A multicentre study by the University of Trieste, conducted by Luca Cegolon (Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine) and Francesca Larese Filon (Department of Occupational Medicine), has just been published in the scientific journal Vaccines. The study examined sensitisation to Thimerosal in 31,948 patients who underwent patch testing between 1997 and 2023 for suspected allergic contact dermatitis, across four centres in the Triveneto area: Trieste, Pordenone, Padua and Trento-Bolzano.

Thimerosal (also known as Merthiolate) is a mercury-based compound consisting of ethylmercury and thiosalicylic acid. It was developed in 1927 as a preservative with antimicrobial properties and widely used from the 1930s onwards in vaccines and various medical products, including topical antiseptics, ointments, nasal sprays, eye drops, and more.

Immune-mediated reactions to mercury-containing products are well documented, the most common being allergic contact dermatitis. Thimerosal was named “Allergen of the Year” in 2002 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society, due to the high prevalence of sensitisation combined with its low clinical relevance.

Most clinically relevant allergic reactions to Thimerosal occur through exposure to cosmetics or ophthalmic preparations, often resulting in facial dermatitis. For this reason, Thimerosal sensitivity is more frequent in women, due to cosmetic use, and in occupational groups such as healthcare workers, who may be exposed through vaccination.

Concerns over potential neurological side effects of Thimerosal began to emerge in the early 1980s, leading to its removal from vaccines in Denmark (1992) and Sweden (1993). Thimerosal-containing vaccines were alleged to impair children's neurodevelopment, increasing the risk of autism, attention deficit disorder and language delay.

In 1999, several major U.S. bodies – in particular the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) – recommended that Thimerosal be removed from all vaccines as soon as possible on a precautionary basis, out of concern for exceeding the cumulative exposure limits to methylmercury set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Although no scientific evidence confirmed these concerns, both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) aligned with these recommendations. In the early 2000s, many EU member states, including Italy, removed Thimerosal from vaccines. On 24th June 2005, the Council of the European Union recommended its removal from all vaccine preparations and medicinal products, as part of the European Commission's Mercury Strategy of 28th January 2005.

As a result of these restrictive policies, both the prevalence and clinical significance of positive Thimerosal reactions in patch testing have declined sharply in Europe. For example, a European study conducted between 2015 and 2018 reported a Thimerosal patch test reaction rate of 2.5%. In the United States, however, Thimerosal sensitisation remains much higher (10–20%), likely due to its continued use as a preservative in certain vaccines, including influenza vaccines.

The University of Trieste study shows a decreasing trend in Thimerosal sensitisation, from 8.13% in 1997 to 0.95% in 2023, with an average rate of 8.41% between 1997 and 2015, and 4.01% during the period 2010–2023.

Sensitisation to Thimerosal was significantly more frequent in patients born between 1981 and 1990, when the substance was still widely used in pharmaceuticals and childhood vaccines. The higher prevalence of positive patch test reactions in healthcare workers likely reflects greater adherence to influenza vaccination in this occupational group compared to others. In fact, until at least 2008, many vaccine formulations authorised in the European Union still contained Thimerosal.

However, patch test reactions to Thimerosal detected after 2000 are likely to be of little or no clinical relevance.

The DNA of a freshwater jellyfish of non-native origin, specifically Asian (Craspedacusta sowerbii), has been detected in the underground waters of the Timavo River inside the Luftloch cave, recently discovered by the Adriatic Speleological Society.

This significant scientific discovery is the result of collaboration between the University of Trieste, the Adriatic Speleological Society (SAS), and the Trieste Civic Museum of Natural History.

The sampling and analyses were carried out by the research group coordinated by Chiara Manfrin of the Department of Life Sciences at UniTS, as part of a project aimed at monitoring biodiversity in subterranean environments through the use of environmental DNA (eDNA). This innovative technique makes it possible to detect genetic traces left by organisms in their habitat, allowing the identification of species that are not easily observed.

‘This method allows us, by filtering water, to detect genetic traces left by organisms in the surrounding environment, thus enabling the identification of species that are difficult to observe directly,’ explains Manfrin. ‘The results revealed the presence of Craspedacusta sowerbii DNA, a non-native species originating in China, harmless to humans but whose effects on Karst ecosystems are under study.’

The discovery follows on from previous observations of the jellyfish in the Slovenian section of the Reka-Timavo since 2016, conducted by the Trieste Civic Museum of Natural History and published in a scientific note by Nicola Bressi and Andrea Colla. The genetic confirmation obtained now further strengthens the hypothesis of the species’ presence in the underground waters of the Karst.

The creation of a new professional profile specialising in climate risk modelling and its correlation with financial markets is the aim of a 15-year agreement signed by the University of Trieste, Generali, and ModeFinance, a TeamSystem Group company and spin-off of the University.

The project, Climate and Financial Risk Analysis in the Market Ecosystem, will support, starting from the next academic year, the recently launched curriculum in Physics of Complex Systems, Climate and Finance within the Master’s Degree in Physics – a programme that is entirely new in the national landscape.

Thanks to the contribution of these three organisations, an additional teaching post will be created within the programme, and a doctoral scholarship in Physics on the topic will be funded. An initial chair has already been funded by the University, as it is considered strategic within the activities of the Department of Physics, recognised as a Department of Excellence.

The new lecturer will join the academic staff at UniTS, bringing innovation to the crucial area of quantitative risk assessment associated with climate change. This will make it possible to train new modelling experts capable of assessing critical issues (markets, finance, damage, floods, rainfall, etc.) linked to the rapid evolution of the climate. The collaboration between the University of Trieste and these two major business players will be further strengthened through their involvement in teaching activities with lectures and seminars, providing students with specific and practical skills, as well as in project and research activities.

The curriculum also already benefits from the active involvement of other institutions and businesses in the Trieste System, including ARPA FVG and List SpA, through various forms of collaboration in teaching.

Roberto Di Lenarda, Rector of the University of Trieste, stated:
‘The creation of this new programme is one of the brightest examples of the innovative character and alignment with labour market needs of our master’s degrees. Together with Generali, who support us in various teaching and research projects, and ModeFinance, we have succeeded in enhancing the skills offered by the Master’s Degree in Physics with an operational approach closely tied to today’s challenges. Our students will benefit from the close relationship with two top-level business partners.’

Carlo Ferraresi, Group Chief Risk Officer of Generali, commented:
‘This initiative is not simply an academic agreement, but the realisation of a shared vision: to build the skills of the future to tackle one of the most complex and urgent challenges of our time. At Generali, we want to contribute to the resilience of communities and businesses, not only through compensation but by anticipating risks, guiding behaviours, and promoting sustainability through mitigation and adaptation to climate change. This requires professionals capable of understanding the complexity of environmental, social, and financial phenomena, and that is precisely the objective of the curriculum and doctoral scholarship we are announcing today. It is no coincidence that this initiative is taking place in Trieste, a city with a world-class scientific ecosystem and home to our historic headquarters.’

Valentino Pediroda, Co-Founder and CEO of ModeFinance, a TeamSystem Group company, concluded:
‘ModeFinance was founded as a spin-off of the University of Trieste and has maintained a solid and continuous relationship with the academic world since its inception. We are particularly proud to launch this collaboration, which aims to train a new highly qualified and multidisciplinary professional profile. The integrated theoretical-practical educational path, with project and research activities, represents a concrete opportunity to respond to current and future market challenges. We believe that professionals trained through this programme will make a significant contribution to climate risk analysis and management and credit rating, in a context where sustainability and financial resilience are increasingly central and interconnected.’

PHOTO: Valentino Pediroda, Co- founder e AD Modefinance; Roberto Di Lenarda, Rettore Università di Trieste; Carlo Ferraresi, Group Chief Risk Officer Generali; Giuseppe Della Ricca, Direttore Dipartimento di Fisica UniTS.

A research team from the University of Trieste and Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital has developed an innovative strategy for preserving fertility in paediatric cancer patients. The strategy involves applying integrated bioengineering and cell therapy techniques to the autotransplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue. This procedure consists of extracting a portion of the ovary before cancer treatment, freezing it, and re-implanting it in the same patient once they have recovered.

In particular, the researchers demonstrated that adding autologous cells derived from blood vessels, isolated from the same sample, to the ovarian tissue can encourage faster revascularisation of the graft, thereby improving the supply of oxygen and nutrients. This approach could make a significant contribution to preserving fertility in affected patients.

The study is the result of collaboration with two major regional research institutions: the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), under the guidance of Prof. Serena Zacchigna (head of the Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory and a lecturer at the University of Trieste), and the international research centre Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste.

The results of the study, conducted on animal models, were published in the prestigious scientific journal Bioactive Materials.

The research group is led by Chiara Agostinis, doctor and researcher at Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital; Roberta Bulla, lecturer at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Trieste; and Giuseppe Ricci, lecturer at the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences at the University of Trieste and Director of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic at Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital.

‘This work lays the groundwork for a follow-up preclinical study,’ explains Chiara Agostinis, ‘in which we plan to explore in more depth the potential and efficacy of our experimental approach, including its possible benefits for the endocrine function of the autotransplanted ovary.’

 ‘Although international guidelines have recently upgraded this procedure from experimental to clinical,’ adds Prof. Giuseppe Ricci, ‘several aspects of the protocol still need to be optimised; this would allow more hospitals and research institutes to adopt it as part of routine clinical care. At present, in Italy, very few centres offer this treatment, making access difficult for patients.’ 

The experimental protocol was developed by Dr Mariagiulia Spazzapan as part of her PhD research and represents a significant innovation in the field of fertility preservation. Dr Lorella Pascolo, a researcher at Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital, carried out post-transplant tissue assessment using X-ray microtomography. The analyses were conducted on the SYRMEP beamline at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste by Dr Elena Longo.

Scientific research has made great strides in the treatment of paediatric cancers, which in most cases are now curable. However, the challenge remains to improve quality of life after treatment, which may involve chemotherapy or radiotherapy that can impair normal sexual development and fertility. 
In recent years, for prepubescent patients, autotransplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue has offered a tangible hope of fertility restoration. Nevertheless, this procedure still has a low success rate due to the lack of oxygen in the transplanted tissue before it becomes connected to the local blood supply. This condition causes stress that leads to the loss of many oocytes, drastically reducing the functionality of the transplanted tissue.

The success achieved by the research team in Trieste offers promising prospects for the development of new clinical solutions capable of giving young cancer patients a better long-term outlook for their health and fertility.

The study was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health (projects RC 23/18 and 20/23 Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital), the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) – Next Generation EU (CUP J53D23001020006 assigned to RB), and the PON Research and Innovation programme, REACT EU 2014–2020.

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Full study published in Bioactive Materials

Endothelial cell supplementation promotes xenograft revascularization during short-term ovarian tissue transplantation

Mariagiulia Spazzapana, Silvia Pegorarob, Roman Vuericha,c, Gabriella Zitob, Andrea Balduitb, Elena Longod, Lorella Pascolob, Miriam Toffolie, Giorgia Meshinie, Alessandro Mangognab, Gloria Rosf, Francesca Buonomob, Federico Romanob, Letizia Lombardellig, Giovanni Papae, Marie-Pierre Piccinnig, Serena Zacchignac,e, Chiara Agostinisb,*, Roberta Bullaa,1, Giuseppe Riccib,e,1.

1. Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
2. Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Burlo Garofolo Research Hospital, Trieste, Italy
3. Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy
4. Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA, Basovizza, Trieste, 34149, Italy
5. Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
6. Central RNA Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy

UniTS, together with the Municipality of Trieste, is the organiser of Bloomsday 2025 - A celebration of Joyce, scheduled from 13th to 16th June.

The organising committee includes professors Laura Pelaschiar, lecturer of English Literature, and Paolo Quazzolo, lecturer of the History of Theatre.

Each year, the festival focuses on a part of Ulysses, which the University dramatises in collaboration with the Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia. 

This year's show, entitled Eumaeus. Ovvero: misteri, marinai, tatuaggi e tazze di caffè (Eumaeus: mysteries, sailors, tattoos and cups of coffee), will be held in the Sala Bartoli on Sunday 15th June at 9:00, with a repeat performance on Monday 16th at 19:00. The cast includes actors from the Compagnia del Teatro Stabile: Riccardo Maranzana, Francesco Godina and Emanuele Fortunati. They will be joined by students from the DiSU Department and the authors of the text, Pelaschiar and Quazzolo. 

The theme of the sixteenth edition of the Bloomsday festival is Eumaeus. The Shelter, the sixteenth chapter of James Joyce's novel Ulysses. 

As is now tradition, the festival includes a series of events such as animations, exhibitions, shows, concerts, food events, guided tours, conferences and book presentations, including the new Forse che sì. Joyce fra Pascoli e Gadda (Maybe so. Joyce between Pascoli and Gadda) by Andrea Cortellessa, guest of honour at the Festival.

The 2025 edition of the event will have a new venue: the LETS - Letteratura Trieste museum, in Piazza Hortis, the Joyce Museum’s new premises. Without abandoning its nomadic nature, this year the festival will take shelter in the Forum room of the LETS Museum, where most of the activities will take place and where the exhibition of ink and watercolour works Pigment and Parable. Eumeo - Il rifugio by Croatian illustrator Tea Jurišić will also be open to visitors (free admission until 15th September). This is accompanied by an exhibition of figurative works by Frank Ritmeester inspired by Joyce's work, on display at the Antico Caffè San Marco. The artistically inspired events are rounded off with the Poppysmic plopslop collage workshop, based on Joyce's onomatopoeia, curated by Susan Petri.

As always, the programme is a dense interweaving of new features and returning favourites. Once again the festival will feature some of the traditional events such as the Eumeo in mezz'oravademecum, an introduction to this year’s theme conducted by Laura Pelaschiar, the immersive breakfasts animated by the dialect theatre company L'Armonia, the walking tours of the literary city led by Riccardo Cepach and the tour of Joycean places curated by Francesca Scarpato and Paolo Quazzolo. 

Bloomsday is organised by the Joyce Museum, managed by the Municipality of Trieste in collaboration with the Department of Humanities at the University of Trieste, with the support of the Regional Tourism Promotion Office and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Administrative management: Gloria Deotto and Paolo Quazzolo

Scientific management: Laura Pelaschiar

Artistic management: Riccardo Cepach

 

Discover the Bloomsday 2025 programme https://lets.trieste.it/bloomsday-2025/

The Mediterranean in the post-American era, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor renamed the New Cotton Route, the integration of the Western Balkans, and the dialogue between AI and Space are just some of the topics of the 2025 edition of GeoAdriatico, the international geopolitics symposium scheduled for 12th-15th June in Trieste.

GeoAdriatico, promoted by Vitale Onlus  in partnership with the University of Trieste, will also explore topics related to scientific research in the global data society, the G20 as a platform for cooperation on transport, port infrastructure and the sea, as well as issues related to tariffs, trade wars and the protection of the planet.

‘In an area deeply influenced by the development geopolitical relations, the environmental emergency and the data revolution, it is essential that scientific research, diplomacy and business come together to guide global processes towards common goals,’ says Rector Roberto Di Lenarda. ‘In an uncertain and complex international landscape, GeoAdriatico represents an opportunity for the University of Trieste to contribute to building dialogue between worlds that are only seemingly distant. Only through cooperation,’ concludes Di Lenarda, ’can we come up with effective solutions for the great developments of our time.’

In a social context in which there are 56 wars involving over 90 countries worldwide, international relations must play a crucial role in promoting peace, which is one of the priorities of GeoAdriatico. The event is sponsored, among others, by the Italian Senate, the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.

‘International relations, in a complex world in conflict, are an effective tool for dialogue for peace,’ says Roberto Vitale, president of GeoAdriatico and Vitale Onlus and creator of the international symposium. The city of Trieste is a multicultural melting pot which, given its central position in the new geopolitical arena, must become a centre of multireligious dialogue in which to develop strategies for war prevention and conflict resolution.’

The opening ceremony of GeoAdriatico will take place on Thursday 12th June at 10:00 in the reception hall of the MIB Trieste School of Management, and will also feature speeches by Maria Tripodi, Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dario Giacomin, military representative of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, Nicola Casagli, president of the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), and Vittorio Torbianelli, special commissioner of the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea.

On the same day at 15:00 in the reception hall of the General Secretariat of the CEE (Central European Initiative) there will be a discussion on economics and finance for the revival and integration of the Western Balkans, with the participation from Marco Alberti, Italian Ambassador to Albania, Luca Gori, Italian Ambassador to Serbia, Gabriele Bellon, Director General of BCC Venezia Giulia, Salvatore La Rosa, Head of Research and Innovation at Area Science Park, Nicola Polato, Head of the North-East section of SIMEST, Tatjana Rojc, member of the European Union Policy Committee of the Italian Senate, and Gregor Šuc, Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia, moderated by Stefano Polli, Deputy Director of the ANSA Press Agency.

Among the 70+ participants of GeoAdriatico representing 20 countries will be Massimo Gallo, director of the Trieste branch of the Bank of Italy, Tullio Gregori, professor of Finance at the University of Trieste, Luigi Matarazzo, general manager of Fincantieri's Merchant Ships Division, and Stefano Pilotto, professor of International Relations at MIB Trieste School of Management.         

The second day, Friday 13th June, will open in the Reception Hall of the Palazzo della Regione (Regional Government Building), which will host a round table discussion aimed at framing Trieste's role as the arrival point of the East India Corridor. The meeting, which will be opened by Alessia Rosolen, Regional Councillor for Labour, Training, Education, Research, Universities and Family, will feature contributions from Pierpaolo Ribuffo, coordinator of the Maritime Policy Unit of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Antonio Bartoli, Italian Ambassador to India, Federico Donelli, professor of International Relations at the University of Trieste, Antonio Gurrieri, Secretary General of the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea, and Damir Murkovic, President of the Chambers of Commerce of Central and Eastern Europe. Reservation is mandatory for participation in this round table, and can be made via email to segreteria@vitaleonlus.it by Tuesday 10th June.

GeoAdriatico, which is partnered with the ANSA press agency, will continue at the Area Science Park Conference Centre. On Friday afternoon at15:00, research on the era of global data will be introduced by Caterina Petrillo, president of Area Science Park. The discussion will be led by Denise Amram, lawyer and professor of comparative private law at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Stefano Cozzini, director of the Area Science Park Research Institute for Technological Innovation, Giorgia Lodi, technologist at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Giorgio Rossi, professor of physics at the University of Milan, and Paolo Valenti, research director at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics. The discussion will be moderated by Francesca Iannelli, spokesperson for the president of Area Science Park. 

This will be followed by a discussion on Space and Artificial Intelligence with Anna Gregorio Michelazzi, astrophysicist at the University of Trieste, in the Desiata room of the Camera di Commercio Venezia Giulia (Venezia Giulia Chamber of Commerce), a partner of the conference. After an opening speech by Giorgio Marrapodi, Italian ambassador to Turkey, there will be presentations by Maria Angelucci, business developer at WSense, Sylvio Barbon Junior, head of the Machine Learning Lab (DIA) at the University of Trieste, Giuseppe Coronella, CEO of Mare FVG, Beatrice Manassero, from the Space and Scientific Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Milena Menna, oceanographer and physicist at the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), Fabrizio Rovatti, project manager at Area Science Park, Vincenzo Vitale, maritime director of the Marche region and commander of the Port Authority of Ancona, and Marco Brancati, technical director of Telespazio, a company owned by Leonardo.

Saturday 14th June will begin at 9:30 in the Sala Rossa of the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea with a lecture by Roberto Danovaro, the world's leading expert on seas and oceans. The lecture is aimed at students from the Sustainable Blue Growth master's programme, which is directed by Mounir Ghribi, who, in turn, will talk about the sea as an essential element for the future of societies. 

At 10:00, the concluding round table will take place in the Sala del Mare of the Port Authority of Trieste, dedicated to the climate crisis, women and human rights. Speakers, moderated by Marcelo Knobel, Executive Director of TWAS, will include Max Paoli, coordinator of TWAS UNESCO programme (Academy of Sciences for the Developing World), Maria Cristina Fossi, professor of Ecology and Ecotoxicology at the University of Siena, who was the world’s first scientist to provide evidence of the effects of plastic on whales, Stella Koutika, from the Centre for Research on the Sustainability and Productivity of Industrial Plantations in Congo, Antonio Navarra, president of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change, Sara Nowreen, researcher at the Institute of Water and Flood Management in Bangladesh, and Vania Torrez, from the Institute of Ecology at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in Bolivia.

In 2025, the University of Trieste is still one of the most reputable and dynamic Italian academic institutions, combining quality of education, international openness and concrete employment prospects for its graduates. 

The 27th AlmaLaurea Report attests to this, a report analysing the performance of students who graduated in 2024. 

The University of Trieste stands out in terms of employment rates, with results above the national and regional averages. One year after graduation, 84.8% of bachelor’s degree graduates who have not continued their studies are employed, compared to 78.6% as the national average and 84.6% in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The net monthly salary is €1,522, higher than both the national average (€1,492) and the regional average (€1,497).

The situation is particularly positive for master's degree graduates, who are reported as having significantly higher average salaries and rates of employment, especially compared to the national average. One year after graduation, the graduate employment rate is 86.9% (78.6% nationally), with an average net monthly salary of €1,607 (€1,488 in Italy). Five years after graduation, employment reaches 93.0%, exceeding the regional and national figures (92.7% and 89.7% respectively), while the average monthly salary reaches €1, 988 euros (1,923 in FVG, 1,847 in Italy), with peaks of 2,014 euros among two-year master's degree graduates and 1,949 euros among integrated master’s degree graduates.

The data of UniTS graduates paints a picture of a university capable of attracting students from beyond regional and national borders. In fact, 41.5% of graduates come from outside the region, compared to a regional average of 33.8% and a national average of 24.5%, while 4.8% are foreign nationals (3.6% is the regional average). This is even more prevalent in two-year master's degree courses, where 47.9% of students come from other regions and 6% from other countries.

The quality of the education offered by UniTS is also reflected in the widespread use of curricular internships, which are provided for and recognised by the degree programmes. This has benefited 62.9% of graduates (compared to 61% nationally), with participation reaching 75.8% among master's degree students and 87.6% if experiences during their bachelor’s degree are included.

The data on international mobility is also excellent: 13.2% of graduates participated in a study abroad experience recognised by their degree programme, which is higher than both the national and regional averages (10.3% and 12.1% respectively). The figure is 13.2% among three-year graduates and 13% among master's degree graduates, rising to 18.7% if experiences gained during their bachelor’s degree are also included.

Finally, students confirm the high quality of the academic experience in Trieste: 88.7% say they are overall satisfied with their university experience, with very positive evaluations of their relationships with teachers (87%), workload (79.6%) and teaching facilities (84.7%).

The 27th AlmaLaurea Report analysed the performance of over 305,000 graduates in 2024 from 80 Italian universities, including 3,226 from the University of Trieste: 1,842 bachelor’s degrees, 979 master's degrees and 405 integrated master’s degrees.

The UniTS Audace Sailing Team’s new boat is in the water! BAI - Flax Bandit was launched at the Yacht Club Adriaco in Trieste, ready to debut on 16th June at the student sailing competition SuMoth Challenge in Malcesine. 

The name of the new foiling moth, a small regatta boat that ‘flies’ over the water, is a word play on Red Bandit, the German competition yacht that is the protagonist of all the most important international competitions. ‘Flax’ in English means linen, the main material used for the construction of the hull, designed and built by the UniTS student sailing team. BAI, on the other hand, is the main sponsor of Audace. 

The use of high-performance flax fibre is the trademark of the Audace fleet, optimising efficiency and environmental sustainability. Along the same lines, resins are also used and obtained from a mixture 30% derived from cashews. 

The special feature of BAI – Flax Bandit is the use of basalt fibre skins to reinforce the internal structure of the hull and deck and optimise performance. 

Another innovation is the sail, made with a more modern and high-performing design than the previous versions, and produced by recovering waste material from other sails. 

The foils are the highlight of the boat, since the water-soaked wings allow the craft to fly. They are subject to extreme stress, and for this reason they have to be made from carbon fibre. Less environmentally friendly than linen and basalt, use of this material is limited to the foils, where it is layered with linen skins. 

The University’s new Art Gallery boasts around one hundred artworks, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and photographs by artists such as Tullio Vietri, Giovanni Pulze, Arturo Rietti, Marcello Mascherini, Twombly Cy, Serse Roma and Giacinto Cerone, donated to the University thanks to the initiative ‘A Trieste mi piaceva tornare: doni arte per il Centenario dell'Università’ (I liked coming back to Trieste: gifts of art for the University's centenary).

Special mention should go to the ten works of contemporary art, mixed media and installations, created as part of the #SBLAD – Shine Bright Like A Diamond, Residenze d’artista (Artist Residencies).

The new exhibition space, which will in the future also be open to the whole city and not only to students and the university community, is the result of the artistic projects organized for UniTS’ centenary.

It was, in fact, the University Museum Services (smaTs) that wanted to create a new centenary collection through the Donors ’24 project that was connected to the famous 1953-1954 Art Exhibition held at the University of Trieste.

Many artists and collectors expressed their willingness to donate one or more works to commemorate the University's centenary, a selection of which was already exhibited in summer 2024 at the centenary exhibition held at the Pomis Bastion of San Giusto Castle.

In continuity with that initiative and almost serving as a seal for the entire centenary, the University of Trieste has now committed itself to enhancing the significant artistic heritage donated to the University.

So that generosity of artists and donors could live on and be shared, a suitable space was found to preserve and exhibit the donated works. In this way the University’s cultural heritage shall be conserved, enjoyed and transmitted to future generations. This is why the University of Trieste Art Gallery was created in the humanities section of UniTS library.

The Art Gallery will be a permanent place for reflection on the relationship and mutual interaction between universities, art, culture and society. It will be a place that will allow visitors to appreciate the complexity of contemporary art, to identify the works that most move them and that best narrate both the major challenges and the opportunities arising from the rapid and profound cultural changes of our day.

The publication of the Donors Catalogue ’24 accompanies and illustrates the inauguration of the University of Trieste Art Gallery.

The opening was attended by: the Rector, Roberto Di Lenarda; the Head of the Department of Humanities, Massimo Degrassi; Francesca Fiorentini (smaTs Coordinator) and Bruno Callegher (smaTs staff member); Ilaria Garofolo, former Deputy Rector for Energy and Building management, Anna del Bianco, FVG Director for Culture and Sport; Lorenzo Michelli, curator of the installation of the Art Gallery.
 

Scientists from the Muon g-2 experiment, hosted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and involving a broad international collaboration, including numerous researchers from Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), have announced their third and final measurement of the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment. This result is consistent with those published in 2021 and 2023 but achieves significantly greater precision: 127 parts per billion, surpassing the original experimental design goal of 140 parts per billion.

Muons, the focus of the Muon g-2 experiment, are fundamental particles similar to electrons but approximately 200 times more massive. Like electrons, they possess a quantum property called ‘spin,’ which endows them with a magnetic moment, making them behave like tiny magnets. When exposed to an external magnetic field, muons undergo a rotational motion known as precession, akin to the wobble of a spinning top tilted relative to a vertical axis. The precession frequency in a magnetic field depends on the muon’s properties, described by a number called the ‘g-factor.’ Nearly a century ago, theoretical physicists predicted a g-factor value of 2 based on the Standard Model of particle physics. However, experimental measurements soon revealed that g slightly exceeds 2 due to a quantity known as the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment (a_μ), calculated as (g−2)/2.

Measuring this anomaly with the highest possible precision is the objective of the Muon g-2 experiment, which derives its name from the formula (g−2)/2.

The Muon g-2 collaboration comprises 179 scientists from 37 institutions across seven countries. The Italian INFN group has been actively involved since the experiment’s inception, playing leading roles and contributing significantly to its success. They designed and implemented two systems that substantially reduced the overall uncertainty in measuring the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment: an absolute laser calibration system for the calorimeters used in energy measurements, and a high-sensitivity optical magnetometer for detecting magnetic transients. Additionally, they played a crucial role in the extensive data analysis efforts leading to the final result.

‘Thanks to the deployment and synergy of diverse expertise, from optics and laser specialists to computing and data analysis experts, the Italian INFN group was critically important to the success of the measurement,’ concludes Giovanni Cantatore, physicist at UniTS and the INFN Trieste Section, and leader of the Italian Muon g-2 team.

The muon’s anomalous magnetic moment is influenced by all particles within the Standard Model. A discrepancy between experimental results and theoretical predictions, as observed in the past, could indicate the presence of physical processes not accounted for in the current theoretical framework, suggesting the need to revise or even extend the Standard Model. Accordingly, the international Muon g-2 Theory Initiative has worked in parallel with the experimental group to refine theoretical calculations. In addition to techniques based on data from various experiments, which previously yielded values in tension with those from Fermilab, a computational approach leveraging high-performance computing has recently been adopted. This method has produced a theoretical prediction closer to the experimental measurement, though not yet fully aligned with it.

While the primary analysis of the Muon g-2 experiment has concluded, the extensive dataset collected over the past six years offers opportunities for further exploration. In the future, the collaboration plans to measure another muon property known as the electric dipole moment and to test a fundamental symmetry in physical laws known as CPT symmetry (charge, parity, and time reversal).