He won the prestigious award together with Klaus Hasselmann of Germany and Syukuro Manabe of the US and Japan.
Announcing the news on Tuesday, the jury paid tribute to Dr Parisi “for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered materials and random processes”.
Italian Minister of University and Research Maria Cristina Messa was quick to congratulate Dr Parisi.
“Giorgio has dedicated his life to science and research, and is an example for so many young people,” she said.
“Research requires original ideas, freedom, rigour and discipline; it gives opportunity and hope to the world, above all the new generations.”
Dr Parisi, 73, is a professor of Quantum Theories at Rome’s La Sapienza University and the president of the Accademia dei Lincei.
He acknowledged the timeliness of the award while speaking with reporters after the announcement, saying it is “urgent that we take a very strong position, and we move at a very strong pace”.
“It’s clear that for the future generations, we have to act now, in a very fast way,” he added.
Dr Parisi is the 21st Italian to win the Nobel Prize since 1906, with previous recipients including neurobiologist Rita Levi-Montalcini, for Medicine, and playwright Dario Fo, for Literature.
The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (more than $1.5 million).
