The University of Trieste and the Municipality of Trieste are inaugurating a multi-documental exhibition today at the Bastione Fiorito of the San Giusto Castle, recalling the salient moments and personalities of Trieste’s university century. The exhibition will be open to the public from 15th March to 1st September 2024.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE 

To mark the University's Centenary celebrations, the University of Trieste and the Municipality of Trieste are to open the exhibition entitled ‘1924 - 2024. A century of history of the University of Trieste. Images and documents’. Proposed and coordinated by the University museum services (SMATS), the exhibition is brought into being with the contribution of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region of. 

‘With this exhibition,’ says municipal councillor Giorgio Rossi, ‘the new exhibition season at the Pomis Bastion continues, put together by the curator of the San Giusto Castle. An exhibition season that began last September and is aimed at exploring the history and excellence of Trieste in various ways. The exhibition that opens today, celebrating the Centenary of the University of Trieste, seals the fruitful collaboration between the University of Trieste and the Municipality of Trieste on the San Giusto hill.’

‘Visitors to the exhibition will have a clear perception of the historical, architectural and cultural heritage of which we are proud custodians,’ says Rector Roberto Di Lenarda. ‘Many will have the opportunity to recognise themselves and travel through glimpses of the past and discover anecdotes and aspects of our university that are perhaps still little known.’

‘With the exhibition, the University intends to place itself at the heart of the cultural and economic history of the city, to strengthen its ties to Trieste as a university city, thus opening up to the swirling change in communication, research, and the interconnections between education and the world of work in which we are all protagonists and participants’ - explains Tullia Catalan, curator of the exhibition and associate professor of contemporary history at the Department of Humanities at the University of Trieste.

The general coordination of the exhibition was supervised by Anna Krekic, the curator of San Giusto Castle, and Laura Sartori, the Centenary activities coordinator.

In a narrative between history, architecture and art, the exhibition itinerary - set up by Lorenzo Michelli – is made up of four distinct sections, balancing historical sources and aesthetic references.

The first historical section, curated by Tullia Catalan and Lorenzo Ielen, retraces the history of the 100th anniversary of the University of Trieste through a selection of images, documents and videos taken from the University's Historical Archive and from numerous public and private, local and regional archives.

Involved in an initial phase in the delicate vicissitudes arising from the conflicts over a disputed border and then affected by the cultural and sociological transformations of the 1960s and 1970s, the university has found its place in international openness, especially in the field of research and technical-scientific disciplines, which are amongst the most prized of the university’s current educational offerings.

The second architectural section, curated by Paolo Nicoloso and Marko Pogacnik, focuses on the 1938 designing of the university's central body, a building with marked symbolic overtones. Illustrated through the technical drawings of the time and some images, the section renders all the complexity and richness of the solutions devised by the designers. The initial iconographic programme, purged of references to the post-war fascist regime, now boasts the famous Minerva, which has become the university's most recognisable symbol over the years, built in 1956 by sculptor Marcello Mascherini, and two large reliefs on the façades of the left and right wings of the building.

The third section, curated by Massimiliano Spanu and Daniele Terzoli and dedicated to audiovisuals, further expands the contents through the screening of valuable documentaries and a film. Standing out for its importance and beauty is the film which has been unarchived - and thus restored to the history of Italian cinema - Pagine d'Università (University Pages), a 1956 Ferraniacolor (a colour film process developed in Italy by Ferrania.) It was made by Anna Gruber, an actress and director, screenwriter and writer from Trieste of international fame, commissioned by the University Film Centre. The film was found in the A. Hortis Civic Library’s Diplomatic Archive and Archival Funds.

The other films on show in the exhibition are taken from the Istituto Luce Historical Archive and from La Cineteca del Friuli - Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Archive. Archival research was carried out with the collaboration of the research centre La Cappella Underground.

The fourth and last section, curated by Massimo Degrassi and Lorenzo Michelli, is dedicated to art history and includes a selection of works - now preserved in the Rector's Gallery - presented in 1953 as part of the National Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Painting held at the University of Trieste. Finally, the final part of the exhibition offers a selection of the works donated to the University by thirty-five artists and collectors on this centenary, already partly illustrated in the event ‘A Trieste mi piaceva arrivare’ (I liked arriving in Trieste) on 20th December 2023.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 15th March to 1st September 2024. From the opening and until 31st March it will be open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1st April to 1st September daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A visit to the exhibition is included in the entrance ticket to the San Giusto Castle (full price 6 euros; reduced price 4 euros).

Info: San Giusto Castle 

The exhibition 'A Spanish-speaking writer from Trieste', has been recently opened, and is dedicated to the poet, narrator, essayist and translator Juan Octavio Prenz, who taught Spanish Literature at the University of Trieste for almost thirty years. The exhibition can be found in the ‘Stelio Crise’ State Library of Trieste (Biblioteca Statale).

An Argentian of Istrian origin, Prenz was an authentic protagonist of 20th-century culture, from his beginnings in Argentina as a writer, teacher and university professor, to his move to Europe following dictator Videla's rise to power, where he spent time teaching Spanish and Latin American Literature at the universities of Belgrade, Ljubljana, Venice and Trieste.

Among the many awards received during his extensive literary career, Prenz was awarded the prestigious Nonino International Prize in 2019.

The exhibition illustrates the path taken by Juan Octavio Prenz as a poet and storyteller, as well as a translator from Spanish into Slavic languages and from Slavic into Spanish. It was organised by the Association Archive and Documentation Centre of Regional Culture and the ‘Stelio Crise’ State Library of Trieste, under the patronage of the Department of Humanistic Studies in UniTS and PEN Trieste Aps.

Through his literary output, his relationships with some important writers are also considered, from Miguel Angel Asturias to Pablo Neruda, from Jorge Luis Borges to Günter Grass and Claudio Magris, who defined him as a ‘Latin American Central European’.

The exhibition, which will remain open until 26th April, presents personal handwritten notes, typescripts, letters, editions of various works, photographs, portraits and objects that belonged to the writer. It will be open from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with free admission. It is closed on Saturdays and public holidays. 

Line 17/ timetables become more ‘student-friendly’ as Tpl FVG enhance their night service.

These two important innovations have resulted from the collaboration of UniTS and Trieste Trasporti and have significantly improved the bus service for university users.

‘The change in the 17/ timetable was the subject of UniTS student Chiara Capraro's degree thesis,’ explains Giovanni Longo, the university's Mobility Manager. ‘Her proposal was included in the UniTS home-to-work travel plan and now, thanks to Trieste Trasporti, it has become a reality aiding all students.

Here are the new features in detail:

Connections to Piazzale Europa: the new timetable for line 17/

The timetable for line 17/ connecting Piazza della Libertà (Trieste Centrale train station) to Piazzale Europa has been changed. Students are advised to use lines 17 and 17/ as a priority to reach the university, leaving lines 51 and 51/ available for staff and researchers travelling to the two Area Science Park campuses of Basovizza and Padriciano.

The route of Tpl Fvg's night service expands

As requested by many students, the route of the night bus service promoted by Tpl Fvg and Trieste Trasporti with UniTS will be extended from 8th March. Another 28 stops have been added to those already active since last July: from Valmaura to via Baiamonti, from Viale Ippodromo to Piazza Perugino, from San Giacomo to Via Rossetti and Piazza dell'Ospitale. The service operates on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 22:00 to 4:00. To use the service, it is necessary to download the TSonDemand app (available for Android and iOS). The app allows you to book rides by indicating your departure stop, your destination stop and your desired time of departure. The ticket can also be purchased directly in the app at the time of booking, by credit card, Paypal or, as of a few days ago, prepaid travel card. The price of the journey is deducted when you board the bus and give your name to the driver. Each passenger can book for himself/herself and up to 19 other people. It is possible to book the service from 14 days before the ride, but the booking can also be made in real time: the earlier you book, the more likely the ride is to be available at the requested time.

International Women's Day celebrates the progress made by women in the economic, political and cultural spheres all over the world. To mark 8 March, UniTS sheds light on women in the world of mechanics, a traditionally ‘masculine’ sector.

 An in-depth analysis of the presence of women in the engineering sector in FVG was presented at the ‘Women Entrepreneurs and Managers in the World of Mechanics’ event (part of the ‘Women and Work’ series), organised by UniTS Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics (DEAMS) and Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers (AIDDA) in collaboration with MIB Trieste School of Management.

The data collected by Rubina Romanello, lecturer in Economics and Business Management at DEAMS, and Lucia Parussini, lecturer in Fluid Machines at the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA), showed that the number of women employed in the metal sector in the FVG region between 2020 and 2022 has increased by 70%. However, it emerged that the majority of these women (60%) held administrative or operational roles. Furthermore, only 10% of metalworking companies in FVG are women-owned. The predominance of all-male boards was also discussed at national level. Only 17.6% of companies have a board where 50% or more of its members are women.

In the field of education, it was noted that, despite a growth in the enrolment of women in bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering, the overall percentage still remains low – just over 20%. Consequently, there is also a significant under-representation of women among university teaching staff.

UniTS is also participating in the LOGS project of the CNR Institute of Polar Sciences. The aim is to collect data on the glaciers in the Aqqutikitsoq mountain area in Greenland.

Renato R. Colucci, Professor of Glaciology at UniTS and Researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences of the CNR, and Emanuele Forte, Professor of Geophysics at the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences of UniTS, are both involved in the recently started measurement campaign.

The two researchers, using Ground Penetrating Radar, will assess the thickness and volume of a few of approximately 100 largely unexplored glaciers in the Aqqutikitsoq mountainous area, near the town of Sisimiut (west coast of Greenland). 

This area is important to the local community for several reasons. Firstly, the glaciers provide the summer runoff for the Sisimiut hydroelectric power plant, therefore their evolution will have a direct impact on the efficiency of the city's energy production. Secondly, the Aqqutikitsoq mountains are a popular recreational area and the municipality has licensed the development of tourist activities. For this reason, the community needs an assessment of the risks relating to crevasses and avalanches in the area and their possible future developments. The project also has ambitions to create the basis for a new long-term monitoring site on a glacier on the west coast of Greenland.

During the mission, Prof. Colucci will also chair a workshop organised at the Arctic Station of the DTU (Technical University of Denmark) in Sisimiut, together with the Greenland Winter Warning Association. The topic of this workshop will be the safety of snowmobile routes in highly crevassed areas. There will also be an information evening for the local population to explain the ongoing scientific activities.

The University of Trieste and the University of Panama will collaborate for the next 6 years, organising academic activities, teaching projects, specialised training and joint research in their shared academic disciplines.

More specifically, the activities envisaged are teacher exchanges, student mobility, the sharing of publications and research materials, the implementation of joint projects related to teaching, teacher training and research. The collaboration will also see the implementation of joint or collaborative degree programmes and various in-depth study opportunities for both graduates and undergraduates. 

The signing of the agreement occurred during the institutional visit of a UniTS delegation formed by Vice Rector Valter Sergo, Deputy Rector for Research Alessandro Baraldi and the head of the Department of Physics Giovanni Comelli, a department of excellence officially recognised by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MUR).

The University of Panama extended an invitation to UniTS to participate in the Escuela Internacional de verano (international summer school). Here the Vice Rector delivered the inaugural lecture entitled 'The impact of science in today's world', also in the presence of the ambassador of Panama, Fabrizio Nicoletti, who was actively involved in bringing about the signing of the agreement.

We regret to inform readers of the sudden passing of Professor Maurizio Fermeglia, Professor of Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering at the Department of Engineering and Architecture, and former Rector of the University of Trieste. He sadly passed away yesterday, 25th February, due to an unexpected illness while hiking in Val Rosandra.

Maurizio Fermeglia, who would have turned 69 in October, will universally be remembered as an exceptional and talented individual, who excelled and made a significant impact not only across a range of fields in academia but also in all areas into which he ventured.

Having graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Trieste in 1979, he conducted research at the Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, from 1980 to 1981. He subsequently returned to UniTS in 1983 as a researcher, eventually becoming an associate professor in 1992 and a full professor in 2002.

In addition to serving as Rector from 2013 to 2019, Professor Fermeglia held numerous managerial roles at the University of Trieste, including Head of Department and Director of the Doctoral School in Nanotechnologies. He also held various roles at a national level, including, most recently, as the National Coordinator of the Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering Group and as the President of the National Scientific Qualification (ASN) Committee for selections in his academic area.

His scientific activity was both prolific and varied, with over 250 articles published in peer-reviewed international journals, over 200 presentations at international events (including dozens of invited, plenary, and keynote lectures), and the management of numerous national and European projects as a principal investigator. His research areas included experimental studies on phase diagrams and transport properties, theoretical studies on thermodynamic aspects of chemical engineering as well as process engineering, nanomaterials research, and database and computer network studies. Over the last two decades, he contributed to the development of multiscale molecular modelling with his work and vision. In recent years, he focused on Life Cycle Assessment, introducing the innovative idea of integrating and improving the data required for this technique using computer modelling.

His entire scientific career was inspired and permeated by sustainability issues, particularly focusing on the sustainability of processes and systems in the field of energy transition. In addition to his research activities, he served as a consultant to the United Nations agencies UNIDO and UNEP.

Professor Fermeglia was a passionate and highly esteemed lecturer in various chemical engineering courses, contributing to the education of several generations of professionals and consistently advocating for the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to education to tackle the challenges awaiting humanity in the future. He also engaged in extensive and highly regarded scientific communication and outreach activities, primarily in the field of sustainability, with dozens of talks, seminars, and conferences delivered to the general public, which were always characterised by his originality and vision. In 2010, he founded the Summer School on Energy, later dedicated to his ‘hero’ Giacomo Ciamician, the Trieste chemist who theorised harnessing the power of the sun for sustainable development in the early twentieth century.

Regarding these topics especially, Maurizio Fermeglia was very active on various fronts of civic engagement, including his role as regional delegate of WWF, driven by the idea of using his academic expertise for the benefit of the community.

Professor Fermeglia passed away while hiking in Val Rosandra. For him, being a native of Trieste, he was as at home in his ‘Valley’ as he was in the mountains. Outside of academia, he had a great passion for mountains and the spirit and discipline associated with them. Mountain activities often permeated his academic life. He was an alpinist, ski mountaineer and a member of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) as well as being an instructor in these disciplines and participating in various mountaineering expeditions within Europe and beyond. He was also the head of the Alpine Rescue Service’s Trieste station, once again demonstrating his motivation and drive to selflessly offer his skills and knowledge for the service of others. In the profound loss felt by those who knew him, this is perhaps the most important lesson we can draw from Professor Fermeglia’s character and professional legacy.

Professor Fermeglia's departure while on that trail has left a significant void not only within the academic community but also beyond. The University community wishes to extend our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to Maurizio’s wife, son and daughter.

The iNE(S)T-working meeting has recently been held in Vicenza at the local campus of the university of Verona. The event was attended by 300 researchers involved in iNEST (Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem) and was funded 110 million euro by the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)., 

iNEST promotes innovation in North-East Italy in multiple ways through research groups coordinated by the 9 universities of the three north-eastern regions. These groups relate to: mountain environments, health and lifestyle, sustainable manufacturing, architecture for sustainable cities, sustainable living and working environments, tourism, culture and the creative industries, agrifood, marine and river environments and digital models.

The University of Trieste is coordinating the innovation activities addressed to maritime, marine and inland water systems, which will eventually lead to the development of a digital twin for the sustainable management of the Northern Adriatic Sea, with contributions from various disciplines (biology, geology, physics, chemistry, ship design, spatial planning, IT, administration management) and great expertise from the Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, the technology park ‘Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico’ and the Universities of Padova, Trento, IUAV and Ca' Foscari of Venice. 

In 2023 iNEST strengthened its activities, recruiting more than 250 young researchers and creating a truly collaborative network among people, institutions and companies in this area. The quality of the research carried out, the high value of the teams and collaborations that have been set up, and the involvement of over 300 companies in the presentation of innovative projects for the region are all testimony to the strength of the North-East Innovation Ecosystem. 

According to Prof. Bonollo, Professor at the University of Padua and President of the iNEST Consortium, the meeting in Vicenza is a very important opportunity to take stock of iNEST's activities, through thematic comparisons and insights into the future scenarios that open up for the Consortium. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate that the universities in this region are able to form a close-knit, motivated and never-before-seen 'orchestra'.

M'illumino di Meno, the switch off campaign organised by Rai Radio2 through its popular show Caterpillar, has since last year become the Italian National Day of Saving Energy and Sustainable Lifestyles, celebrated every 16th February.

The name of the campaign, which literally means ‘I fill myself with less light’, evokes in the Italian reader a famous line from the poem Mattina (morning) by Giuseppe Ungaretti: M’illumino d’immenso (immensity fills me with light). In 2024, this campaign celebrates its 20th edition. This year’s theme is ‘No borders’, an invitation is to switch off borders by seeking international alliances!

UniTS joins in the campaign by involving the partner universities of Transform4Europe, the university alliance that brings together Saarland University (Germany), the University of Alicante (Spain), Estonian Academy of Arts, University of Silesia - Katowice (Poland), Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Catholic University of Portugal, University of Primorska (Slovenia) and Jean Monnet University (France).

To raise awareness of saving energy, the University main building will dim the lights illuminating its façade from the evening of 16th February and throughout the weekend.

The University of Trieste today conferred an Honorary Master's Degree in Civil Engineering to Andrea Zampa.

The degree was conferred ‘for his significant contribution provided by experimental research and in the development of modern strategies based on the use of composite materials aimed at reducing the seismic vulnerability of existing masonry buildings.’

‘The prestigious accolade from the University of Trieste goes to me, but above all it concerns an entrepreneurial reality that has done and continues to do great work with the university,’ says Andrea Zampa. ‘A commitment that transforms thought and research into patents, products, methods, and systems that have an impact on regulations and the market, creating added value and wealth for the entire country system.’ 

Andrea Zampa is founding partner, president and technical director of Fibre Net SpA and Fibre Net Holding, a group that deals with the design, development and production of products and systems in fibre-reinforced composite materials, used in the building, energy, transport and industrial sectors. Thanks to his experience in the field of composite materials, in the early 2000s he conceived and engineered an innovative Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) product that is now widely used for structural reinforcement and seismic improvement of buildings and infrastructures. During his professional career, he has collaborated in numerous research and development activities with universities, laboratories and institutes all over the world with the aim of designing new products by applying state-of-the-art technologies and solutions. Today Zampa is a board member of professional associations and working groups of the CNR (National Research Council) and RILEM (International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures).

Andrea Zampa's speech of acceptance is entitled: 'An experience in industrial research for the structural improvement of buildings: from concept to product standard'.

Present at the ceremony were Valter Sergo, Vice Rector of the University of Trieste, Paolo Gallina, Head of the Department of Engineering and Architecture, who gave the introductory speech, and Massimiliano Gei, full professor at the Department of Engineering and Architecture, who gave the laudation.