Industry 4.0 and science connecting both sides of the atlantic ISSNAF honours the best research projects by young italians in North America

By ISSNAF

On the 7th and 8th of November the Italian Embassy in Washington will hold the annual event of the foundation representing Italian scientists in the USA and Canada

Life Achievement Award for the marine biologist Rita Rossi Colwell

Don’t call them part of the brain drain, call them talented scientists integrating themselves in the scientific communities of North America, thanks to their natural talent and their skills acquired in Italy. We’re talking about four thousand researchers and professors affiliated to ISSNAF (Italian Scientists and Scholars of North America Foundation), which, on the 7th and 8th of November 2017 will celebrate its annual event at the Italian Embassy in Washington, under the patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

The focal point of the event will be the prizegiving for the ISSNAF Awards. The 16 finalists, all Italian researchers under 40 years of age, were chosen through a rigorous selection process and will present their research projects to a panel of judges. The research projects are in 5 fields: leukaemia; environmental sciences, astrophysics and chemistry; medicine, bioscience and cognitive science; engineering; mathematics and physics. The best 5 papers will receive an award. The marine biologist Rita Rossi Colwell, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, previously Director of the National Science Foundation from 1998 to 2004 and among the founding members of ISSNAF, will receive the ISSNAF Life Achievement Award.

The theme: the role of science in the new industrial revolution

Science & the New Industrial Revolution: Industry 4.0” is the focus of this edition of the ISSNAP annual event. Exponents from the world of science, business, and federal agencies of the United States will exchange views on the impact that artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, applied to productive processes, are having on science, on the academic world, and on our daily lives.

“ISSNAF has been working together with Italian and American businesses for a long time” said the president of the foundation Vito M. Campese. “We are aware that with our network of talented scientists, and being involved in networks for international co-operation, we can act as a bridge between the worlds of academia and business, between research centres and laboratories and the evolution of companies. Industry 4.0 represents a challenge that we must accept, to renew and relaunch this link, which is important for both basic and applied research. The importance and current relevance of this theme are in line with the quality of the speakers and the prestigious location, the Italian Embassy in Washington. I would like to thank them for their hospitality once again this year.” he added.

ISSNAF Annual Event 2017 in Washington: the schedule

The event will take place at the Italian Embassy in Washington DC. It starts on Tuesday the 7th of November at 14:15, with greetings from Ambassador Armando Varricchio and from the president of ISSNAF Vito M. Campese, and with a message from the Minister of University Education and Research Valeria Fedeli, followed by an introduction by Monica Veronesi, Executive Director of ISSNAF. The first panel, “At the crossroads between science, manufacturing and industry”, moderated by Mario Platero from the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, will feature Steve Buckley, Senior Technical Fellow of FCA, Luigi Staccoli, EVP Digital of Pirelli Digital, and Jeff Campbell, Vice President of Government Affairs and head of Cisco’s Washington office, and will be followed by a round-table discussion and debate.

At 16:30 the second panel, which will focus on “the Internet of Things and University 4.0”, presented by the journalist and author Maria Teresa Cometto, alongside Joseph Szustakowski, Executive Director of Translational Bioinformatics at BristolMyers Squibb, Fabrizio Renzi, Director of Technology and Innovation at IBM Italia, and Raffaella I. Rumiati, Vice President of ANVUR (National Agency for the Evaluation of the University System and Research). A round-table discussion and debate will follow.

At 17:45 Alessandro Curioni, Vice President of IBM Europe and director of IBM’s research laboratory in Zurich, will present his keynote speech. The day will conclude with the presentation ceremony for the award of the ISSNAF Life Achievement Award to Rita Rossi Colwell.

Wednesday the 8th of November will be dedicated to the ISSNAF Awards. From 08:30, Vito M. Campese and Fulvia Astolfi, Rome Managing Partner at Hogan Lovells, will present the awards. Then attention will switch to the 16 finalists for the 5 awards: Paola Campese Award for Research on Leukaemia, ISSNAF Young Investigator Award – Environmental Sciences, Astrophysics and Chemistry, Hogan Lovells Award for Medicine, Biosciences and Cognitive Science, Annamaria Molteni Award for Mathematics and Physics, Franco Strazzabosco Award for Young Engineers. The finalists will present their research projects to the panels of judges. At 12:30 the hackathon “VisioneT – A new concept of internet for silver aging” will be presented. Finally, there will be the awards ceremony presented by the ambassador, Armando Varricchio.

The complete schedule can be found at www.issnaf.org