Via Panisperna boys

The other members of the group were Edoardo Amaldi, Oscar D'Agostino, Ettore Majorana, Bruno Pontecorvo, Franco Rasetti and Emilio Segrè.

[2]: 67  Ettore Majorana had also been an engineering student; he switched to physics after his mathematical ability was recognised by Segrè, who helped him gain an interview with Fermi.

Research included the bombarding of various elements with neutrons, generated by irradiating beryllium with alpha particles emitted by the radioactive gas radon, obtained from radium.

[2]: 104, 286  On the theoretical side, the work of Ettore Majorana and Fermi advanced the understanding of the structure of the atomic nucleus and the forces acting within it.

The roles were not strictly delineated, but D'Agostino was the specialist chemist, Amaldi was responsible for the electronics, and Segrè obtained the elements to be irradiated.

Even higher in this ecclesiastical hierarchy, the nickname of Corbino was "Padreterno" (God Almighty), for his ability to miraculously generate funds and positions.

[2]: 68, 102  Another key component of the collaborative atmosphere was the masterful impromptu talks that Fermi delivered every afternoon on topics of interest to their research.

[2]: 67 By 1935 the group had dispersed and only Fermi and Amaldi continued work together: Rasetti was away for a year in the U.S.; Segrè had a professorship in Palermo, D'Agostino had a job elsewhere in Rome, Pontecorvo was in Paris.

After the war, Fermi's and Segrè's involvement in the development of the atomic bomb may have caused some strain in their relations with Rasetti, who had refused to participate.