The presentation of the project ‘Beyond White with Chromotherapy’, made possible thanks to the collaboration between the ASUGI (healthcare services of the Trieste and Gorizia provinces), the University of Trieste and the Work Integration Service (SIIL) of the Municipality of Trieste, was held in the spaces of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Odontostomatology of the Maggiore Hospital of Trieste.

At the end of the ‘Digital Illustration Techniques’ regional training course, four young people with autism spectrum disorders, selected for their creative talent, had the opportunity to participate in social inclusion internships, financed by the Municipality of Trieste, which took place between February 2023 and January 2024.

During this period, the four young people worked decorating the interior spaces of the Department with a series of paintings entitled ‘The Adventures of Peter Canine’, inspired by J. M. Barrie's famous character, Peter Pan, and reinterpreted in a comic strip story dealing with the theme of prevention and laughter being the best medicine.

The University of Trieste supported the initiative by producing and publishing a volume collecting all the panels created by the children. The publication, entitled ‘Le avventure di Peter Canin’ (The Adventures of Peter Canine), represents an important contribution to the promotion of social inclusion and the talent of the young people involved and is available free of charge on Le avventure di Peter Canin (in Italian)

The project not only spruced up the interior spaces of the department, but had a profound impact on the lives of the young participants, contributing to their personal and professional growth. The wall decorations and the book that was produced are now an asset appreciated by patients, healthcare staff and the community, offering a strong message on the importance of inclusion and creativity.

Tiziano Agostini, Professor of General Psychology at the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste, received the prestigious Wolfgang Metzger Prize during the opening ceremony of the 23rd Scientific Conference of the Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA), held at the University of Milan-Bicocca. The award was presented to him for the book ‘Showing Time: Continuous Pictorial Narrative and the Adam and Eve Story - In Memory of Alberto Argenton’, of which he is co-author.

The prize, named after the German psychologist Wolfgang Metzger, is awarded to those who have significantly contributed to the research and application of Gestalt Theory. Gestalt is an interdisciplinary approach that sees the human being as an open system in constant interaction with its environment. It focuses on how we perceive the whole of an experience or phenomenon, rather than its individual parts, emphasising the importance of global perceptual structures. In a nutshell, what we perceive is not a sum of elements, but simply a synthesis of reality.

For Professor Agostini, this award represents not only a personal accolade, but also an important achievement for the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste. This is the second time that the Metzger Prize has been awarded to a lecturer at the University of Trieste: the first to receive it was Gaetano Kanizsa, founder of the Experimental Psychology Laboratory in Trieste, together with Riccardo Luccio in 1987.

With the awarding of Tiziano Agostini, the University of Trieste reaffirms its leading role on the international academic scene, continuing its tradition of excellence in research on the psychology of perception and experience..

Trieste NEXT 2024 has officially begun. Over the weekend of 27th - 29th September, the festival of scientific research will bring thousands of science enthusiasts from all over Italy and abroad to Trieste.

The 20th edition was inaugurated in Piazza Unità d'Italia by Roberto Di Lenarda, Rector of the University of Trieste and President of the event's Scientific Committee, Nicola Casagli, President of the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), Maurizio De Blasio, Councillor for Education and Family Policies of the Municipality of Trieste, Antonio Maconi, Director of Trieste Next: Festival of Scientific Research, Caterina Petrillo, President of Area Science Park,

Pierpaolo Roberti, Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Councillor for Local Authorities, Public Function, Security and Immigration and Andrea Romanino, Director of SISSA.

This year's festival is yet again made possible thanks to the invaluable work of the 150 UniTS volunteers who will ensure that visitors enjoy the scheduled events in the best possible way.

Here is the extensive programme offered by the University of Trieste:

Venerdì 27 settembre 

Sabato 28 settembre

Domenica 29 settembre

Queste invece le 10 nuovissime attività interattive che UniTS propone nel suo stand in Piazza Unità:

Stand UniTS Piazza Unità

An international study co-ordinated by the Interdisciplinary Centre of Nanoscience of Marseille, with the collaboration of organisations and research centres of excellence, including the Biology and Nanotechnology Laboratory of the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Trieste, has synthesised a new antibacterial compound that promises to be an excellent candidate for the fight against antibiotic resistance, a growing global public health problem that still causes millions of deaths worldwide.

‘The main threat is posed by the eskape group of bacteria - comprising the genera Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter species - because they are particularly virulent and resistant to antibiotics introduced with treatment” explains Sabrina Pricl, one of the study's researchers and associate professor of chemical engineering at the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Trieste. “Hence the need to develop new antibacterial agents that, on the one hand, are able to kill bacteria, on the other, are not toxic to the organisms that take them in and, above all, do not induce the appearance of further drug resistance.’

The molecule synthesised by the researchers - an amphiphilic dendrimer called AD1b - proved highly efficient against all Gram-negative bacteria, including drug-resistant strains such as Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii.

The compound interacts with the bacterium by an innovative mechanism of action: it binds to the phospholipids of the bacterial membrane, such as phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin, causing the destruction of the membrane itself and the consequent collapse of cell metabolism, leading to the death of the bacterium, without damaging healthy cells - even in vivo - and minimising the risk of developing new resistance, a problem that otherwise plagues traditional antibiotics.

In preclinical tests, the molecule demonstrated strong antibacterial activity as well as great safety, with very low toxicity and no haemolytic effect - results later confirmed in in vivo tests. Moreover, after thirty days of exposure to the compound, no resistance was observed; on the contrary, a drastic reduction in the bacterial load in infected animals was observed.

‘This molecule could pave the way for safer and more targeted therapies and thus give an impetus to the treatment of resistant infections: together with its efficacy, in fact, the ability to not induce resistance puts it in pole position to be further developed at the clinical translational level’ explains Professor Sabrina Pricl.

Researchers from the University of Trieste worked on the design of the AD1 molecule and took part in the computational study, using molecular dynamics simulations to study the interaction between AD1b and the bacterial membrane, applying advanced methodologies supported by CINECA's supercomputing resources.

The research project was funded with NRRP funds and was supported by ICSC, the National Research Centre in High-Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing.

Il 7 settembre è mancata improvvisamente la prof.ssa Anna Rita Bacinello, Professore ordinario di Metodi Matematici dell’Economia e delle Scienze Attuariali e Finanziarie presso il Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Aziendali, Matematiche e Statistiche dell’Università di Trieste, Ateneo che ha prima frequentato come studentessa e poi, a partire dal 1981, come ricercatrice e docente, fino a diventare professoressa ordinaria nel 1995 dopo una breve parentesi presso l’Università di Cassino.

La notizia della sua prematura scomparsa ha suscitato profonda commozione e cordoglio all’Università di Trieste e in tutta la comunità scientifica nazionale. La prof.ssa Bacinello si è sempre dedicata al suo lavoro con entusiasmo, impegno e dedizione. È stata docente di grande spessore e studiosa di fama internazionale.

L’attività didattica è stata ampia e variegata e ha riguardato diversi insegnamenti di ambito finanziario e attuariale. Le sue eccellenti capacità didattiche e scientifiche ne hanno fatto un’apprezzatissima docente non solo presso l’Università di Trieste, ma anche presso altre università italiane e straniere. 

Studiosa di fama internazionale nel campo delle assicurazioni sulla vita, si è in particolare dedicata alla valutazione di mercato di prodotti assicurativi sulla vita, integrando le moderne tecniche della finanza matematica con quelle tradizionali in ambito attuariale. Speciale attenzione è stata rivolta alla valutazione delle garanzie a protezione degli assicurati, alla modellizzazione del comportamento dinamico degli assicurati e alla modellizzazione stocastica della mortalità. I suoi lavori sono sempre stati caratterizzati per la loro eleganza, generalità e flessibilità nell’approccio utilizzato.

È stata autrice e coautrice di numerosi articoli pubblicati su riviste internazionali, nonché membro dei comitati editoriali di diverse riviste scientifiche rilevanti negli ambiti attuariale e della finanza matematica. Alcuni dei suoi lavori hanno ricevuto autorevoli riconoscimenti. Ha tenuto numerosi seminari presso prestigiose università italiane e straniere ed è stata plenary speaker in diversi convegni nazionali ed internazionali. La sua improvvisa scomparsa interrompe un’intensa attività di relazioni internazionali che la vedevano attesa, proprio nei prossimi giorni, prima a Lisbona e poi a Bruxelles.

Ha ricoperto vari ruoli. In particolare, è stata membro del Comitato Scientifico del CISA (Comitato scientifico di Centro Inter-accademico per le Scienze Attuariali e la gestione dei rischi) e del Collegio Universitario di Merito “Luciano Fonda”. È stata Coordinatore e Membro del Collegio dei Docenti di diversi Dottorati di Ricerca, membro del Consiglio di Reggenza della Banca d’Italia con funzioni di censore, per la sede di Trieste. È stata membro di molte commissioni di Ateneo e, nel Dipartimento, era referente dell’area matematica. Era, inoltre, membro di diverse associazioni scientifiche internazionali.

La sua scomparsa lascia un grande vuoto e una profonda tristezza. Chi l’ha conosciuta la ricorderà sempre per la sua genuinità e disponibilità a condividere il proprio sapere con colleghi e studenti. Una persona brillante ma al contempo estremamente semplice, nonostante i numerosi successi che hanno coronato la sua carriera.

Matteo Parenzan ha conquistato la medaglia d'oro nel tennistavolo classe 6 alle Paralimpiadi di Parigi.

È una giornata straordinaria per l'Università di Trieste, che gioisce e si commuove vedendo Parenzan, studente di Scienze Politiche e dell'Amministrazione, salire sul gradino più alto del podio al termine di un torneo perfetto, senza sbavature, in cui non ha concesso neanche un set agli avversari.

L'atleta triestino è stato protagonista di un percorso inarrestabile che lo ha visto anche detronizzare in semifinale il campione paralimpico in carica Seidenfeld e successivamente travolgere in finale il pongista thailandese Thainiyom, davanti a 4500 spettatori.

A 21 anni Matteo realizza con il trionfo paralimpico una sorta di Grande slam del ping pong, dopo essere diventato campione del mondo a Granada nel 2022 e campione europeo a Sheffield nel 2023.

Una storia sportiva fantastica fatta di determinazione e impegno davanti ai quali restiamo ammirati.

In piazzale Europa sventola idealmente la bandiera paralimpica con i tre agitos blu, rosso e verde, simbolo in movimento attorno a un punto centrale che rappresenta lo spirito degli atleti che costantemente ispirano e smuovono il mondo con le loro performance, lottando senza arrendersi alle proprie disabilità.

Questa sera anche la nostra Minerva vuole condividere la gioia e il dolce peso al collo della medaglia d'oro, grazie Matteo per le emozioni che ci hai fatto vivere in queste Paralimpiadi.

Il 15 settembre UniTS si illumina di verde per celebrare la Giornata Nazionale SLA, istituita per ricordare il primo sit-in dei malati in Piazza Bocca della Verità a Roma, avvenuto il 18 settembre 2006.

Da allora, ogni anno, tra la metà di settembre e la prima settimana di ottobre, AISLA promuove iniziative in tutta Italia per rinnovare l’attenzione dell’opinione pubblica, delle autorità politiche, sanitarie e socio-assistenziali sui bisogni di cura e assistenza dei malati di Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica. 

I fondi raccolti nelle piazze italiane, dove è possibile aderire all’iniziativa “Un contributo versato con gusto”, è fornire aiuti concreti per migliorare la qualità di vita delle persone con SLA e delle loro famiglie. Dal sostegno finanziario per garantire l’assistenza domiciliare continua, al trasporto con mezzi attrezzati, dal supporto ai progetti di vacanze accessibili, fino alla consulenza e il supporto per le pratiche burocratiche, legali e previdenziali.

GIORNATA NAZIONALE SLA 2024

As part of the activities of SiS FVG, the Scientific and Innovation System of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which coordinates 17 regional research and innovation entities, Area Science Park in collaboration with the University of Trieste is promoting for the second year a series of seminars on the topics of intellectual property and the exploitation of research results, making use of the experience of expert speakers in technical and legal aspects from the GLP group.

The initiative, created to disseminate knowledge of intellectual property to students, faculty and researchers at the University, is open to all interested parties.

The seminars will be held at the UniTS CLab, 40 F. Severo Street (Former Military Hospital), in Trieste.

Participation in the seminars is free of charge, after registering at the following link   

PROGRAM:

• Module 1 - Overview of Intellectual Property Rights - Patent Focus

  September 26, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

  Speaker: Stefano Ligi

• Module 2 - New discipline of inventions in the academic field (art.65 C.P.I.)

  October 9, 2024 from 16:00 to 18:00 hours

  Speaker: Lorenzo Fabro

• Module 3 – NDA e Licensing

      October 14, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

      Speaker: Lawyer Erika Poletti

• Module 4 - Copyright e Creative Commons

      November 13, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

      Speaker: Lawyer Carmela Barilà

For information:  clab@units.it 

The ‘Mille e una Vela Cup’ (thousand and one sails cup) university trophy will be held in Trieste from 25th to 29th September, with the UniTS AUDACE team among the participants with its three boats ‘Lina’, ‘Dedalo’ and ‘Bai - Lina Rossa’.

The University sailing team's laser-focus objective is simple: to consolidate the victories of the previous three editions.

Hosted by the ADRIACO Yacht Club and organised with the cooperation of the University of Trieste in the year of its 100th Anniversary, the international regatta will see sailboats designed, built and sailed by university students.

Only boats made with materials that guarantee a high degree of recyclability and environmental sustainability will be admitted to the competition.

During the three-day regatta, the ‘1001VELAcup’ Challenge Trophy and the ‘Paolo Padova’ Trophy will be awarded. The first is contested with boats designed and built by students and with crews formed exclusively by them. The second features crews formed by a teacher and a student.

The ‘Mainaldo Maneschi Prize’ will also be awarded for the best boat project, combining the evaluation of the competing projects with the results of the regattas.

Seminars and in-depth lectures on design techniques are also planned.

1001 Vela Cup

A journey that followed in the footsteps of the digital revolution, in the place that is the global symbol of technological innovation, of the visionary and courageous creativity of the start-ups that have conquered markets and transformed the world over the last thirty years.

This is the summary of the California Tech Tour undertaken by Silvia De Cleva, Nicandro Alberto di Salvia and Francesco Zamar, the University of Trieste students who won the 2023 edition of the CLab Think Tank.

The stimulating week-long educational experience allowed the three young people to visit institutions and centres of excellence, among the most important and influential places of innovation development and entrepreneurship culture in the world.

The trip, organised by the UniTS Innovation Office, began in San Bernardino at the ESRI-Environmental System Research Institute and the University of Redlands, where they met leading figures from academic governance and the business world. 

Later, in San Francisco, they were welcomed by Consul Sergio Strozzi at the Consulate General of Italy. In the same city, the clabbers got to know the reality of INNOVIT, thanks to a presentation by Director Alberto Acito, who illustrated the possibilities offered to Italian start-ups in the US.

A highlight of the trip was the seminar at the UC Berkeley University Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, where the UniTS students were able to learn advanced entrepreneurship strategies. 

The trip concluded with a visit to Silicon Valley, where they were given access to Google, one of the companies symbolising the technological revolution and the web economy, and NASA, the world's most important aerospace agency and a leader in technological innovation. 

For our clabbers, it was an exciting experience in an international network of extraordinary dynamism, from which they returned with an injection of knowledge and expertise in business development.