Italian Embassy Honors Top Italian Scientists

On October 22, the Italian Scientists and Scholars of North America Foundation (ISSNAF) heled a press conference hosted by the Italian Embassy.  The press conference was about the great strides that Italian scientists living in the US have made over the past few years. Most notably Doctor Emilio Bizzi, who is an Emeritus Investigator at the McGovern Institute and an Emeritus Institute Professor at MIT.  Professor Bizzi is being honored with the 2018 Life Achievement Award, for his work in Neuroscience. Throughout his career Bizzi studied the how commands are passed from the brain to the spine and how that is computed into our actions. Other scientists at the conference are working on quantum computers, cosmic subatomic particles and others who are working to cure cancer.  Other distinguish individuals included Alessandro Bartolomucci Associate Professor of Physiology at the University of Minnesota, Fabrizio Renzi the Director of Research Initiatives at IBM Italia, and Sarah Holland the Public Policy Manager of Google.

Throughout the ceremony the presenters and in particular in Professor Bizzi’s acceptance speech the presenters stressed the idea of mentorship. In his acceptance speech Bizzi said, “What is needed now for people from a culture like the one in Italy is mentoring, and a little reorientation. I am glad to see that ISSNAF has a [mentoring] program. An engineer is very well trained in engineering.”

He believes that students need to be matched with fields that they find most interesting and the field that best matches with their personality. Bizzi also stated that the Scientific community and in particular the field of Neuroscience must remain focused on its true aim “which is to cure diseases of the brain.”

-William Caterham