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News from ICTP 102 - Dateline
IAEA Fellowships
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has signed a memorandum
of agreement with ICTP that will substantially expand the organisations'
joint Ph.D. fellowship programme for students from developing
countries. Participants will now be able to receive training not
just at ICTP but at other Trieste-based scientific institutions,
including the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the Elettra synchrotron light
facility, as well as at European laboratories that have collaborative
arrangements with ICTP. Up to 30 scientists per year are expected
to participate in the programme in such fields as nuclear and
laser physics, biotechnology, synchrotron radiation, biophotonics,
and mathematical modelling and simulation. Gallieno Denardo,
ICTP acting director of administration, will be responsible for
the programme.
World Summit
ICTP and other scientific institutions that are part of the Trieste System were well represented at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg, South Africa, between 26 August and 4 September.
Mohamed H.A. Hassan in Johannesburg
The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) was one of the primary organisers of the Science Forum held during the summit's first week, and TWAS's executive director, Mohamed H.A. Hassan, participated in the roundtable discussions that took place between summit participants and heads of states during the summit's second week. Arturo Falaschi, director of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), spoke at the summit's plenary session and David King, science advisor to UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair, cited ICTP as an ideal model for the training of scientists in the developing world.
Palis Honoured
ICTP Scientific Council member Jacob Palis, professor of mathematics at the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Rio de Janeiro, and immediate past president of the International Mathematical Union, has been elected a foreign associate of the French Academy of Sciences. Palis, who is one of the most influential mathematicians in Latin America, has concentrated his research on the mathematical principles driving hyperbolic dynamic systems, a field that he helped to pioneer. He has gained additional stature as a thoughtful and powerful voice for the strengthening of advanced mathematical research and training in the developing world.
ICTP-Pakistan Chapter
More than 100 Pakistani alumni of ICTP recently formed an ICTP-Pakistan Chapter. India (1993) and China (1996) have formed similar national chapters for their countries. N.M. Butt, scientist emeritus, Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), Islamabad, has been elected president. The chapter's primary objectives are to enhance the participation of Pakistani scientists in ICTP research and training programmes and raise the public profile of Centre-affiliated activities throughout the country. Specifically, the chapter will hold a lecture series and present award medals in honour of the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam, ICTP's founding director, who was born in Pakistan.
Panza Receives Honorary Degree
Giuliano F. Panza, head of ICTP's Structure and Non-linear Dynamics of the Earth (SAND) research group and professor of seismology at the University of Trieste, has been awarded an honorary doctorate in physics from the University of Bucharest in Romania. The degree was given in appreciation of Panza's outstanding contributions to science and society and particularly for his development of a widely accepted innovative methodology for the mitigation of seismic hazard.
Dirac Medal 2002
Three cosmologists have been awarded the ICTP Dirac Medal for 2002: Alan Guth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Andrei Linde, Stanford University; and Paul Steinhardt, Princeton University. They have been recognised for their contributions to "developing the concept of inflation in cosmology." The concept, first presented in the 1980s, has shed revealing light on the early history of the universe, which experienced rapid expansion immediately after the Big Bang. The initial force of the expansion lasted only a fraction of a second but its intensity was sufficient to account for the enduring structure of the universe. Guth has been one of the pioneers of this theory, and Steinhardt and Linde have contributed substantially to our understanding of what has become a seminal concept in cosmology. Each winner will receive a medal and a prize of US$5000. The award ceremonies will take place in 2003.
New Math Head
Le Dung Trang has been appointed the new head of the
ICTP mathematics group. Lê, who was born in Viet Nam and
educated in France, has been a professor at the University of
Provence, Marseille, France, since 1999. He has also been the
director of research at the Centre Nationale de la Recherche
Scientifique (CNRS) and a faculty member of the University
of Paris and Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France, and
Northeastern University, Boston, Mass., United States. He is a
member of the Third World Academy of Sciences and serves as editing
director of Travaux en Cours and Actualités Mathematiques.
Le's major fields of research are geometry and theory of singularities.
Three New Staff Members
Three new staff members have joined the ICTP condensed matter physics group. Argentina-born Marcelo Osvaldo Magnasco received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of La Plata, Argentina, and his master of science and doctorate degrees from the University of Chicago, USA. He most recently served as associate professor in the mathematical physics laboratory at Rockefeller University in New York City. Magnasco's primary areas of research focus on biological physics and computational neural science, in which he has made noteworthy contributions to our understanding of the dynamics of the cochlea (the hearing organ) and higher oratory functions.
Matteo Marsili
Italian-born Matteo Marsili received his undergraduate
degree from the University of Rome La Sapienza and his
master's and doctorate degrees from the International School for
Advanced Studies (SISSA). He has held post doctorate positions
at the University of Manchester in the UK, and the University
of Fribourg in Switzerland. Most recently, he has been an INFM
(Italian National Institute for the Physics of Matter) researcher
at SISSA. His research has focussed on the interdisciplinary applications
of statistical physics to economic and social systems where he
has made noteworthy contributions to minority game theory. Sandro
Scandolo received his undergraduate degree from the University
of Pisa, Italy, and his doctorate degree from the Scuola Normale
Superiore in Pisa. He served on the faculty of SISSA, and
as a visiting researcher at Princeton University's Materials Institute
in the United States. Scandolo's major fields of interest are
condensed matter theory and atomistic simulations, avenues of
study tied to materials science, chemical physics, geophysics
and planetary science.
Diplomas
On 23 August, students from ICTP's 2001-2002 Diploma class
received their diplomas. This marks the 11th anniversary of the
Centre's Diploma Course. Since its inception in 1991, more than
300 students from the developing world have successfully completed
the programme.
Fields Medals
Vladimir Voevodsky, one of the two 2002 Fields medallists, lectured at ICTP's School and Conference on Algebraic K-Theory and its Applications held in July. Born in the USSR, Voevodsky is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. The Fields Medals ceremony took place in Beijing, China, at the International Congress of Mathematicians. The medals were awarded by the former Chinese President Jiang Zhemin and Jacob Palis, immediate past president of the International Mathematical Union and a member of the ICTP Scientific Council. The Fields Medal is considered to be the Nobel-Prize equivalent for mathematicians. Alberto Bressan, of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), in Trieste, was the only Italian plenary speaker at the Congress.
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