on Pizza Sciences concluded Friday at the Cheeseville Convention Center with record-breaking attendance, a standing ovation that lasted longer than any keynote in the event's history, and one minor incident involving a trebuchet and a 28-inch deep-dish that the organizing committee has agreed to classify as "a demonstration of trajectory science."
By the Numbers
This year's symposium welcomed 412 registered attendees representing 28 countries, surpassing the previous attendance record of 341 set at the 39th Symposium in 2021. Participants included academic researchers, independent pizzologists, graduate students, one retired aerospace engineer who insists his work on heat-resistant tiles is "directly applicable," and a surprisingly large contingent from Norway, whose presence organizers have not yet fully explained.
The three-day program featured 67 original paper presentations, 14 poster sessions, two workshops (one on advanced dough rheology, one on "De-Mystifying the Crust: A Sourdough Deep Dive" which was oversubscribed by a factor of four), and a heated but ultimately collegial panel debate titled "Is 'Pizza' a Sandwich? A Philosophical and Topological Analysis."
Keynote Address
President Dr. Francesca Napolitano delivered the plenary keynote on the second morning to a standing-room-only audience of 380. Her address, "Computational Pizzology and the Coming Age of Predictive Topping Distribution Modeling," outlined a ten-year vision for the field that drew both sustained applause and, from at least two senior faculty members, visible weeping.
"We are on the cusp," Dr. Napolitano told the audience, "of being able to predict, with 94.7% accuracy, whether a given pizza will satisfy. That is not merely science. That is destiny." She received a 97-second standing ovation, which she later described as "at least 15 seconds longer than last year, and I noticed."
Highlights from the Program
Among the most-discussed presentations was Dr. Marcus Cheeseberg's paper "Cheese Melt Dynamics Under Convective Oven Conditions: A Revised Model," which proposed significant revisions to the foundational Cheeseberg-Napolitano Melt Constant first published in 2009. Dr. Cheeseberg reportedly received both a standing ovation and a sharply worded note from Dr. Napolitano, which he has framed and hung in his office.
Prof. Giuseppe Romano's workshop on Neapolitan dough fermentation was moved to a larger room after registration filled within 11 minutes of opening — a Symposium record. Attendees were reportedly required to sign a two-page confidentiality agreement before Prof. Romano would reveal his preferred hydration ratio, which he described as "not a secret, merely a privilege."
Looking Ahead
The 43rd Annual Symposium on Pizza Sciences is scheduled for October 2025 in Cheeseville. Early registration will open in March. The organizing committee has confirmed that the trebuchet will not be invited back, though discussions are ongoing regarding a "controlled catapult demonstration" under proper safety supervision.