NEWS from TRIL

We consider it useful to regularly add a few pages to the TRIL site in order to update information:

A) New Agreements:

1. ENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment

In March 2008 a renewal of the agreement for the biannual of 2008-2009 between the ENEA and the ICTP was signed by the President of ENEA Prof. L. Paganetto and the Director of the ICTP Prof. K.R. Sreenivasan. The agreement provides, on ENEA's part, an annual financial contribution to allow researchers from Developing Countries, indicated by the TRIL/ICTP Programme, to participate in the research conducted in their laboratories. Selection is carried out by a Liaison Committee taking into account the opinion expressed by the Departments of the ENEA and the modality of the TRIL Programme. This agreement renews the collaboration between ENEA and TRIL/ICTP that has endured almost twenty years and that has allowed more than 95 scientists to contribute to frontier research conducted in the areas of interest of the ENEA.

ENEA is a public agency operating in the fields of new technologies, energy and the environment. ENEA research activities are carried out by five Departments:

o Advanced Physical Technologies and New Materials

o Biotechnologies, Agro-industry and Health Protection

o Energy Technologies, Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving

o Nuclear Fusion and Fission and Related Technologies

o The Environment, Global Changes and Sustainable Development

The wide range of expertise, advanced facilities and tools located at its own Research Centers, operating in support of ENEA's programmes, are also at the service of Italy's scientific and productive system.

2. NUC - The National Universities Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

In July 2008 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Executive Secretary of the NUC Prof. Julius Okojie and the Director of the ICTP Prof. K.R. Sreenivasan. The NUC and ICTP will collaborate for the advancement and development of scientific capacity in Nigerian universities particularly in the fields of physics, mathematics and ICT (Information Communication Technology). The cooperation will involve increased international exposure for the Nigerian researchers and scientists and ICT staff, feedback meetings and funding of scientific and training activities in Nigeria and ICTP.

Among the financial aspects of the agreement, the ICTP agrees to support the staff of NUC and Nigerian Universities via special (3 months) visits to Italy to undertake training and research with ICTP research groups and other suitable Italian laboratories collaborating with TRIL. NUC will provide partial funding (travel + 50% subsistence) for the training of (up to 20 or as agreed) selected staff of NUC and Nigerian Universities. An excellent opportunity for TRIL candidates.

The National Universities Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the regulatory agency responsible for positive change and innovation for the delivery of quality university education in Nigeria. Its mission is to ensure the orderly development of a well coordinated and productive university system that guarantees quality and relevant education for national development and global competitiveness.

3. ISTI - Institute of Information Science and Technologies

ISTI has generously offered to co-finance some fellowships in specific projects under an ISTI-ICTP Memorandum of Understanding. For more information see New Laboratories.

B) New Initiatives:

Joint Programme for Higher Education in Physics

The ICTP cooperates with the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Trieste in the education in physics of graduate students from Developing countries. The cooperation concerns the following training curriculum in physics of the University of Trieste: the "Laurea Magistralis in Fisica" with its training tracks in Condensed Matter Physics, Nuclear and Sub-Nuclear Physics, Theoretical Physics, Earth and Environmental Physics and Astrophysics. This degree called the "Laurea Magistralis" can be compared to an advanced master in physics in the Anglo-Saxon system or to the last two years of the New European Educational System as fixed by the Bologna-Sorbonne agreement among the European Ministers of Education in the mid-nineties.

In 2005 in the framework of this cooperation the ICTP announced scholarships and 46 applications were received out of which 4 students (Cameroon, China P.R., Ukrane and Uzbekistan) were selected; in the next academic year 102 applications were received and 4 students were selected (Armenia, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan). All the students completed their studies in due course and are now enrolled in Ph.D. programmes.

In 2008 a few scholarships and travel grants have been awarded to qualified, selected students from Developing countries in order to register and follow the above-mentioned training curriculum in Physics of the University of Trieste.

In the Academic Year of 2008-2009, 3 students were selected out of 47 applications from 19 countries to take part in the "Laurea Magistralis in Fisica", with training tracks in Condensed Matter:

1) Najafi, Khadijeh Iran

2) Wurgie, Tesfaye Girma Ethiopia

3) Assefa, Tadesse Abebaw Ethiopia

C) New Laboratories:

The following laboratories have recently joined those available to host TRIL fellows:

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE

IMAA -INSTITUTO DI METODOLOGIE PER L'ANALISI AMBIENTALE

(National Research Council, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis)

http://www.imaa.cnr.it

POTENZA

Director: V. Cuomo

Duration of stay: 6 - 12 months

Main research themes:

The IMAA-CNR is characterized by its ample experience in the sector of environmental issues, of which the main research activities can be summarized as:

- Earth observations from ground, aircraft, and satellite aimed at the study of atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, and their interactions in meteo-climatic applications and risk forecasting, prevention, and mitigation;

- Chemical-physical characterization of soil and subsoil;

- Development of new environmental monitoring techniques based on the integration of chemical-physical, biological, and geological methods in situ and in remote sensing;

- Environmental modeling and planning.

- Development of innovative optic instrumentation and interoperable systems for the acquisition, archiving and processing of satellite data.

Equipment available:

Mobile systems

Mobile systems consist of:

- a mobile differential absorption lidar system

- an interferometric and radiometric measurement system

- chemical-physical and geo-physical measurement system

- a geo-chemical and mineralogical measurement system

Experimental field for Hydro-geo-site. Tests for studying, in a controlled environment, phenomena of contamination of grounds and strata through chemical-physical, geo-chemical and geo-physical techniques. The experimental field is the first example in Italy and the second in Europe of a full-scale laboratory for studying hydro-bio-geo-physical processes (in progress at the new CNR pole of Marsico Nuovo).

Receiving/processing and archiving facility of satellite data

- an HRPT (High Resolution Picture Trasmission) antenna for receiving NOAA data, now including the X band.

- an HRIT (High Resolution Image Transmission) antenna for receiving MSG data.

- a storage system allowing to have on-line up to 80 Tbytes of data.

- a storage system allowing to have off-line up to 30 Tbytes of data.

- a high speed network (10 Gb/s)

- a high speed computational infrastructure framed on two poles to be able to experiment GRID technologies.

- cluster with 16 quad-processor nodes at 64-bits, rack-mounted, highly scalable, specifically designed for intensive computing applications implemented in native source codes, as well as running in advanced computing and development environments.

Experimental field for Atmospheric Radiation measurements

The main instrumentation is constituted by:

- a Raman lidar system for aerosol measurements

- a Raman lidar system for the profiling of water vapour

- a high resolution Fourier transform spectrometer in the TIR (BOMEM)

- a high resolution Fourier transform spectrometer in the FTIR

- a 12 channel MW profiler

- a Mechelle radiometer in the VIS-NIR

- a Cimel radiometer

- a celiometer

- a BSRN station for solar radiation measurements

- an automatic radio-sounding system by VAISALA

Person to contact for the above-mentioned research themes is:

V. Cuomo

E-mail: cuomo@imaa.cnr.it

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE

ISTI - ISTITUTO DI SCIENZA E TECNOLOGIE DELL'INFORMAZIONE "ALESSANDRO FAEDO"

(National Research Council, Institute of Information Science and Technologies "Alessandro Faedo")

(http://www.isti.cnr.it)

PISA

Director: C. Montani

Activity Leader: E. Salerno

Minimum duration of stay: 12 months

Main research themes:

Data analysis in observational astrophysics and cosmology.

Acoustic and electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation.

Studies are being carried out within the projects ICT.P10 (Multimodal ad Multidimensional Content and Media) and INT.P01 (Security), managed by the Information and Communication Technologies Department of CNR. Some of the main specific research programmes are:

- European Space Agency: Planck Surveyor Satellite

- Italian Space Agency: Cosmology and Fundamental Space Physics

- CNR and The Italian Ministry of University and Research: New Technologies for Noninvasive Analysis of Artifacts

Equipment available:

Dedicated and general-purpose electromagnetic instrumentation (cw-10 GHz): Scalar and vector network analyzers (Hewlett-Packard); coax, microstrip and waveguide microwave devices (both active and passive); custom-made microwave inspection sensors and instruments; capacitive RF permittivity probes.

Ultrasound NDT equipment: Ultrasound analyzer (Panametrics); gel- and air-matched ultrasound transducers (Panametrics, Ultran, 100 kHz); US-band measurement instrumentation (Tektronix, LeCroy).

Optical equipment: CCD high-resolution/high-speed cameras; custom-made point and area spectrometers; laser sources; real-time data-acquisition cards.

Other: Computer-controlled x-y and rotary positioning devices; mechanical and electronic laboratories; control and measurement software.

Person to contact for the above-mentioned research themes is:

E. Salerno

E-mail: emanuele.salerno@isti.cnr.it