The Mare Sopra outreach project devised by the University of Trieste to raise public awareness of rising sea levels caused by global warming is now in full swing. With almost 100 kilometres of coastline, Friuli Venezia Giulia is particularly vulnerable to risks caused by coastal erosion and flooding that could threaten local communities and infrastructure. Rising sea levels in the region could jeopardise not only the environment but also many of the activities that gravitate towards coastal areas, such as fishing and tourism.

In order to better understand the state of Friuli Venezia Giulia's coastline, researchers involved in the Mare Sopra project have recently begun monitoring the Trieste coastline with a special vehicle, a sort of kayak-pedalo-catamaran equipped with modern technology. In addition to the measurements that will be taken, these marine expeditions will be used to gather a vast collection of images and footage, making use of underwater cameras and drones. All updates and videos of upcoming activities will be made available on the Mare Sopra playlist on the University of Trieste's YouTube channel. 

At the end of the summer, the project will continue with further outreach activities on the beaches for schoolchildren and members of the public. The shooting of 360-degree spherical aerial videos captured by a drone is sure to be of particular interest. Images will be selected from underwater dives in order to create a high-resolution virtual tour.

At the end of all these activities, the main coastal locations will be marked with two lines. A yellow line will mark where the sea will be in 2050 and a red line its level in 2100.

Mare sopra is an interdisciplinary project conceived by Professor Stefano Furlani (UniTS), implemented with the collaboration of several partners and the contribution of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It involves geomorphologists, sociologists and biologists from three university departments (Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences; Political and Social Sciences; Life Sciences), as well as citizens, schools and associations.

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are one of the most recent open mysteries in modern astrophysics: within milliseconds they release one of the highest amounts of energy observable in cosmic phenomena. Discovered just over a decade ago, these strong radio-band flashes come from mostly extragalactic sources, but their origin is still uncertain and many efforts are being made by the astrophysical community worldwide to try to understand the physical processes at their origin.

In very few cases, the rapid flash that characterises fast radio bursts coincides with a persistent radio emission. New research led by the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) has recorded the weakest persistent radio emission ever detected so far for an FRB. It is FRB20201124A, a fast radio burst discovered in 2020, whose source is located about 1.3 billion light years away. In addition to the work of INAF researchers, the study sees the collaboration of UniTS (Roberta Tripodi), the University of Bologna, the University of Calabria, and the international participation of research institutes and universities in China, the United States, Spain and Germany.

The observations, made possible by the world's most sensitive radio telescope, the Very Large Array (VLA) in the US, have verified the theoretical prediction that a plasma bubble is at the origin of the persistent radio emission of fast radio bursts. The results were published today in the journal Nature.

The new work also helps to circumscribe the nature of the driving force behind these mysterious flashes. According to the new data, either a magnetar (strongly magnetised neutron star) or an X-ray binary with a very high accretion regime, i.e. a binary system formed by a neutron star or a black hole that accretes material from a companion star at a very high rate, would be at the basis of the phenomenon. It is in fact the winds produced by the magnetar, or the binary X system, that 'inflate' the plasma bubble that gives rise to the persistent radio emission. There is therefore a direct physical relationship between the FRB 'engine' and the bubble, which is located in its immediate vicinity.

‘A nebular origin for the persistent radio emission of fast radio bursts’, by Gabriele Bruni, Luigi Piro, Yuan-Pei Yang, Salvatore Quai, Bing Zhang, Eliana Palazzi, Luciano Nicastro, Chiara Feruglio, Roberta Tripodi, Brendan O'Connor, Angela Gardini, Sandra Savaglio, Andrea Rossi, A. M. Nicuesa Guelbenzu, Rosita Paladino.

Happy Birthday UniTS also from the USA!

The D-ETEF laboratories’ research group from the Department of Engineering and Architecture have taken part in the sixth edition of the ‘International Conference on DC Microgrids’ organised by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, https://attend.ieee.org/icdcm-2024/) with a delegation consisting of Giorgio Sulligoi, Daniele Bosich and Andrea Alessia Tavagnutti, lecturers and researchers in electrical energy systems at our University.

The conference took place in Columbia (SC), at the University of South Carolina, a leading university for real-time studies and simulations on integrated, flexible and hybrid AC/DC electrical systems.

Prof. Sulligoi, who gave a keynote speech entitled ‘DC grids and ships: technological trends, proof of concepts, integrated ship design’, said: ‘The invitation to participate as a keynote speaker came from Professors Enrico Santi, general chair, and Roger Dougal, general co-chair, key figures in the field whom I had the good fortune to meet at several IEEE conferences during my PhD. Receiving an invitation from them to give a plenary session speech after twenty years of work in the field made me particularly honoured. It is an achievement which is the result of the work of the entire D-ETEF laboratories’ research team. Joining me in the proceedings were my colleagues Prof. Daniele Bosich, a specialist in the DC microgrids sector and track chair of the conference on Circuit Breakers and Protections, and Dr. Andrea Alessia Tavagnutti, who has just taken up her post at our university and was part of the PhD programme in Industrial and Information Engineering at MIT Boston, doing research in the specific field of DC microgrid storage. I would also like to thank our University for grasping the importance of having competitive laboratories to carry out power tests and trials on industrial-scale electrical systems, contributing to the renovation of spaces and achieving state-of-the-art infrastructures'.

The keynote speech took place on 8th August, so the UniTS team was able to publicly wish our University a happy 100th birthday!

Pictured: Prof. Giorgio Sulligoi and Enrico Santi, General Chairman of ICDCM 

The University of Trieste will activate a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics  starting from the academic year 2024-2025: the publication of the call for applications for degree courses for health professions confirms what has been anticipated in the last weeks about the new course catalogue. 

The bachelor’s degree with competitive admission in Dietetics will be based in Pordenone and will have 30 places available. It will train food and nutrition professionals in safety, healthcare, catering, research and teaching as well as in the educational and collaborative aspects of food policies, and will prepare graduates to be able to work both independently and in teams with other professional figures.

Teaching will be divided into theoretical and practical lessons that will provide a solid basis of skills and knowledge in the propaedeutic and biomedical sciences. It will then focus on healthcare, which also involves the main medical and surgical specialities, without neglecting training in psychology and pedagogy, law, economics and ethics.

The course will favour international aspects and experiences, including participation in European networks and collaboration with professional associations and the relevant communities.

The compulsory internship will then enable the student to gain real life work experience. The final examination, in addition to awarding the degree, will be valid in the same way as the State examination qualifying the student to practice the profession.

The degree course will pay particular attention to training future dieticians so that they will be able to carry out their professional activity according to scientific evidence and in compliance with the code of ethics. They will also possess knowledge of food safety and catering and will be able to manage the needs of patients at various stages of life.

In addition to the opportunities offered by the new activation of Dietetics, the call for applications for degree courses for health professions will also see a significant overall increase in available places, almost one hundred more than in the past.

There are more places available in Nursing (+20), which reaches the 200 threshold, in Physiotherapy (+10), Psychiatric Rehabilitation Techniques (+10), Speech Therapy (+5) and Medical Radiology Imaging and Radiotherapy Techniques (+20), which doubles the number of possible admissions compared to the previous call for applications two years ago.

The numbers for Dental Hygiene, Biomedical Laboratory Techniques, Prevention Techniques in the Environment and in the Workplace and Health Care remain constant, the latter two being activated at the Gorizia Campus.

Applications must be submitted, exclusively online, by 13:00 on 26th August according to the procedures outlined in the call for applications. 

The admission test will be held on Thursday 5th September 2024 in Trieste, Piazzale Europa Campus, in buildings H3 and C1. The test will begin at 11:00 (identification operations will start at 8:30), last one hundred minutes and consist of sixty questions with five options for each answer.

On 8th August, UniTS will celebrate the ‘National Day of Italian Labour Sacrifices in the World’, established to preserve the memory of the 136 Italians who lost their lives in a coal mine in Marcinelle in 1956. This was a tragedy that has become a symbol of Italian emigrants who were victims of accidents at work. 

This day highlights the significance of work as an irreplaceable driving force in the life of every individual: our Constitution, from its very first article, makes work a cardinal principle of our social system and the very foundation of the Republic.

The University is committed to training young people so that they can be the driving force and stimulus of our society in working contexts that guarantee dignity, security and prospects for professional growth.

Achieving the ‘dream reaction’, the long sought-after reaction that makes it possible to convert greenhouse gases into green fuels, is no longer just a dream, but a real scientific perspective encouraged by the results of a study that has brought together the main research bodies and universities in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The Istituto Officina dei materiali of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IOM), the University of Udine, the University of Trieste, Elettra Sincrotrone and Area Science Park have implemented a synergy that has formed a broad and interdisciplinary research group: collaboration on the project has enabled the development of a technology for the preparation of innovative catalysts capable of promoting the transformation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that negatively affects the energy balance of our planet by favouring global warming. 

The methodology identified concerned, in particular, the possibility of directly converting methane into methanol, a valuable ally in the energy transition process, by means of a new low-cost material based on Cerium and Copper, whose catalytic properties were explored thanks to state-of-the-art techniques available at the region's universities and research centres. 

‘The possibility of synthesising innovative materials at low cost has been investigated, avoiding the use of additional solvents and time-consuming steps in the preparation phase: this technology simply exploits the mechanical force that modifies the structure of the starting material and makes it more efficient in transforming methane into other molecules,’ explain Silvia Mauri, a researcher at CNR-Istituto Officina dei Materiali and Rudy Calligaro, a researcher at the University of Udine, both authors of the work. 

‘The result was twofold: on the one hand having identified a promising material for the catalysis process, and on the other hand having implemented our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of these materials. This has been possible thanks to the use of advanced techniques using synchrotron light, together with the computing power available today. This will make it easier and faster from now on to further improve the design and use of these catalysts.'

The study therefore has important implications on supporting the process of the energy transition imposed by the consequences of global warming: ‘Methane is a precious resource and its exploitation represents a major challenge in heterogeneous catalysis: this is why the scientific community around the world is concentrating its efforts on the search for new materials that facilitate its transformation processes into products that can be used in a more sustainable way,’ adds Luca Braglia from Area Science Park. 'This fundamental study identifies a new class of catalysts prepared in an economically and environmentally more sustainable way. It also confirms how the simultaneous use of several advanced techniques and interdisciplinary skills is necessary to identify and develop new materials and technologies to support the ecological transition.’ 

Carlo Federico Pauletti, PhD student in Physics at the University of Trieste, was also part of the working group: ‘I contributed to the project by creating a computer model representing the catalyst synthesised by Piero Torelli's group (CNR-IOM), and then studying its behaviour through numerical simulations. What emerged from our study is, in agreement with the experimental results, a promising activity with regard to the direct conversion of methane into methanol, due to the particular nano-structural characteristics of the material, also observed in the experiments. 

The wide variety of techniques, both experimental and theoretical, used in the study of this system constitutes a considerable added value according to the UniTS doctoral student: ‘It has greatly improved our understanding of this reaction and the material used, and the great variety of approaches has made the work very stimulating, thanks to the continuous comparison with researchers from all the institutions involved,’ comments Pauletti.

The research, which demonstrates Italy's leading role in tackling the crucial challenge of the green transition and new materials, shows how cooperation between regional top scientific institutions brings results of great impact. The results of this collaboration have been described in the US scientific journal ‘Small’, published by Wiley, which also dedicated a cover page to the study.

The Interdepartmental Centre for Energy, Environment, and Transport “Giacomo Ciamician” of the University of Trieste has published, in collaboration with WWF Italy, the report entitled ‘The Steel Sector in Italy: Criticalities and Opportunities’: the innovative study explores the sustainability prospects of the Italian steel sector, highlighting current challenges and possible future scenarios.

The scientific contribution proposes a systemic view of the steel industrial sector, divided into several sections analysing global, European and Italian steel production, associated greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonisation opportunities related not only to environmental, but also to economic and social aspects. 

The work is primarily aimed at companies and institutions driving the transition to climate neutrality targets by 2050, considering the interests of organised civil society and trade unions. 

Innovative elements of the study include the quantitative and qualitative analysis of steel production, with a focus on the different production processes, including the electric arc furnace (EAF), the integrated steel mill (BF-BOF) and direct reduced iron (DRI) plants, short- and long-term decarbonisation strategies, with a focus on emerging technologies and renewable energies, and economic and employment assessments of transition scenarios towards more sustainable production.

The University of Trieste research team includes Andrea Mio from the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA), Romeo Danielis from the Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics 'Bruno de Finetti' (DEAMS) and Giovanni Carrosio from the Department of Political and Social Sciences (DiSPeS). 

The UniTS team worked closely with WWF Italy to develop a detailed and multidisciplinary analysis of the sector. The project was supervised by Mariagrazia Midulla of WWF Italy, ensuring that the recommendations were aligned with environmental best practices.

'This report,' says Andrea Mio, who scientifically coordinated the study, 'represents an important step towards greater sustainability of the steel sector in Italy. The proposed strategies aim to reduce CO₂ emissions and promote the use of renewable energy, thus contributing to national and European climate goals.’

The study outlines three decarbonisation scenarios (Conservative, Prospective and Desirable), each with different environmental, economic and employment implications. The scenarios provide a comprehensive picture of possible developments, highlighting the benefits of a transition to low-carbon technologies.

The overall assessment of the decarbonisation scenarios presented by the researchers highlights some key considerations. From an environmental perspective, reducing CO2 emissions must be one of the main objectives. Among the different scenarios outlined, the desirable one envisages a significant decrease in emissions through the adoption of innovative technologies and the use of renewable energies.

From an economic perspective, the investments required for the transition to more sustainable production are considerable, but the long-term benefits, including energy cost savings and improvements in the competitiveness of the sector, are significant.

As far as employment effects are concerned, the transition to more sustainable steel production will lead to substantial changes, with likely growth in sectors related to renewable energy production and innovative plant maintenance.

Some technical details of the three scenarios

• Conservative Scenario: this is a business-as-usual scenario and envisages rather limited corrective actions, mainly related to the capture and reuse of CO₂ produced through existing technologies (BF-BOF and EAF). The overall reduction in emissions by 2050 will be -10.02 MtonCO₂ (-53.37% compared to 2022). Annual investments will be € 1.478 billion, with an estimated LCOP of € 612.76/tonne and an employment level of 42,600 in the steel sector and about 4,000 in the renewables sector.
• Prospective Scenario: DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) technology is introduced here using natural gas and biomethane with CO₂ capture. The reduction in emissions will be -12.735 MtonCO₂ (-67.85% compared to 2022). As in the previous case, CO2 capture is necessary for decarbonising this scenario. However, its implementation requires very stringent conditions to be conducted in a sustainable manner, conditions that are presented in the report. Annual investments will be € 1.845 billion, with an estimated LCOP of € 607.28/tonne and an employment level of 39,400 in the steel sector and about 5,000 in the renewables sector.
• Desirable Scenario: this scenario envisages the use of DRI technology based on green hydrogen and renewable sources coupled to the national energy mix. The overall emission reduction will be -12.735 MtonCO₂ (-67.84% compared to 2022), without introducing CO2 capture and with a potential further reduction linked to the progressive decarbonisation of the national energy sector. Annual investments will amount to € 1.386 billion, with an estimated LCOP of € 621.61/tonne and an employment level of 39,400 in the steel sector and more than 12,000 in the renewables sector.

In Memoriam

The authors also wished to honour the memory of Maurizio Fermeglia, full professor of Principles of Chemical Engineering and former Rector of the University of Trieste, who was passionate about environmental sustainability issues, a WWF collaborator and the association's delegate in Friuli Venezia Giulia. 

‘Maurizio contributed to the initial development of the work and helped us to combine scientific rigour with a climate and environmental vision in this report. He is greatly missed by all of us, and we want to honour him and remember him also on this occasion,’ reads the report's dedication.

Il report completo è disponibile sul sito del WWF Italia

To mark the 100th Anniversity of its founding, the University of Trieste is establishing the ‘PhD Innovation Awards’ to reward the best PhD theses submitted as part of the third-level courses held at UniTS.

For this purpose, 15,000 euros have been allocated, allowing for five prizes of three thousand euros each. 

The competition is aimed at PhD graduates who passed their final exams between 1st January 2023 and 30th June 2024. It will focus on a thesis that stood out for its innovation. Applications must be submitted online with University log in details by 13:00 on 29th August 2024.

The initiative aims to recognise the excellence and innovation of those who represent the future of research.

‘Investing in young researchers and promoting their cultural and professional growth is one of the most important objectives of our University.’ says prof. Alessandro Baraldi, Deputy Rector for scientific research and doctorates. ‘With the prizes we are awarding, we want to enhance ideas, originality and creativity, which are at the foundation of the knowledge and innovation we are celebrating with the 100th anniversary of UniTS.

If in recent years we have promoted access to the highest level of university education by increasing the number of PhD scholarships, now, through this initiative, we also wish to celebrate their achievements at the end of the process, which reflect the enormous commitment of our PhD students.'

The applications will be assessed in a first phase by a University panel who will select the ten best theses. The finalists will participate in a seminar of experts in the field of innovation who will then decide the final ranking and the awarding of the five prizes.

The award ceremony will take place at an event entitled ‘PhDs, authors of the future of knowledge’, planned for November 2024, at which the competition winners will present the results of their doctoral thesis research.

All information about the competition is available in the relevant Call for Applications.

Iris Zalaudek, Full Professor of Cutaneous and Venereal Diseases and Head of the Specialisation School in Dermatology, has received the prestigious Certificate of Appreciation Awards in the International Leadership of Dermatology.

The recognition is awarded by the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS), which brings together 215 different scientific societies from 103 countries worldwide, with the aim of promoting strategic leadership at an international level in the field of medicine dealing with skin and cutaneous adnexa diseases.

The UniTS lecturer, who is also Head of the Clinical Dermatology Department and STD Centre of the ASUGI (local health service), was recognised for her significant contribution to the promotion of international dermatology, with a positive impact on global health policies and practices, promoting cross-border research, education and empowerment of dermatologists, their societies and the public.

Professor Zalaudek was the first female President of the International Society of Dermoscopy (2016-2021) and was named among the 50 most influential women in dermatology in 2021.

On the occasion of this award, we asked our lecturer for a contribution describing the state of the art and the most important challenges of international dermatology within healthcare systems.

Dermatology - a multidisciplinary branch

More than 2,000 skin and mucosal diseases demonstrate the diversity of dermatology. It is a speciality that interfaces with many other disciplines, dealing with the physiology and pathology of the skin and mucous membranes, tumour diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases and autoimmune dermatoses, ageing processes, infections, allergies and other environmental diseases.

Skin diseases affect all age groups and genders. Chronic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, are very common and require lifelong treatment.

Dermatology, like many other specialities, is experiencing a real revolution in medical therapies: more and more new, innovative and effective drugs are arriving for the treatment of skin tumours and inflammatory diseases. Biologics, small molecules, immunotherapies and immuno-check-point inhibitors, JAK-inhibitors, etc. have expanded the landscape of personalised dermatology. 

Dermatology - a constantly changing discipline

Dermatological research is the prerequisite for acquiring new knowledge, the clinical application of which is used for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. An active national and international exchange (conferences, associations and guideline work) makes it possible to share research results and to develop new research questions and approaches.

The quality of dermatological treatment is fundamentally based on guidelines that are regularly reviewed and updated.

In a constantly ageing society, prevention and early diagnosis, as well as early treatment concepts with innovative therapies, such as 'proactive instead of reactive therapy', need to be incorporated more than ever in order to change the course of the disease, prevent comorbidities and reduce or avoid side effects, also in terms of healthcare system funding.

Dermatology - challenges for the future

An ageing society poses major challenges to the health care system: the number of elderly people in need of care and the chronically ill will increase with significant repercussions and pressure on funding. More prevention, multi-professionality and good interaction between the health professions are needed. Clinics are already facing great challenges due to staff shortages.

Efforts are being made to counter this, but forecasts for the next five to six years predict further deterioration.

The skin, however, is also a model organ that is particularly suitable for digital medicine because it is easily accessible. Apps and artificial intelligence are already components of digital support for diagnostics and therapy. Digital health apps, systematic digital networking of data in research (big data), diagnostic devices and teledermatology have the potential to improve comprehensive dermatological care and thus avoid waiting times.

Although digitisation cannot replace personal contact with a doctor in all cases, it offers people with skin changes a real opportunity to consult a specialist/app, without having to wait months.

Stefania Buttignon, a Naval Engineering student at the University of Trieste, is among the Italian athletes who will participate in the Paris Olympics, which start today until 11th August. 

Originally from Monfalcone and a rower for the Italian Police team, the UniTS student is part of Italremo, the Italian national rowing team that will compete in the waters of Vaires-sur-Marne in this extraordinary sporting adventure.

The opening ceremony of this edition will be revolutionary compared to past editions and will not take place inside a stadium but will be a long parade through the most striking and monumental places of the French capital. ‘I am already feeling so emotional,’ Stefania confesses, ‘and I can't wait to take part in this historic parade. Witnessing the lighting of the Olympic flame live is the moment that every athlete dreams of experiencing'.

However, she will miss the Olympic Village experience: ‘Unfortunately, the regatta course is about an hour away, so the Italian Rowing Federation has chosen to have us stay in a facility close to the competition waters. But I definitely want to visit the village a couple of times, to see the cohabitation of athletes from all over the world, to meet my sporting idols, to experience at least a little bit of that incredible atmosphere'.

In the course of her career, the Monfalcone athlete has won several Italian titles, but in her record of achievements shine the victory at the under-23 World Championships (2018) in the lightweight doubles, together with Silvia Crosio, and a bronze medal at the European Championships (2019) with Stefania Gobbi, in the same specialty.

Despite having qualified already in the last Olympics, Buttignon had not participated in the Azzurri's Tokyo expedition. She again obtained the ‘pass’ in the senior women's doubles (despite being a lightweight) together with Stefania Gobbi, but the technical choice of the selector rewarded another crew of the same level. Stefania Buttignon will therefore be on reserve for the senior women's double, ready to take over if necessary, both as bowwoman, a role in which she has established herself, and as rowing leader, a role in which she trained as a girl.

But how do you experience the event from the ‘bench’? ‘As a reserve,' Buttignon explains, ’I am giving my all in training: mentally I feel less pressure and I have to contribute to the group by supporting my teammates, of whom I am the first supporter. I also have to keep my concentration high, as is required of high-level athletes, because in case I am called upon to compete I have to be ready. I have great enthusiasm; I will definitely do a great race’.

She exudes a great determination, carved out over many years of sacrifices to reconcile life as an athlete and as a student: ‘Even as a child I got up at 5 in the morning to train or to study. I would train twice a day and in between I would go to school and read books. Even at university, the rhythm has remained this way: it has allowed me to build a forma mentis, to be focused on the ‘here and now’ necessary to do things at my best'.

Participation in the XXXIII Olympics represents for the rower from Monfalcone the point of arrival of a long journey, but also the moment from which future prospects and resolutions start. ‘My career will continue,’ says the UniTS student, ’I would like to aim for the 2028 Los Angeles Games and get there as a starter. But after Paris I also want to get back to focusing on my studies, which I had to put on hold for a while to pursue the Olympic dream: the goal is to finish my final year and get a degree in Naval Engineering, in the future I would like to apply this training to the field of racing boats’.