A new composite material, based on the interaction between cerium oxide and carbon nanostructures, has been developed in a study coordinated by the University of Trieste and the University of Bologna and published in Advanced Functional Materials. The material has demonstrated the ability to convert CO₂ electrochemically with high energy efficiency, while using a significantly reduced amount of catalytically active components.

Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas and a direct driver of global warming, is at the centre of international research efforts towards a net-zero economy. Electrocatalysis is one of the most promising strategies for transforming CO₂ into products useful to industry, while also contributing to the decarbonisation of production processes.

As Michele Melchionna, Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Trieste, who co-authored the study with Giovanni Valenti of the University of Bologna, explains ‘The catalytic conversion of CO₂ is one of the most interesting and relevant challenges in the current scientific landscape and must be integrated into sustainable processes such as photocatalysis or electrocatalysis. This requires the development of rather complex catalytic materials, since the efficiency of CO₂ chemical conversion critically depends on a precise balance of the catalyst’s properties. For this reason, a highly effective strategy is to exploit the appropriate interfacing of multiple phases, as in our project.’

Paolo Fornasiero, Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at UniTS and co-author of the study together with UniTS researcher Miriam Marchi, highlights another key aspect of the work: ‘In a politically unstable context, where the extraction and distribution of strategic chemical elements are heavily dependent on geopolitics, it becomes increasingly important to maximise catalytic efficiency and material stability, thereby reducing the quantities needed to achieve performance that is industrially acceptable.’

The study also involved research groups from the University of Padua and the San Sebastián CIC biomaGUNE research centre and was carried out with the support of several projects, including the European H2020 Decade project and the Italian PRIN-PNRR ECHO-EF and PRIDE projects. 

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The first staff meeting of Rector Donata Vianelli took place today in the Cammarata Room of the Rector’s Office. The meeting focused on planning and aligning the activities that will engage the new University governance in the coming months.

Rector Vianelli and Deputy Rector Mauro Tretiach met with the 27 collaborators who will support the work of the University’s governing bodies and administrative structures in pursuing the strategic goals of the University of Trieste over the next six years.

Vice-Rectors
Eight Vice-Rectors will be working alongside the Rector: Paolo Fornasiero (DSCF) for Research, Paolo Edomi (DSV) for Teaching and the Right to Education, Caterina Falbo (IUSLIT) for Public and Social Engagement, Guido Bortoluzzi (DEAMS) for Business and Territorial Relations, Roberta Nunin (IUSLIT) for Staff, Union Relations, and Equal Opportunities, Luca Bortolussi (MiGE) for Digital Transformation, Adriano Venudo (DIA) for University Infrastructure, and Barbara Campisi (DEAMS) for Quality.

Delegates
The team also includes seventeen academic delegates. Francesco Longo (DF) will oversee PhD programmes, while Erik Vesselli (DF) will focus on Technology Transfer and relations with research institutions. Matteo Cornacchia (DiSU) has been entrusted with Innovative Teaching, and Elisabetta Madriz (DiSU) with Orientation Planning. Elisabetta De Giorgi (DiSPeS) will be in charge of Mobility and International Relations, and Roberta Altin (DiSU) will work on Development Cooperation.

Giulia Caccamo (DiSPeS) will serve as delegate for Student Community Policies, Vanessa Nicolin (DSM) for Student Wellbeing and Inclusion, and Diego Abenante (DiSPeS) for Territorial Campus Policies. Alessandro Massi Pavan (DIA) will be responsible for Sustainability and Energy Transition. Francesca Larese (DSM) will focus on Working Conditions, Health and Safety; Giampaolo Dolso (IUSLIT) on General and Legal Affairs; and Stefano Ciampi (IUSLIT) on Administrative Simplification and the University’s Prison Campus. Giulia Barbati (DSM) will be in charge of Data Reporting, while Paola Rossi (DEAMS) will handle Budgeting, Economic Planning and Fundraising.

Lead contacts
Lastly, four lead contacts will take on responsibilities in specific strategic areas. Alberto Pallavicini (DSV) will continue to coordinate the activities of the Transform4Europe – T4EU – The European University for Knowledge Entrepreneurs project. Paolo Sorzio (DiSU) will oversee Teacher Training, while Giovanni Longo (DIA) will serve as Mobility Manager and Paolo Bevilacqua (DIA) as Waste Manager.

The 14th edition of Trieste Next, the Research Festival, has been officially presented. From September 26 to 28, 2025, Piazza Unità will once again become a grand stage for science: over the course of three days, more than 100 events and hundreds of scientists from all over the world will engage in dialogue with the public, reflecting together on the challenges of our time and exploring the frontiers of technological innovation.
This year’s theme is: “Life Within. Conversations across Science and Technology.”

“The University of Trieste, with its wide range of academic disciplines, is a perfect match for the 2025 edition of Trieste Next,” says Donata Vianelli, Rector of UniTS and President of the festival’s Scientific Committee.
“Once again, we’re offering visitors a rich and diverse program, supported by 200 volunteers who make the event possible. Thanks to the support of the Region, we will also host two internationally renowned guests: Brian Kobilka and David Quammen. For the first time, students and staff from our university have also been involved in designing the program. In addition to talks and events, we look forward to welcoming visitors in the exhibition pavilions in Piazza Unità d’Italia, where they can experience the latest developments, curiosities, and trends in scientific research first-hand.”

UniTS events at Trieste Next, day by day, with the active participation of the entire academic community:

Friday, September 26
Saturday, September 27
Sunday, September 28

These are the ten exhibition areas curated by UniTS at its stand in Piazza Unità:

UniTS Stand – September 26–28

The UniTS stand will feature a shop selling University merchandise during the following hours:

Friday 26 September: 4pm - 10pm

Saturday 27 September: 10am - 10pm

Sunday 28 September: 10am - 8pm

Trieste Next is promoted by the Municipality of Trieste, the University of Trieste, the NEM Nord-Est Multimedia Group/Il NordEst/Il Piccolo, Area Science Park, OGS – National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, and SISSA – International School for Advanced Studies.
The event is co-promoted by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Organized by Post Eventi, the festival is a project of Trieste City of Knowledge and is held in collaboration with the European Parliament Office in Milan.
The main partner of the event is Generali.
Partners include AcegasApsAmga, Estenergy, Insiel, and Smact Competence Center.
Content partners include EuroBioHighTech, AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, Fondazione Telethon, and the INAIL Prosthesis Centre.

www.triestenext.it

Almost 500 third- and fourth-year high-school students have enrolled in the second round of the Summer Training Modules (https://portale.units.it/en/studiare/orientarsi/moduli-formativi), which are set to fill UniTS classrooms from 1st to 5th September.

Most of the students come from high schools in Friuli Venezia Giulia, but some are travelling from Aosta, Belluno, Cremona, Bergamo, Mantua, Pavia, Pordenone, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza, Alessandria, Cosenza and Rome.

The second round was inaugurated by the Rector's Delegate for Prospective Student Policies, Prof. Elisabetta Madriz, with a brief introduction to the Summer Training Modules, followed by a quick presentation by the Luciano Fonda College.

On 3rd September, the Luciano Fonda College, located in the former Military Hospital at Via Fabio Severo 40, will host an evening event with an aperitif and a talk on climate, energy and conviviality for registered participants.

The floor was then given to the UniTs Prospective Students Support staff, who coordinated testimonials from student ambassadors. The result was a powerful peer testimony which not only highlighted the range of different paths taken, but also showed that an individual’s path is not always linear and that, precisely for this reason, attention and deep self-knowledge is needed to make the most of one's talents and passions.

These experiences shared about making choices and different university paths provided useful food for thought in what was an important moment in the support of future students.

There are 12 modules scheduled until 5th September, which will be run by University lecturers across the following fields: humanities, engineering, earth sciences, physics, chemistry, pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry and technology, law, mathematics, artificial intelligence and data science, statistics, and biology.

The Summer Training Modules are an outreach project now in its eleventh year. The Modules are designed for third- and fourth-year high-school students to help them explore their interests through an intensive experience of university life in a field of their choice with the aim of supporting them in making an informed choice about their educational path.

A total of 702 students enrolled in the first session in July, signing up for one of the 17 modules offered across the fields of architecture, healthcare professions, economics and management, engineering, mathematics and earth sciences, humanities, dentistry and dental prosthetics, political, and international and diplomatic sciences.

The total number of enrolments in 2025 shows a steady increase in the number of students participating in this important outreach initiative, with 1,190 enrolments compared to 1,075 in 2024. This demonstrates not only the initiative’s strong appeal, but also that this UniTS taster experience is seen to be effective.

All info: https://portale.units.it/it/studiare/orientarsi/moduli-formativi 

The University of Trieste is one of five of research institutions participating in the INSIDE oceanographic mission (Unravelling the lithosphere-asthenosphere system of the Tyrrhenian back arc basin through geological, petrological and geophysical data, integration and geodynamic modelling), a campaign coordinated by the national research centre (CNR) that brings together an international team aboard the research vessel, the Gaia Blu. The campaign aim is to improve knowledge of the Tyrrhenian seabed and the underlying geological structures. 

Some of the most important activities include the measurement of terrestrial heat flow and the application of advanced seismic imaging techniques. The latter of which allows researchers to obtain high-resolution images of the bathymetry and seabed, making it possible to identify active faults, recent sedimentary deposits and ongoing deformations. Heat flow measurements, on the other hand, mean the heat rising from the Earth's mantle towards the seabed can be quantified. This is a decisive parameter for assessing the thermal state and tectonic activity of the basin.

The new data acquired is unprecedented in its accuracy and will offer new insights into the thermodynamics of the Tyrrhenian region and its relationship with seismic and volcanic phenomena.

On board the Gaia Blu are Prof. Magdala Tesauro, professor of Solid Earth Geophysics, and research assistant Dr Racine Abigail Basant, both from the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences. The Trieste group contributes to the choice of data acquisition points, data collection and laboratory analysis. 

'The interpretation of these results,’ emphasises Prof. Tesauro, 'will allow us to estimate the physical properties of the crust and upper mantle of the Tyrrhenian basin, achieving one of the main objectives of the project.’

The INSIDE mission is coordinated by Dr Maria Filomena Loreto of the Institute of Marine Sciences of the National Research Council (CNR-ISMAR) and involves the participation of UniTS, the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Genoa (DISTAV), the Rome2 INGV section on 'Geomagnetism, Aeronomy and Environmental Geophysics', and the Université de la Sorbonne (UPMC, Paris).

Results were presented in Trieste from the cross-border clinical research project X-BRAIN.net - Network for cross-border cooperation aimed at the rehabilitation of stroke patients with innovative technologies, funded by the Interreg Italy-Slovenia Programme with a total budget of €750,000.

Coordinated by the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences at the University of Trieste, the project involved the participation of the Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper), the Neurological Clinic of ASUGI’s Cattinara Hospital and the Neurology Unit of Izola General Hospital.

The aim of the project is to make stroke rehabilitation more effective, a crucial challenge for today's healthcare system, by activating a targeted protocol in the very first days, enhanced by the use of innovative technologies. ‘The multimodal approach,’ explains project coordinator Professor Gianni Biolo of the University of Trieste, ‘combines nutritional integration, cognitive training through virtual reality and prehabilitation activities to ensure the maintenance of muscle mass and strength and to modulate the reorganisation processes within the central nervous system that are typical of immobility, promoting a more rapid recovery at the end of the period of inactivity.’

The experimental phase was conducted on healthy volunteers, with an average age of 68, who had to stay in bed for ten days. ‘From a nutritional point of view,’ continues Biolo, ‘we intervened by increasing protein intake from 0.8 to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day and introducing a daily intake of 3.5 grams of the amino acid leucine, in order to ensure the maintenance of muscle mass.’

‘Through immersive and multisensory environments,’ explains Dr Luka Šlosar of the Science and Research Centre Koper, ‘the volunteers underwent mental training that preserved the flow of neuromuscular information and modulated the reorganisation processes within the central nervous system. In this way, it was possible to promote the maintenance of muscle strength and accelerate recovery times.’

‘Strokes are one of the leading causes of disability worldwide,’ emphasises Professor Paolo Manganotti, director of the Neurological Clinic at Cattinara Hospital, ‘with consequences that profoundly affect daily life. Intervening in the first few days with targeted rehabilitation programmes is essential for recovering compromised functions and improving quality of life. Thanks to the project, we were able to set up an active room entirely dedicated to the acute phase, equipped with virtual reality devices that allow for safe, stimulating and personalised exercises. The immersive and interactive aspect increases patient motivation and consistency, which are decisive factors in a successful recovery.’

The DIGILAFS project (Digitisation of the Antonio Fonda Savio Legacy), promoted by the University of Trieste’s Library and Museum Services, seeks to enhance and preserve the documentary section of the Antonio Fonda Savio Legacy, held within the Writers and Regional Culture Archive.

DIGILAFS is one of the projects funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region as part of the regional call for proposals for “Interventions aimed at promoting the use of ICT solutions and augmented reality for the benefit of cultural operators” under the PR FESR 2021-2027 funds.

The approved €63,440 of funding will cover all expenses for the duration of the project, which is set to last 24 months. Project activities began on 1 July and will include the purchase of a professional planetary scanner for the purpose of document digitisation.

The documentary section of the Antonio Fonda Savio Legacy consists of personal documents and heterogeneous materials of particular importance, including a collection of letters by Pietro Nobile (414 items), historiographical documents relating to the world wars, family documents, records, postcards, photographs and 313 historic documents (parchments, papal bulls, proclamations).

The collection’s variety and historical interest coupled with the extremely fragile condition of most of the paper documents mean that its digitisation and online promotion are essential if this particular piece of cultural heritage is to be valorised and made accessible to potential interested parties.

The long-term objective of the project is to complete the digitisation of the cultural heritage preserved in the Archive of Writers and Regional Culture and, in the short term, to scan at least 40% of the documentary section of the Fonda Savio Legacy, in order to make it accessible to the public via the regional portal and the University Museum Services portal.

The EAES Research Grant has been awarded to Professor Silvia Palmisano, Associate Professor of General Surgery at the University of Trieste, and her team, for the project Teaching Rectal Surgery through Artificial Intelligence Navigation – TRAIN Study. This is an international recognition conferred by the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES).

The study, which involves an international network of experts, aims to enhance training in rectal surgery through the integration of artificial intelligence–based navigation systems.

Founded in 1990, the EAES is one of the leading international organizations in the field of endoscopic surgery and related interventional techniques, engaged in promoting training, research, and development activities, as well as organizing high-level scientific congresses.

The grant, worth a total of €30,000 and awarded annually to two or three carefully selected projects, supports clinical and translational research activities to promote safe and high-quality minimally invasive surgery.

For Professor Palmisano, who also serves as Medical Director of the Complex Structure of Surgical Clinic at the Giuliano Isontina University Health Authority (ASUGI), the award of the grant “highlights the value of teamwork and international collaboration.”

Starting from the academic year 2025/26, the University of Trieste will activate a second Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Hygiene at the Pordenone campus, alongside the one already offered in Trieste. The publication of the admission call for the Health Professions degree programs confirms the new developments in the educational offer anticipated in recent weeks.

The total number of places for the Dental Hygiene degree program (CLID) will therefore increase from last year’s 30 to 50, equally distributed between Trieste and Pordenone. This further expands the University’s presence in Pordenone, following the launch of the Dietetics degree program last year.

Separate rankings will be drawn up for the Trieste and Pordenone Dental Hygiene programs: applicants may indicate both campuses and, if eligible, may be admitted to their second choice through ranking shifts.

For the a.y. 2025/26, UniTS has planned the training of 460 future healthcare professionals, through the activation of ten first-level degree programs: Health Assistance (40 places, Gorizia), Dietetics (30 places, Pordenone), Physiotherapy (40 places, Trieste), Dental Hygiene with 25 places in Trieste and 25 in Pordenone, Nursing (200 places, Trieste), Speech Therapy (30 places, Trieste), Environmental and Workplace Prevention Techniques (20 places, Gorizia), and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Techniques (30 places, Trieste).

Among the inter-university programs with the University of Udine, which alternate annually between the two institutions, this year the Midwifery degree program returns to Trieste, with 20 available places, four more than in the previous UniTS call (2023). At UniUD, the Biomedical Laboratory Techniques and Medical Radiology Techniques for Imaging and Radiotherapy degree programs will be offered, each with 40 places available.

In addition, the new rules regulating admission to Master’s Degree programs in Medicine, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine provide for reserved quotas of up to 20% of the planned places in related health profession degree programs, available to candidates who are not admitted in the merit ranking at the end of the filter semester. At the University of Trieste, this will allow for up to 40 additional enrollments in Nursing, 8 in Health Assistance, and 4 in Environmental and Workplace Prevention Techniques.

Applications must be submitted exclusively online by 1:00 p.m. on 28 August, according to the procedures indicated in the official call. Each applicant may select up to three different degree programs, for which they will be considered in the rankings.

The admission test, common to all degree programs, will take place on Monday, 8 September 2025 in Trieste, at the Piazzale Europa campus (buildings H3 and C1), starting at 11:00 a.m., with identification procedures beginning at 8:30 a.m. The test will last 100 minutes and will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions, covering reading skills and acquired knowledge, logical reasoning and problem solving, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

The Italian Ministry of Universities and Research has granted Maurizio Prato the prestigious title of Professor Emeritus.

The decree, signed by Minister Anna Maria Bernini on 5th August 2025, recognises Maurizio Prato’s extraordinary academic and scientific career as a former full professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Trieste.

The Emeritus Professorship is the crowning achievement of an extremely successful career full of awards. Prof. Prato began his career in 1983 at the University of Padua and continued from 1992 at the University of Trieste, first as an associate professor and, from 2000, as a full professor, until his retirement in 2023.

A member of the Accademia dei Lincei and Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC biomaGUNE in San Sebastián (Spain), Maurizio Prato has made fundamental and interdisciplinary contributions to the field of nanoscience, particularly in the design and synthesis of carbon nanostructures for applications in bio-nanotechnology and in the conversion and storage of solar energy. 

His research has become an important point of reference for the scientific community thanks to his work on innovative, controlled and reproducible synthetic protocols and analytical methods for the functionalisation and design of carbon nanostructures – an area of research which, in recent years, has also been extended to include graphene and carbon dots. His contributions have significantly advanced the understanding and control of the chemistry of carbon nanostructures, placing them at the centre of a number of developments in technology.

Prof. Prato has received numerous national and international awards, including the prestigious Raffaele Piria Medal awarded in 2024 by the Italian Chemistry Society, reserved for scholars who have honoured Italian organic chemistry and represent a continuation of its distinguished traditions. He has also obtained significant research funding, including two ERC Advanced Grants, in 2008 and 2020, and was appointed a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in 2010, a member of the European Academy of Sciences in 2013, the Academia Europaea in 2015, the Venetian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts in 2018, the National Academy of Inventors (USA) in 2021 and the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain in 2022. He is an honorary professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Over the years, Prof. Prato has formed a veritable school. His research group at the University of Trieste has trained over 230 students, PhD students, post-docs and visiting professors, many of whom come from abroad. Numerous former members of his group have embarked on successful scientific careers and now hold prestigious positions in high profile universities and research centres. The success of his colleagues and students is a testament to his ability to inspire and guide young scientists towards innovative and unexplored paths.

His intense research activity has led him to publish over 800 articles in high-impact international journals, with a total of over 82,000 citations and an h-index of 132 (Scopus). He has conducted research at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA (1980), University College, Dublin, Ireland (1983), Yale University, New Haven, USA (1986-87), and the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA (1991-92). He was a visiting professor at the Chemistry Departments of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 2001, the University of Namur, Belgium, in 2010, the University of Strasbourg in 2014 and the University of Mons (Belgium) in 2018. 

Maurizio Prato has also contributed to the community at the University of Trieste by holding important institutional roles. He was Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, leading the merge with the Department of Chemistry in 2010, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy from 2002 to 2013, PhD Coordinator for the Pharmaceutical Sciences programme for two three-year periods, and Vice PhD Coordinator for the Chemistry programme for an additional two three-year periods.

A chemist and scientist of the highest calibre, Maurizio Prato is internationally recognised for his scientific contributions, but also for his humanity and kindness. The ministerial conferral of the title of Professor Emeritus is a well-deserved recognition of an extraordinary career which has contributed significantly to strengthening the prestige of the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and our university, both nationally and internationally.

Rector Donata Vianelli congratulates Prof. Prato on this important recognition, expressing gratitude for his contribution to the scientific prestige, internationalisation and, more generally, growth of the University of Trieste on behalf of the entire academic community.