Towards new scientific frontiers: CNR’s role in Trentino

Thursday, June 27, an event organized by the Trentino CNR (National Council for Research) was held at Fondazione Bruno Kessler to welcome CNR President Maria Chiara Carrozza and take stock of achievements and future plans for collaboration among the area’s research institutions.

The event, moderated by Biophysics Institute Director Mauro Dalla Serra, opened with greetings by FBK Secretary General Andrea Simoni, University of Trento President Flavio Deflorian and PAT Department of Economic Development, Research and Labor Director Laura Pedron.

“The tradition of collaboration between FBK and CNR goes back a long way and has intensified in recent years also thanks to the opportunities offered by the PNRR: we have major projects together on topics such as Artificial Intelligence and quantum science & technology, we aim to continue the collaboration relentlessly and a joint strategy,” said FBK Secretary General Andrea Simoni.

In Trentino, CNR is present with 7 institutes located in two sites.
Fondazione Bruno Kessler houses 5 of these within its facilities – the Institute of Biophysics, the Institute for Cognitive Science and Technology, the Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (IMEM), the soon-to-be-established Research Area and the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology, which collaborates with the University of Trento that, in turn, houses the National Institute of Optics. Finally, CNR is present at San Michele all’Adige with the Institute for BioEconomics.  The activities are well integrated into the various local research organizations and help attract to the area and stabilize researchers from the rest of Italy and abroad: there are currently 116 CNR researchers at the Trento sites, of which 53 are young collaborators, fellows, scholarship recipients and doctoral students.

CNR President Maria Chiara Carrozza gave a lecture on the scientific leadership of CNR, sharing the goals for her term, the items of the organization and revitalization plan and expressed as well the CNR’s willingness to increase its presence in Trento in light of the excellent results of scientific quality that researchers have achieved in our area thanks to the collaboration between research entities, in particular Fondazione Bruno Kessler and the University of Trento Departments.

Among the goals of her office term is to position CNR in the European and international arena as an institution of international relevance and to best express our country’s scientific leadership.  For the long-term maintenance of the research infrastructure, CNR intends to pursue a model based on synergies with universities and research organizations.

The second part of the meeting went on with presentations by researchers of leading research prepared by different CNR Institutes. Fabio Lauria presented “Approaches for the restoration of noncoding RNAs toward the development of innovative RNA-based therapies”; Andrea Vinante talked about “Quantum superconducting devices and magnetomechanical hybrid sensors”; Roberto Verucchi‘s talk focused on “A new approach for the synthesis of advanced materials and device-aware development”; Iacopo Carusotto recounted the project “Simulating false vacuum decay: Ultra-cold atoms meet cosmology“; Claudio Masolo e Emanuele Bottazzi explained “Socio-technical systems and the problem of incommunicability in the age of new artificial intelligence” and Giorgio Matteucci spoke about “IBE, between historical research and new opportunities”.