UniTS, which coordinates the activities of Spoke 8 of the iNEST (Interconnected North-East) Innovation Ecosystem, is organising, as part of the Ecomondo 2025 fair in Rimini, on 5th November (from 10:30), a workshop focused on the project and public-private collaborations towards digital twins in the (northern) Adriatic Sea.

"This project is dedicated to the development of sustainable technologies and solutions for the marine environment, mobility by sea and inland waterways and the digital transformation of companies in the sector.’ – explains prof. Pierluigi Barbieri, iNEST Coordinator for the University of Trieste – ‘The strategic objective of the project is developing data acquisition models and systems, software, and user interfaces, necessary for the creation of the Digital Twin of the Upper Adriatic, an advanced digital model of the marine-coastal system that will make it possible to improve monitoring, planning and management of maritime resources and activities, in line with the European mission Restore our Ocean and Waters".

Between 2023 and 2024, the University of Trieste applied to several calls under Spoke 8 to finance 24 industrial research and development projects, funding €5,559,535.95 (granted from the NextGenerationEU funds of the Recovery and Resilience Facility). Forty-four companies (30 from Triveneto and 14 from Mezzogiorno) and 9 research institutions have benefited from this co-financing, for projects with a total value of €7,790,800.90. Six companies are classified by turnover and number of employees as ‘large enterprises’. The universities and research institutions involved in these calls are 9, all from Southern Italy.

Spoke 8 activities are divided into five thematic areas: Hydrosphere biology – new systems for biomonitoring and restoration of marine habitats; Chemical and physical risks and impacts on the hydrosphere – innovative technologies for contaminant control and water management; Sustainable mobility by sea and inland waters – prototypes and charging systems for electric navigation; Integrated maritime and territorial land-sea planning – smart solutions for climate change adaptation; Digital Twin of the Northern Adriatic – digital models and infrastructures for the simulation of meteorological and environmental scenarios.

"With these projects – concludes prof. Pierluigi Barbieri – we are networking companies and research centres to promote innovation, sustainability and industrial competitiveness, contributing to the development of the Blue Economy in the North-East and in the whole country. The workshop will include a discussion, mediated by the Alto Adriatico Technological Pole, with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, and with institutons and companies on the Adriatic coast - Marche and Puglia in particular - in the think tank ‘The Blue Way’, to develop mutual knowledge and outline innovation projects guided by territorial research and development".

THE PROGRAMME:

Workshop ‘iNEST Innovation Ecosystem and public-private collaborations towards digital twins in the (northern) Adriatic Sea’

10:30 Introduction:

Pierluigi Barbieri, iNEST Coordinator, University of Trieste: ‘The iNEST Ecosystem and Research-driven innovation in the Blue Economy: where we are today’

Diego Santaliana, Alto Adriatico Technological Hub – ‘Building relations between research organisations and businesses at the Innovation Melting Pot-Urban Center in Trieste and grounding strategic projects’

Maria Cristina Pedicchio, President of APRE, KIC OneWater proposal ‘Making the Oceans Mission in the Adriatic macro-region concrete’

Salvatore Dore, Technology transfer and partnerships, University of Trieste ‘Technological transfer at the University of Trieste and responses to the challenges of the business system’

10:50 Contributions from Spoke 8 of the iNEST Innovation Ecosystem:

Stefano Querin OGS – Luca Manzoni UniTS – iNEST Spoke 8 Research Topic 5: ‘The contributions of research organisations and companies to the creation of digital twins in the Northern Adriatic’

Ludovico Centis iNEST Spoke 8 Research Topic 4: ‘Integration of information and planning in changing coastal systems’

11:10 Flash presentations: Results of the Waterfall Calls and the CC2 Proof of Concept call (Alessandra Citterio-DBA Group, Giuseppe Borruso-GEP Lab UniTS, BaC winners).

11:30 Giulia Carboni - Programme Coordination Manager for Sustainable Blue Economy at CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency - ‘EU Key perspectives in sustainable innovation’

11:45 Roundtable ’The Blue Way Think Tank. Climate, infrastructure, environment: shared energy and projects in the Adriatic area’: Barbieri (UniTS), Santaliana (PoloAA), Querin (OGS), Alberto Monachesi (Typicality in Blue); Q&A.

12:30 Closing of the workshop

Project ‘iNEST Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem’, ECS_00000043, is part of the research programme for the innovation ecosystem from the resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), M4C2 – Investment 1.5 Creation and strengthening of ‘Innovation Ecosystems for Sustainability’, funded by the European Union, NextGenerationEU – CUP J43C22000320006.

From 1st November, the University of Trieste will launch three new specialisation schools, offering training for future allergists and clinical immunologists, pathologists and vascular surgeons.

Thanks to this further expansion of the University course catalogue, the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences (DSM) at UniTS is offering 32 medical specialisation schools this year, the highest number ever. The Department will welcome up to 254 new specialty trainees, thanks to grants funded by the Ministry of University and Research and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.

The three new postgraduate courses reflect the University’s strong growth trend, as has been seen in the creation of schools of haematology, microbiology and virology (for non-physicians) over the last two years. The University’s investment in these schools aims to expand the areas of specialisation in sectors crucial to citizens' health and respond to the needs of the healthcare system.

Medical specialisation schools are postgraduate training courses for graduates in Medicine and Surgery. Courses last four or five years (depending on the area of specialisation) and are accessed through a national competition. The specialisations offered, to name but a few, range from general surgery to neurology, from urology to gynaecology, from orthopaedics to internal medicine and palliative care. There are also active and highly attractive courses for training cardiologists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists and pulmonologists.

In addition to the medical schools, the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences also offers courses in healthcare and dentistry. Within the field of healthcare, three schools (Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical Genetics, and Microbiology and Virology) offer courses that run parallel to those offered within the field of medicine, but these healthcare specialisation schools are reserved for graduates with master's degrees in biology and pharmacology. The University also offers all three dental schools provided for by Italian law, reserved for graduates in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics, who can specialise in oral surgery, paediatric dentistry and orthodontics. 

The regulations governing specialisation schools in the health and dentistry fields are currently undergoing a review, which for the first time provides for a limited number of scholarships for enrolled students, while maintaining admission selections at university level. The implementing decrees are currently being finalised and will soon allow the courses to start and UniTS will be able to welcome an additional 34 specialisation students. 

The same review phase also affects Neuropsychology, the University of Trieste’s 39th school.  This school is the only one to sit outside medicine and is also the only one affiliated with the Department of Life Sciences. The School of Neuropsychology expects to welcome six specialisation students. 

‘The training of specialists,’ says Luigi Murena, Head of the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences at UniTS, ‘is essential for the sustainability of the healthcare system and for responding to the health needs of citizens. Our department is committed to supporting the expansion of the course catalogue, which has reached a record number of 38 schools, to ensuring high-quality training and to fulfilling significant organisational and administrative responsibilities. Specialisation schools allow us to train young professionals in the health field who will be at the forefront of the transformations and great opportunities offered by the application of new technologies and the results of research in clinical practice.’ 

The new Specialisation Schools in detail

Allergology and Clinical Immunology (director Prof. Giacomo Emmi)    
The Specialisation School in Allergology and Clinical Immunology is a brand-new addition to Trieste and the entire region. The four-year course offers comprehensive training in paediatric and adult immuno-allergology, integrating clinical activities in internal medicine, allergology, immunology and rheumatology with solid laboratory training. The School responds to a healthcare need given the shortage of specialists and aims to produce professionals with up-to-date and cross-disciplinary skills. The goal is to effectively address the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with allergies, immunodeficiencies, autoimmune and rare diseases, while promoting excellence in training and within the healthcare network.

Vascular Surgery (director Prof. Sandro Lepidi)         
The School of Specialisation in Vascular Surgery is reopening in Trieste after 17 years, offering a unique training opportunity in the region. The course is dedicated to young doctors who wish to specialise in the treatment of vascular diseases, both arterial and venous, from a diagnostic, pharmacological and surgical point of view. The training covers both traditional surgery and the use of sophisticated minimally invasive endovascular techniques. Specialty trainees will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, such as the University's new Simulation Centre and the ‘hybrid’ operating theatre for vascular surgery, where high-precision procedures can take place. Trainees in this school will also benefit from training and research conducted in collaboration with national and international centres of excellence.

Pathological Anatomy (director Prof. Fabrizio Zanconati)    
The School of Specialisation in Pathological Anatomy is returning to Trieste after being run jointly with the University of Udine since 2008, reviving a tradition that dates back to the early 1970s. The aim is to capitalise on recent technological innovations, in particular ‘digital pathology’ with computer-assisted analysis of specimens and molecular pathological diagnostics applied to oncology. These technologies will improve the selection of patients eligible for personalised therapies. Specialty trainees will be able to carry out their training and thesis activities in the fields of oncology, cytodiagnostics and screening. The School will collaborate with regional centres of excellence and participate in international networks, such as the European Advanced Master in Molecular Pathology.

A Palestinian student, Ameer Alzerei, winner of the IUPALS – Italian Universities for Palestinian Students scholarship funded by UniTS, is on his way to Trieste.

Roberta Altin, the Rector’s Delegate for Development Cooperation, speaking from Milan airport where she welcomed the student who had departed from Amman (Jordan), commented: “With this initiative, the University of Trieste wishes to show its support for students and for the Palestinian population who in recent months have been facing extreme and unacceptable hardships. Both schools and universities have been destroyed, and as an Italian university network we are working to uphold the right to education for young Palestinian women and men.”

The IUPALS programme is an initiative conceived and promoted by CRUI – the Conference of Italian University Rectors. It will award 97 scholarships across 35 Italian universities to students from the Palestinian Territories so they can benefit from an international education by accessing academic programmes in Italy.

Most of the students are arriving in Italy over these hours and are making their way to the various university campuses that have offered their support.

The project—developed in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Universities and Research, and the Consulate General of Italy in Jerusalem—has also relied on crucial collaboration from the Guardia di Finanza, the Civil Protection and the European Civil Protection Mechanism, the Consulate General of Italy in Jerusalem, the Embassy of Italy in Jordan, the Crisis Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Terra Sancta Schools, and the Giovanni Paolo II Foundation.

The possibility of opening a corridor for students and scholars from Gaza has been a hard‑won achievement, since until now leaving the Gaza Strip had been permitted only for medical reasons or family reunification. The arrival of this first student was coordinated by the Development Cooperation Staff Unit in synergy with the Delegate for Mobility and International Relations, Prof. Elisabetta De Giorgi.

‘The European Convention on Human Rights in the dialogue between supranational and national courts’ was the theme at the heart of the inaugural conference of the Master's Degree in Law at the University of Trieste for the academic year 2025-2026. 

The event, which took place in the Main Hall of Building A in Piazzale Europa, was organised by the Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Sciences (IUSLIT) in collaboration with the Advanced School of Magistracy (SSM) and was attended by guests of the highest academic and professional standing.

Welcoming addresses were given by the Rector, Donata Vianelli, and the Master's Degree Programme Coordinator, Nicola Muffato. Rector Vianelli highlighted the programme's excellent placement results, which ranked second in Italy in terms of graduate employment rates, according to recent reports in the national press based on AlmaLaurea data.

Gloria Carlesso, Judge of the Court of Trieste and SSM contact point for training, opened the seminar by recalling two important anniversaries: 25 years since the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Nice, 2000) and 75 years since the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in Rome in 1950. Carlesso emphasised the need to reflect on the weight of words such as freedom and dignity, planted as ‘seeds’ in the post-war period, and illustrated the coexistence of three systems for safeguarding fundamental rights: the Italian Constitution (Italian Constitutional Court), the ECHR (Strasbourg Court) and the Charter of the European Union (Court of Justice).

Next, the Head of the IUSLIT Department, Gian Paolo Dolso, highlighted the complex and interdisciplinary nature of legal phenomena. Dolso highlighted the importance of the supranational level, which intersects with the national level, citing Article 117(1) of the Italian Constitution (amended in 2001), which binds legislative power to international obligations, including the ECHR.

The heart of the conference then focused on the speeches of three distinguished guests.

Raffaele Sabato, Judge for Italy at the European Court of Human Rights, gave a presentation on ‘The origin, interpretation and effectiveness of ECHR rules’. Sabato retraced the establishment of the Council of Europe after the Second World War, with the aim of subjecting respect for fundamental human values to international supervision. The Judge then analysed the mechanisms for applying the Convention, in particular the principle of subsidiarity, which requires the exhaustion of domestic appeals before appealing to Strasbourg. He discussed the doctrine of the ‘living instrument’ (which evolves according to European consensus), the doctrine of ‘autonomous concepts’ (to avoid ‘label fraud’ by states) and the importance of precedent (typical of Anglo-Saxon law) in the application of the ECHR. Finally, he provided data on the Court's pending cases, noting that Italy, despite being in seventh place among the Court's major ‘clients’ as of September 2025, has recurring violations in the area of property protection (Article 1, Protocol 1) and non-execution of final judgments, as in cases of municipal bankruptcy.

Pietro Franzina, full professor of international law at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, discussed ‘Human rights in the process of European integration, between the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union’. Franzina reconstructed the historical evolution of integration, which began without explicit references to fundamental rights in the original treaties. He highlighted how the Court of Justice was the first to intervene, developing fundamental rights as general principles of Community law based on ‘common constitutional traditions’. The professor clarified that the Charter of Nice (2000), although it now has the same legal value as the Treaties, applies to Member States only when they implement Union law. Franzina touched on the issue of the failure to complete the EU's ongoing programme of accession to the ECHR and concluded with the concrete example of the Directive on SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), which aims to combat intimidating legal actions against journalists and activists, defending freedom of expression.

Finally, Nicola Lupo, full professor of constitutional law at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, analysed ‘The European Convention on Human Rights and the Italian Constitution’. Lupo urged that the role of the legislator, whose work is made extremely complex by the international and supranational regulatory framework, should not be undermined. He warned against viewing the dialogue between the courts as a struggle, arguing that relations are predominantly collaborative, even in cases of known conflict (such as the Taricco case). The professor lamented Italy's failure to ratify Protocol No 16 of the ECHR, which would allow higher national courts to refer questions to the Strasbourg Court for a preliminary ruling, calling it a ‘missed opportunity’. In closing, Lupo described the Italian Constitution as a ‘triangular constitution’, constantly evolving and supplemented by interpretation in accordance with EU law and the ECHR.

A study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology clarifies, through clinical, tissue and laboratory data, why the risk of cardiovascular events is so high in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The research was carried out in collaboration between Giacomo Emmi, immunologist and Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Trieste, and the research teams of Matteo Becatti, Claudia Fiorillo and Domenico Prisco at the University of Florence.

SLE is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect several organs. In Italy it affects more than 60,000 people, mostly women of childbearing age. For those affected, the risk of arterial and venous thrombosis can be two to ten times higher than in the general population. The underlying cause is not limited to cholesterol or blood pressure, but primarily linked to the chronic inflammation characteristic of the disease.

At the centre of this process is oxidative stress, the imbalance between oxidising substances produced by our cells and the antioxidant defences that should neutralise them. In SLE patients, certain immune cells – neutrophils – are abnormally active and fuel this imbalance. In such an oxidative environment, fibrinogen, the protein forming the network of the blood clot, behaves differently: the fibres become denser and less permeable, and the clots harder to dissolve. This mechanism directly connects inflammation to thrombotic risk.

The study involved 144 adult SLE patients and 90 healthy controls. Blood analyses documented higher oxidative stress in patients and its correlation with disease activity. Tissue observations confirmed the picture: in renal biopsies from individuals with active lupus nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), the same mechanism was evident precisely where inflammation was most intense, demonstrating that it is not only a circulating phenomenon but also causes damage at the organ level.

To confirm the causal link, the team reproduced the phenomenon in the laboratory. When fibrinogen was exposed to an oxidative environment, the clots became more compact and resistant; when a reference antioxidant was added, the effect disappeared. The sequence is thus clear: more inflammation → more oxidative stress → altered fibrinogen → clots harder to dissolve.

‘These results provide a deeper understanding of the connection between autoimmune disease and cardiovascular complications,’ says Professor Giacomo Emmi, who teaches at the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences of the University of Trieste and is Head of the Clinical Medicine Unit and Scientific Coordinator of the local health authority (ASUGI).

‘Oxidative stress,’ explains Emmi, ‘emerges as a new potential therapeutic target. Alongside the management of traditional risk factors and disease activity, future therapies could aim to modulate these oxidative circuits to more effectively protect the heart and blood vessels of patients with lupus.’

Reference: ROS-induced modifications of fibrin clots connect immune responses to atherothrombosis in systemic lupus erythematosus, in Arthritis & Rheumatology. DOI: 10.1002/art.43371.

On 10th October, the University of Trieste joins the World Mental Health Day, promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). The 2025 edition focuses on mental health in humanitarian emergencies and, in particular, on access to services for people affected by crises and disasters.

According to the latest WHO data, almost one in seven people worldwide (around 1.1 billion) live with a mental disorder. Anxiety and depression are among the most common diagnoses. Despite the existence of effective prevention and treatment interventions, many people still do not receive adequate support and face stigma and discrimination. In this context, the University of Trieste reaffirms its commitment to promoting awareness, equitable access and early prevention.

The University’s contribution
To mark the Day, on Thursday 10th October in Pordenone, the Regional Congress of the Italian Society of Psychiatry – Friuli Venezia Giulia Section (SIP) will take place, focusing on the relationship between mental illness and addiction. The University of Trieste will be represented by Umberto Albert, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Head of the Psychiatric Clinic of the local health authority ASUGI, and regional president of SIP.

‘The frequent comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and addiction is of growing importance, particularly among young people,’ explains Albert, who teaches in the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences. ‘The onset of psychiatric disorders, their clinical presentation and treatment outcomes can be profoundly influenced by substance use, including new psychoactive substances. For this reason, mental health and addiction professionals are called to adopt integrated and coordinated care models based on the concept of dual diagnosis, thereby overcoming the traditional separation between pathways and services.’

The University of Trieste hosted the presentation of the results of 3FiRES – Research on BIPV Photovoltaic Façades for Fire Spread Mechanisms, Structural Failures and Resilience Improvement Methodologies, a project carried out by the University of Trieste in partnership with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

3FiRES is one of ten major projects selected under the Executive Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Italy and China, a bilateral initiative co‑funded by MAECI and MOST.

The two‑year collaboration, with total funding of €500,000, was coordinated by Prof. Chiara Bedon (UniTS) and Prof. Yu Wang (USTC).

Within the thematic area “Green Energy and related research”, 3FiRES investigated—through analytical, numerical and experimental methods—the behaviour of Building‑Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) façades subjected to extreme and accidental actions, in particular fire. These innovative electricity‑generating systems make a significant contribution to the sustainability of green buildings while being required to guarantee appropriate structural and architectural performance even under limiting conditions.

At the University of Trieste, the study brought together a multidisciplinary team from the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA), combining civil, electrical and architectural engineering expertise, with the involvement of Alessandro Massi Pavan, Vanni Lughi, Luca Cozzarini, Marco Fasan, and Adriano Venudo, alongside several early‑career researchers.

The activities included extensive experimental campaigns conducted in the DIA laboratories in Trieste and—above all—at the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (USTC) in Hefei and the Fire Laboratory of the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG) in Logatec. The datasets enabled the development and refinement of finite‑element modelling strategies.

The results have been disseminated through numerous publications in leading international journals and presentations at major conferences, as well as two volumes published by EUT – Trieste University Press. A key outcome is a patent filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and granted in April 2025.

The patent concerns the prototyping of a device and experimental method for the fire testing of integrated photovoltaic glass panels, allowing multiple test parameters to be varied. Intellectual property is held by the following researchers: Prof. Yu Wang, Dr Haonan Chen, Dr Dezhi Ran, Dr Wei Chu, and Prof. Chiara Bedon.

Initial applications and results underlying the patent have been published in the International Journal of Thermal Sciences.

Studying for a Master’s degree at the University of Trieste has a highly positive impact on employability and career prospects. Analyses by the Talents Venture Observatory based on AlmaLaurea 2024/2025 data, published by Il Sole 24 Ore, show that UniTS graduates achieve employment rates that place the Trieste university among the national leaders.

These results stem from a combination of a constantly updated second-level course catalogue (two-year master’s degrees and five/six-year integrated master’s degrees) designed to meet the needs and developments of the professional world, and a placement system that guides and prepares students and recent graduates for entering the job market.

What counts, therefore, is not only the field of study but also the university where the qualification is obtained: for the same course, employment rate differences between universities can exceed 50-60 percentage points.

Five podiums, four first places
In the rankings by disciplinary area, UniTS ranks first in the economics area (master’s) with a 96% employment rate, first in the medical-health and pharmaceutical group (integrated master’s) with 95.6%, and first in Architecture and Civil Engineering for both master’s degrees and integrated master’s degrees, in both cases reaching 100% (national ex aequo). Completing the picture is second place in Law (integrated master’s degree) with 78.8%, just behind the top position.

These results cover professional fields that are crucial for development and innovation, ranging from technical-engineering and medical-healthcare areas to economics and law.

A university oriented towards the job market
Over the years, the University has consolidated a structured placement system coordinated by the University Career Service, which organises job@UniTS, the annual Career Day that hosts over 50 companies and involves around 700 students and recent graduates, confirming itself as a key meeting point between labour supply and demand.

The range of student services also includes placement workshops dedicated to CV writing, job interview simulation and soft-skills development, as well as the promotion of curricular internships, the activation of post-graduate placements, recruiting days with leading international companies, targeted employability projects and an Alumni network linking graduates with businesses and institutions.

The goal is to reduce the time required to enter the job market and to consolidate stable relationships with the productive sector. AlmaLaurea data also confirm salaries above the national average, with positive progression after five years.

Entrepreneurship and an innovation culture
Alongside placement initiatives, UniTS has developed an entrepreneurship pathway through the Innovators Community Lab (ICLab), which combines role-modelling, mentoring, company visits and project work to link academic skills with business culture and provide students with further professional development opportunities.

A constantly updated course offering
In the 2025/2026 academic year, UniTS continues to update its second-level course catalogue with an international and professional focus. Enrolment is now open for three new master’s degrees – Applied Social and Cognitive Psychology (non-clinical profiles, qualifying degree), Rehabilitation Sciences of Healthcare Professions (tele-rehabilitation, AI, robotics, sustainability) and PoSIG – Joint Master’s Degree in Political Science – Integration & Governance (taught in English, based in Gorizia, joint degree) – along with the Bachelor’s Degree in Earth Sciences for Sustainable Development (taught in English, focusing on geo-resources and geological risk).

The University of Trieste wishes to align itself with the position of CoPER – the Council of Presidents of Public Research Bodies – which in a statement ‘shares the feelings of horror, pain, indignation and anguish at the dramatic humanitarian crisis that the Palestinian population is suffering as a result of the military actions undertaken by the Israeli Government in the Gaza Strip. The brutal terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on 7th October 2023 cannot in any way justify what is being inflicted on Palestinian civilians, victims of continuous attacks, bombings and famine.

It condemns the actions that have caused, and continue to cause, thousands of civilian casualties, including a very high number of children. It also condemns the obstacles to the delivery of aid, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, and the destruction of essential civilian infrastructure. A tragedy for which the International Court of Justice has declared the risk of violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – a position confirmed by a special United Nations commission which concluded that Israel’s war practices in Gaza ‘bear the characteristic elements of genocide’.

In these dramatic days, UniTS also recalls that its actions are inspired by respect for constitutional principles, with specific reference to Article 11 of the Italian Constitution, which states that ‘Italy repudiates war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international disputes’; and Article 33, which affirms that ‘the arts and sciences are free, and free is their teaching’, thereby forcefully asserting the value of freedom of research; as well as to the values enshrined in its Statute and in its Code of Ethics.

The UniTS community shares and makes its own the concern and distress of the entire italian academic community regarding all the wars currently underway in the world, with particular reference to the crisis in Gaza, expressing its sorrow for the immense suffering inflicted on the civilian populations involved.

In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers from CNR – Istituto Officina dei Materiali (CNR-IOM), the University of Trieste, Italy, and Innsbruck, Austria, and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste have successfully synthesized a novel two-dimensional crystalline form of diboron trioxide. This new crystal, composed entirely of structural units previously seen only in its disordered, glassy state, marks a significant scientific milestone. Published in the prestigious journal Science, the study confirms the existence of a structure previously predicted only in theory, and opening exciting possibilities for future applications of this innovative material.

Boron oxide is a critical component in the production of ultra-durable glasses, such as Pyrex, and high-performance enamels. The addition of boron trioxide enhances glass’s resistance to thermal shock and chemical reactions, making it ideal for demanding industrial and scientific applications. However, the vitrification process of boron oxide remains poorly understood, exhibiting unique anomalies compared to other oxides, like silica, which can exist in both crystalline and amorphous forms.

“The key distinction between a crystal and a glass lies in the ordered arrangement of atoms in the former, which is absent in the latter,” explains Alessandro Sala, a CNR-IOM researcher and the project’s lead designer. “Both materials typically share a basic structural unit of a few atoms, repeated throughout. In crystals, this “building block” is arranged in a precise, repeating pattern, while in glass, it is disordered. Boron oxide is an exception: its glassy phase contains a structural unit called boroxine – a ring of three boron and three oxygen atoms – that have never been observed in a crystalline form until now. Our team has achieved a world-first by creating a two-dimensional crystalline phase made entirely of these boroxine units.”

The international research team not only devised a method to synthesize this material, using platinum as a substrate, but also conducted detailed analyses of its physical properties. Maria Peressi, a professor at the University of Trieste, elaborates: “Our numerical simulations reveal that this porous material, formed by a lattice of boroxine rings, is extraordinary flexible – ten times more elastic than graphene, making it the most elastic single-layer material ever reported. This remarkable flexibility arises because the rigid boroxine rings are connected by a single oxygen atom, acting as a hinge that allows them to rotate in the plane. Experimental and simulation results also show that the material interacts weakly with its platinum substrate, suggesting it could be easily separated using conventional techniques for using in cutting-edge devices.”

Laerte Patera, a professor of University of Innsbruck, adds: “using advanced scanning tunneling microscopy in Trieste and Innsbruck, we visualized the crystalline structure of this two-dimensional material down to its individual atoms. This unprecedented resolution enables us to pinpoint the position of each atom in the lattice, offering valuable insights into how atoms reorganize during the transition from crystalline to glassy states. This capability will be transformative for future studies of material transformations.”

Andrea Locatelli, head of the Nanospectroscopy beamline at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, emphasizes the mix of advanced technology: “Synchrotron light was instrumental in confirming the material’s elemental composition, purity and crystallinity. We can now produce homogeneous crystals spanning tens of square microns. The synergy between experimental techniques and numerical simulations was pivotal to this project’s success. With its unique properties – a wide-bandgap semiconductor that is both highly flexible and porous – this material holds immense potential for application in fields ranging from electronics and catalysis to quantum technologies.”

Adding to the significance of this achievement, the study’s first authors, Teresa Zio and Marco Dirindin, are PhD students from the University of Trieste, specializing in experimental and theoretical research, respectively. Their contribution highlights the University’s commitment to fostering excellence in advanced research training.