Fulbright Commission Italy Newsletter :: Issue 3

www.fulbright.it 1
July 2009
Linking Minds Across Cultures
Fulbright - Italy Newsletter
Issue 3
Dear Fulbrighters and Friends,
“La straordinaria eccellenza…!” This was the phrase we heard last month from an Italian
teacher describing the young Fulbrighter who had been an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) at
her secondary school. There were seven such “ETAs” in Italy during this past academic year,
all of whom were lauded for the quality of their teaching. They worked very hard, as they were
each assigned to teach at two Italian public schools. In some cases these young Americans
made an impact through their innovative teaching not only with the pupils they instructed, but
with parents in their local communities and teaching colleagues in their academic environments
as well. Time and again, Fulbright stands for excellence: in academic scholarship, and also for
the personal qualities exhibited by the grantee.
Upon hearing a phrase like “straordinaria eccellenza,” all the hard work of the Commission
becomes worth the effort. And it has been a considerable effort. As Dr. Quieti can tell you, the
range of challenges we’ve faced this
year has been great. Yet, together
the Commission’s staff and the
members of the Board - Italians and
Americans - have put tremendous
dedication and effort into devising
solutions. We are, I’m glad to report,
making progress.
The two-way nature of Fulbright
is the essence of the program:
while the young American ETAs in
Italy were deeply affected by their
experience, Italian Fulbrighters will
be impacted in the same way by
their participation in the program
in the United States. This spring, I
took part in the selection process of
prospective Italian Fulbrighters (the
results are proudly displayed in the following pages). The extraordinary breadth of expertise
and the quality of their presentations was wonderful, though it made the task of selection difficult.
The two-way nature of the program, by the way, is closely tied to the bi-national ownership of
our Fulbright Commission. The name Fulbright may be American, but the academic exchanges
are entirely a joint endeavor. This is also confirmed by the roughly equal financial contributions
of our two governments.
Last but not least, I am pleased to announce that Minister Francesco Maria Greco, the Director
General for Culture and Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has, ex officio, joined the
Fulbright Board as its Vice President. This follows the departure of Minister Pl. Gherardo La
Francesca, to whom I extend my gratitude for his contribution to the Fulbright Program. And I
wish him all the best exploring his own new horizons as Italy’s new Ambassador to Brazil.
David Mees
President, The U.S.–Italy Fulbright Commission
Cultural Attachè, Embassy of the United States of America - Rome
Contents
Welcome Messages
President p. 1
Executive Director p. 2
Italian Research Scholars p. 3
Italian Graduate Students p. 7
Fulbright-BEST Students p. 9
Foreign Language Teaching
Assistants p. 12
Fulbright Story p. 13
Fulbrighters’ Publications and
Works p. 13
News p. 17
Fulbright Program at Glance
For U.S. Citizens p. 18
For Italian Citizens p. 19
Contacts p. 20

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Fulbright - Italy Newsletter Issue 3, July 2009
Message from the Director:
I am pleased to introduce the third edition of the US-Italy Fulbright Newsletter and am happy to
report that the Fulbright scholarship competitions continue to unveil a myriad of brilliant students
and researchers!
This issue provides a short profile from a selection of the 66 Italian grantees who have received a
Fulbright scholarship for the academic year 2009-10. As this edition goes to print, we are preparing
the Orientation Meeting, hosted by The American University of Rome, for those who will be departing
for the US during the summer. On this occasion, they will have the opportunity to meet with Prof.
Giuliano Amato, a Fulbrighter himself who studied at Columbia University.
Seventeen grantees will study towards Master or Ph.D. Degrees in a variety of fields including arts,
humanities, social sciences and sciences. They will be studying at various universities across the
entire US, from east to west, such as New York University, Illinois Institute of Technology, University
of Texas, San Diego University, all the way to the University of Hawai at Manoa. The Fulbright-
Finmeccanica scholarship will cover studying for a Master degree in Engineering Management at
Cornell University. The Fulbright-Carlo Maria Santoro scholarship has been assigned for a Master
degree in International Relations at the University of Syracuse. Three students (Visiting Student
Researchers) will be carrying out research for their doctorate at the Universities of Texas, California
at Berkeley and at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.
The third year of Fulbright-BEST has been made possible thanks to the Regions of Toscana and
Lazio, the Centro Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) and private donations, on the occasion of the
60th anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Italy, such as Alcoa, Amgen Dompè, Booz & Co.,
Enel Green Power, Farmindustria, IBM and Poste Italiane. The 14 Fulbright-BEST grantees will
go to Santa Clara University in California for a period of six months to attend academic courses
on technological innovation, marketing and finance. In addition, grantees will have the opportunity
to do an internship in companies in the Silicon Valley while participating in networking activities
promoted by the Universities of Stanford, of California at Berkeley and the business community in
California.
Four Foreign Language Teaching Assistants will be assisting Italian language Professors for
next academic year at Wheaton College (MA), Russell Sage College (NY), Ramapo College (NJ),
and Bard College (NY).
Fourteen Italian Research Scholars will carry out research for a period of six months, in a broad
range of disciplinary fields, ranging from music composition and philosophy, to various branches
of engineering (electronic, information, mechanical and molecular) and social sciences, including
international relations, economics, law, anthropology and sociology. The five Fulbright-Schuman
Scholars will undertake their research with a comparative perspective encompassing the European
Union and the United States. Italian Research Scholars will go to a variety of universities such as
Columbia, Harvard, Cornell, Brandeis, Purdue, Texas, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley,
University of Chicago and others across the country. Other scholarships have been assigned for
research and teaching and for seminars on American culture.
Following the previous editions, we are reporting on Fulbrighters’ publications and works. We are
also informing all alumni about the State Department Alumni website, which serves as a platform
for nearly 300,000 Fulbright alumni worldwide.
We are happy to host a short article of our series, The Fulbright Story, about eminent Fulbrighters.
In this edition, we present the story of Luigi Gerardo Napolitano, as narrated by Giovanni Caprara.
Prof. Napolitano obtained a Fulbright scholarship in 1953 to study micro-gravitational science at the
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, NY. Later, his NASA shuttle experiments resulted in important
practical applications to everyday life.
Finally, the Fulbright Program at-a-Glance gives information on the scholarships available in
2010-11 for Italian and US students, researchers and professors. We encourage applications from
qualified candidates!
Please keep in touch with us and inform us in case of changes of your contact details. As always,
your suggestions and contributions to our Newsletter are most welcome!
Maria Grazia Quieti
Executive Director, The U.S. – Italy Fulbright Commission

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Humanities
Italian Research Scholars 2009-2010
Sciences
Arts
Music between Americans and Italians:
Thoughts and Actions in American and Italian
Music - A laboratory for contemporary music
that aims to bridge the divide between writing
music and making music, between conceiving a
sound and the gesture needed to produce that
sound, between the lifetime of a sound and the
space it lives and dies in. The aim of the project
is to be in deep contact with the American
contemporary music life and to promote the
performances of Italian music in America and
American music in Italy. The laboratory is aimed
primarily at scholars, performers and composers
as well as to groups and ensembles specializing
in contemporary repertoire.
Filippo Perrocco - Research Scholar
from Conservatorio Stanislao Giacomantonio, Cosenza to Brandeis University, Massachusetts
Music Composition
Synthetic Reasoning: A Pragmatist View
- The research will explore the possibility of
a synthetic reasoning complementary to the
analytic reasoning already well developed in
Western philosophy. Synthetic reasoning is the
kind of reasoning we use in any hypothesis
and in any discovery: scientific, literary,
economic, ethical. We have always been using
this reasoning without successfully grasping
its rationale, often misunderstood as “pre-
logical”, “intuitive”, or “not-rational.” American
pragmatism, in particular Peirce’s, suggests a
different approach based on the study of signs
and creative gestures.
Giovanni Maddalena - Research Scholar
from University of Molise, Campobasso to Purdue University, Indiana
Philosophy
Integrated Synchronization Circuits for
Distributed Wireless Electronic Systems -
The objective of this project is to study how a
new type of synchronization algorithms devised
by the scholar at his home institution could be
implemented in the circuit prototypes currently
under development at the Berkeley Wireless
Research Center (BWRC) of the University of
California, Berkeley. The results of this research
could lead to the design of next-generation radio
modules able to assure more stable wireless
connections and high-precision localization and
synchronization services.
David Macii - Research Scholar
from University of Trento to University of California at Berkeley
Electronic Engineering
Modeling Glitch Noise at the Output of
Gravitational Wave Interferometric Antennas
and Designing an Optimum Detection
Scheme for Gravitational Wave Bursts with a
Network of Interferometers - The detection of
Gravitational Wave Bursts is highly challenging
due to the absence of a trusted waveform model
and the frequent instrumental or environmental
glitches at the output of interferometers. I have
introduced a statistical model for such glitch
component and my research in the US will be
devoted to its validation. The study of observed
glitches will help the tuning of the model on
actual data. An accurate noise characterization
will allow the design of an optimum detection
scheme.
Maria Principe - Visiting Student Researcher
from University of Sannio, Benevento to University of Texas
Information Engineering
Measurements and Modeling of Particle
Filtration in Diesel Engine Particulate Filters -
The diesel engine equips almost all of the Heavy-
Duty vehicles in the US. However, it presents
relatively high particle emissions (Particulate
Matter, PM). In PM, small size particles
(nanoparticles) can be particularly harmful,
as they have high surface-to-volume ratio and
mobility. Thus, the project aims to perform a
fundamental study of current technologies in
terms of nanoparticle filtration potential by means
of a mixed experimental-modeling approach,
during actual filter operation. The activities will
be carried out at the West Virginia University
(WVU) of Morgantown, under the supervision of
prof. M. Gautam.
Vincenzo Mulone - Research Scholar
from University of Rome “Tor Vergata” to West Virginia University
Mechanical Engineering

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SciencesSciences
Regulation of AP Endonuclease (Ape1) in
Cancer Cells - Ape1 is a hub in coordinating
different and vital functions in mammalian cells
and its dysregulation has been associated with
tumor aggressiveness and drug resistance.
The molecular mechanisms responsible for
the fine tuning of this protein are still unknown.
The present project intends to deepen our
understanding of Ape1’s role in cancers and
determine how to modulate its activity for
therapeutic applications.
Carlo Vascotto - Research Scholar
from University of Udine to Indiana University
Molecular Biology
Study of a Gen IV Advanced Lead Fast
Reactor Demonstration Project (DEMO):Core
Design Rationales and Development - My
Ph.D. research project is focused on advanced
nuclear systems proposed by the Generation
IV International Forum (GIF) being explored
within the DOE-NERI Gen IV R&D program.
I am specializing in Lead Fast Reactor (LFR)
technology, having begun some activities
concerning a preliminary proposal for the design
of a demonstration reactor (DEMO) that could
provide significant support to both the European
and the American reference LFR projects. The
context of my research at Argonne National
Laboratory would be as part of the Nuclear
Engineering Division’s work under the Fast
Reactors Campaign of the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative.
Specifically, I will develop DEMO core design and
performance analyses through the application of
Argonne neutronics computer codes.
Sarah Bortot - Visiting Student Researcher
from Polytechnic of Milan to Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois
Nuclear Engineering
Estrogen Production by Inflammatory Cells
Infiltrating the Adipose Tissue - Adipose tissue
inflammation is a major link between obesity and
insulin resistance. Since obese postmenopausal
women have much higher plasma estrogen
levels compared with lean women, the aims
of the project are to profile the expression of
estrogen receptors in adipocytes, endothelial
cells and immune cells present in adipose tissue
in relation to body fat mass and gender, and to
measure sex steroid hormones in serum and in
those same adipose tissue samples.
Andrea Cignarella - Research Scholar
from University of Padova to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Washington
Pharmacology
Design and Implementation of a 640 Gb/s
OTDM System - This project consists in
the design and implementation of the first
prototype, in the international scenario, of a
single wavelength 640Gbit/s complete all-optical
communication system with the main objective
of eliminating any opto-electronic conversion
and bandwidth limitations due to electronics. In
such a way next generation optical networks with
enormous channel capacity and transmission
speed and low power consumption will be
enabled, allowing new services and applications
based on multimedia and data communications.
Antonella Bogoni - Research Scholar
from National Interuniversity Consortium for Telecommunications, Pisa to University of Southern California
Telecommunications
Regeneration Schemes on Silicon Chip - The
tremendous increase of the internet traffic needs
high bit-rate optical transmission systems. The
transmission of high bit-rate signals is affected
by physical impairments which require inline
regeneration. The project aims to design and
implement silicon-based integrated all-optical
regeneration schemes for high-bit rate optical
signals, enabling regeneration at bit rate up
to 160 Gb/s with silicon technology. Among
the different solutions the most promising in
terms of performance will be implemented and
characterized.
Mirco Scaffardi - Research Scholar
from National Interuniversity Consortium for Telecommunications, Pisa to Cornell University, New York
Telecommunications
Ecomuseums, Sustainable Tourism and
Local Development. A Comparative Project
- The main research objective is to develop
theoretical and methodological knowledge that
will ultimately improve the tools for safeguarding
and developing local resources in both UNESCO
and other organizations.
Nunzia Borrelli - Research Scholar
from University of Naples to University of Chicago, Illinois
Anthropology & Sociology

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SciencesSocial Sciences
(Continued) The project aims to implement
both the idea of landscape promoted in the
Landscape European Convention and the idea
of heritage promoted in UNESCO Conventions.
To achieve the objective, the research wants
to investigate theoretical concepts and define
some methods able to analyze culture, identity,
and identity politics of places.
Mario Padula - Research Scholar
from University “Ca’ Foscari” of Venice to Stanford University, California
How Individuals are Preparing for
Retirement? - The objective of the research
project on “How Individuals are Preparing for
Retirement?” is to improve our understanding
of the economic consequences of demographic
aging for individuals’ well-being. The project
will make three main contributions to the
scientific community. First, we will reach a better
understanding of how individuals will respond to
aging at the macro and the micro level. Second,
it will measure the ex-ante and the ex-post
effects of the pension reforms brought about
by the demographic aging. Third, it will explore
the role of cognitive failures in accounting for
household saving and portfolio choices.
Economics
Carla Monteleone - Fulbright Schuman Scholar
from University of Palermo to Columbia University, New York
International Security, Multilateral
Interventions and Legitimacy: The role of
US – EU Cooperation - The project aims at
analyzing the impact that cooperation between
the US and the EU within multilateral institutions
has on the legitimacy and effectiveness of
interventions, and, more in general, on the
choice for multilateralism and multilateral
interventions in the field of security. The project
will be carried out at the Saltzman Institute of
War and Peace Studies, Columbia University,
New York, and at the Government Department
at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
International Relations
Marilena Gala - Research Scholar
from University of Roma Tre to George Washington University, Washington D.C.
The European Security Issue: Turning Points
in Trans-Atlantic Relations, from 1950 to 1980
- This research project is aimed at analyzing
thirty years of transatlantic relations, from the
standpoint of European security. My intention
is to focus on key turning points, brought about
by the emergence of differing security policy
priorities between Americans and Europeans
throughout the central decades of the Cold War,
in order to understand how European security
dependence on the US evolved in terms of
increasing uneasiness to adjust to America’s
course of action.
History of International Relations
Sabrina Bruno - Research Scholar
from University of Calabria to Harvard Law School, Massachusetts
Shareholder Voting Power in Publicly
Traded Corporations: a Comparison
between European and U.S. Jurisdictions
through the Eyes of History - A comparison
between European jurisdictions and the U.S.
on powers allocated to shareholders of publicly
traded corporations (directors’ nomination,
remuneration etc., initiative for voting, right to
debate) and on their exercise in practice. The
historical background of such allocation will be
scrutinized considering the common origin of the
corporation, the British East India Company with
shareholders being its supreme owners. The
implementation of the recent European Union
Directive on Shareholders’ Rights N. 36/2007
will be investigated.
Law
Daniele Gallo - Fulbright Schuman Scholar
from European University Institute of Florence to Fordham University, NY
The Need for a European Market of Financial
Services: Regulation, Competition, and
Rights - The research will establish why we
need a more coherent, general and European
approach in the field of financial services, studied
as a whole (banking, insurance, capital markets,
social security) and considered as an essential
but defective component of the Market. To this
end, the analysis will focus on the four following,
closely connected, dimensions: Regulation;
Competition, State aids and economic freedoms;
Social justice and consumer rights; and the role
of the EU in the international context.
Law

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Sara Poli - Fulbright Schuman Scholar
from European College of Bruges, Belgium to Penn State University, Pennsylvania
The European Union’s External Action to
Establish an Area of Freedom, Security and
Justice - This project focuses on the ‘external
dimension’ of the area of freedom, security and
justice (AFSJ) that the Member States would
like to establish within the European Union (EU).
The project concerns the way the EU can use
international agreements with third countries to
strengthen freedom, security and justice in the
EU. Its objective is to identify possible legal and
political problems that the European Institutions
may face in concluding agreements on matters
such as illegal immigration, terrorism and
organized crime.
Law
Guido Tintori - Fulbright Schuman Scholar
from University of Milan to New York University
Terror Attacks and their Impacts on the
Migrant Integration Policies in the U.S. and
in the EU - The research will reflect upon the
nexus of migration, civil liberties and security
in the western hemisphere and will evaluate
the impact of securitization on the integration
policies of the EU and the U.S.. The research
will try to assess what is the reciprocal influence
of the U.S. and the EU on their security policy-
making and migration policies within the national/
regional context, whether, and in which manner,
a transatlantic convergence has been or can be
developed, also in the light of the emergence of
a new discourse of ‘de-securitization’.
Political History
Valentina Mele - Research Scholar
from Bocconi University, Milan to Columbia University, NY
Multistakeholder Corporate Regulation
and Voluntary Codes of Conduct - We are
witnessing the rise of voluntary corporate codes
of conduct. Much less studied is the fact that
these codes are often part of more complex
global governance networks initiated by
international organizations, in turn coordinated
with NGOs and National Governments. This
research aims at contributing to the debate
on global governance by focusing on how
these initiatives, and the UN Global Compact
in particular, challenge the traditional role of
governments in regulating corporate behavior.
Public Administration
Work-Family Reconciliation Issues: New and
Old Gender and Generational Contracts. A
Cross-National Analysis - The research project
intends to investigate and compare work/family
balance and reconciliation policies in several
European countries and the US. The focus
is on families at different working life stages:
parents with young children and adult-worker
children with frail parents. The US is a crucial
comparative case, because it defies simplistic
cause-effect assumptions and because of the
important role played by enterprises in policy-
making and the market.
Manuela Naldini - Research Scholar
from University of Turin to New York University
Sociology
Social Sciences
Salvatore Sberna - Visiting Student Researcher
from Italian Institute of Humanities (SUM), Florence to University of California
The Infiltration of Mafias into Local
Government: Evidence from Italian and US
Cases - The research project examines the
relation between organized crime and political
corruption in local government. The empirical
study will focus on mafia’s penetration in 183
Italian cities. The research will provide an
analysis of the main Italian criminal organizations
(Cosa Nostra, Camorra, ‘Ndrangheta) over time
and across several regions of Italy. These case-
studies will be compared also with some cases
of Italian mafias’ infiltration into US cities.
Political Science

7www.fulbright.it
Italian Graduate Students 2009-2010 Arts
Sustainable New Cities - While developing
my Bachelor’s thesis I started to deal with
architectural sustainability, focusing on the
climate-responsiveness of high-rise buildings.
This Master’s program represents the
natural continuation of my studies, featuring
interdepartmental courses such as energy
systems and urban infrastructure from
Engineering, environmental management
from Business, public administration from
Social Sciences and Law. IIT also hosts the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a
world-renowned Institution seeking advanced
research on architecture and urban planning.
Chiara Socciarelli
from University of Florence to Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
Architecture
TFM Program at SDSU - Alberto Massarese
will be joining the School of Theatre, Television
and Film at San Diego State University in
California. The school’s program places a
particular emphasis on the relationship between
film and theatre. Alberto’s research will focus
on the interdisciplinary aspects of the medium
in order to bring back home a more innovative
and visual approach to filmmaking and to build
an international network of filmmakers for future
creative collaborations between Italy and the
United States.
Alberto Massarese
from University of Reading, UK to San Diego State University, California
Film Studies
Anna Follo
from University IUAV of Venice to New York University
Museum Studies is a program in the
contemporary theory and practice of museum
work that emphasizes both the interdisciplinary
study of museums and courses of practical
training. This program requires enthusiasm and
curiosity: the courses provide a perfect basis for
studying human experience in terms of cultural
production. Careers that could be undertaken
cover the full range of museum activity:
directors, curators, educators, registrars,
collection managers, and development, media
and public relations specialists.
Museum Studies
Annalisa Vozza
from Centro Studi Comunicare l’Impresa, Bari to City University of New York
My study objective in the United States is to
attend a Master’s degree program in Film
Directing. The program aims to prepare aspiring
directors to pursue a career in the field of
media arts, with emphasis on strong original
storytelling. My ultimate goal is to understand
every possibility of the visual medium in order to
express an authorial viewpoint and cultivate an
individual artistic voice.
Film Studies
Andrea Veneziani
from Conservatorio “L. Refice” of Frosinone to New York University
As a Fulbright student I will attend the New
York University Steinhardt School, Jazz Studies
Department, pursuing a Master of Music
Degree in Performance with a Concentration
in Jazz. The Master of Music Degree program
at NYU prepares graduates to be innovative
leaders in today’s world-wide jazz scene and it’s
constituted of individualized study with world-
class artist faculty, intensive rehearsal and
performance opportunities at landmark venues
including Blue Note Jazz Club, Village Vanguard
and Birdland.
Music

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Sciences
Social SciencesFrancesco Fallucchi
from University of Siena to The University of Texas
The Market of Ticket Scalping: An
Experimental Approach - The aim of the
project for the Ph.D. program in Economics at
The University of Texas at Austin is to analyze
the secondary tickets market of events adopting
Craigslist.org ads as source of data. The goal
is to highlight interactions in a network between
professional “scalpers”, who fix the price, and
occasional resellers’ strategies used to set their
tickets’ price. Finally, the research wants to
suggest new sales methods that minimize extra
profits for scalpers.
Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi - Fulbright-Carlo Maria Santoro
from University of Perugia to Syracuse University, New York
Vincenzo Bavaro
from University of Rome “La Sapienza” to Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
Humanities
Racial Capital: Cultural Politics and the
Performance of Authenticity - My research
project in American Studies intends to
investigate the literary and cultural production
of ethnic minorities emphasizing a controversial
symbolic and cultural capital associated to
ethnicity and authenticity, which I term racial
capital. By focusing on the literary marketplace
and on strategies of authorship, I analyze
individual authors’ investment in, or challenge
to, established expectations defining and
limiting the definition of “ethnic” culture itself.
American Literature
Giacomo Giorli
from University of Florence to University of Hawaii at Manoa
Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Marine
Mammal Species - The objective of my study
is to monitor cetaceans using acoustical
techniques. Cetaceans use acoustical cues
for communication. This allows researchers to
investigate their abundance, migratory routes
and reaction to anthropogenic noise by the
use of acoustical techniques. Underwater bio-
acoustics is a research field that has been
rapidly growing in the past years since it
provides information about the conservation
status of wild populations and is less expensive
than other methodologies used in open and/or
deep sea research.
Oceanography
Sebastiano Padovan
from University of Padova to University of California, Los Angeles
Messenger to Mercury - The Messenger
spacecraft will be inserted in a Mercury orbit on
March 18, 2011. Mercury is an extreme body,
whose characterization as a planet is not yet
complete. I will work to combine Messenger
data with theoretical models, in order to build a
coherent picture for the formation and evolution
of Mercury. Future findings from Messenger and
other planetary missions (EJSM, for instance)
will improve our knowledge of the Solar System
as a whole.
Astronomy
Maria Scandiuzzi - Fulbright-Finmeccanica
from University of Padova to Cornell University, New York
IwillattendaMasterinEngineeringManagement
in Cornell University. The program is aimed
at engineers who want to stay in a technical
environment, but who wish to advance in
managerial roles. My career interests focus on
engineering companies and I view the Master
as an effective alternative to an MBA degree
because it is focused on the mix of technical
and project management skills that are valued
highly in technical environments.
Engineering Management
Economics
International Relations
I have always been interested in specializing
in issues related to Iranian geopolitics,
culture, history, language and foreign policy,
particularly towards European countries and
the United States, from both an historical and
an anthropological point of view. After the study
period in the United States I would like to work
in international organizations or in the diplomatic
environment on the role and influence of Iran in
the international system.

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Chiara Ferrari
from University of Siena to Columbia University, New York
Contractual Models of Inter-firm
Collaboration: Multi-party Contracts - The
challenges of markets globalization make the
issue of enterprises’growth and competitiveness
as topical as ever. I want to analyze the
legal tools implemented by enterprises to
collaborate and cooperate in order to achieve
a common goal, focusing in particular, on
“multi-party contracts” (e.g. consortia or joint
ventures). In this framework I plan to deepen
the specific areas of contract law and business
organization law, carrying on an analysis from
two perspectives: a comparative one and a law
and economics perspective.
Law
Stefano Valente
from University of Genova to Columbia University, New York
My program of study at Columbia Law School
will focus on Corporate Law and Financial
Markets regulation. In particular, my plan is
to gain a deeper knowledge of these subjects
from the perspective of the law and economics
methodology. I really count on the fact that this
experience will help me to fulfill my long term
desire: becoming an Italian legal scholar fully
capable of participating in the international
academic debate in this field.
Law
Towards a Doctrine of European Preemption:
Lessons from the American Federal Model -
Well-established in the case law of the European
Court of Justice is the principle whereby
Community harmonization measures preempt
State legislation in the field concerned. But to
what extent? The approach hitherto adopted
– viz. focusing on the harmonization model
employed – has not yielded satisfactory results
in terms of legal certainty. It is thus suggested
that a doctrine of ‘European Preemption’ built
on the US federal model could provide a clearer
understanding of the issue.
Amedeo Arena
from University of Naples Federico II to New York University
Law
Fulbright-BEST (Business Exchange and Student
Training) 2009-2010 Santa Clara University, California
Social Sciences
Autopilots for UAVs based on Robust
Multivariable Control Laws - The use
of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is in
continuous growth. My project is focused on the
design, development and realization of a new
generation of low-cost autopilots for UAVs, able
to increase the degree of autonomy of such
vehicles. This goal can be achieved through
the implementation of adequate robust multi
-variable control laws, allowing to perform the
simultaneous control of two or more variables,
thus increasing the performance of the vehicle,
and in the meanwhile leading to a significant
cost reduction.
Renato Panesi
from University of Pisa
Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering
Entrepreneurship and
Management
D-Orbit – Deorbiting Devices - Deorbiting
Devices are propulsive apparatus which uses
advanced propellant of proprietary formulation,
based on nanotechnologies, to give the best
performance at the lowest weight (and thus
costs). Deorbiting Devices are used in low orbit
satellites reentering phases and to remove end-
of-life non-operative satellites from their orbit.
Deorbiting Devices represent the solution for the
future increase of space pollution regulations
constraints: our products bring back into the
atmosphere small to medium size satellites in
few hours.
Luca Rossettini
from Polytechnic of Milan
Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering

10www.fulbright.it
R.E.A.L. - Remote Expert Assistance
for Lines - R.E.A.L. system employs
augmented reality [http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=P9KPJlA5yds] technology in
a disruptive way for technical assistance,
maintenance and training, as shown in this
illustrative video. Our patented technology
has been already successfully adopted [http://
www.sidel.com/press/press-releases/2007/
augmented-reality-a-real-boost-to-traditional-
technical-assistance] in 2007 by Sidel Group,
a Tetra Laval company. It enables Clients to
improve their technical assistance network
efficiency and efficacy and to remotely assist
their clients industrial training. REAL addresses
the remote services market, expected to be
worth $35.7 bn in 2010.
Francesco Inguscio
from Scuola Superiore di Studi e Perfezionamento Sant’Anna di Pisa
Daniele Cassini
from University of Bologna
Biomedical Engineering
Management
Fully Customizable Measurement Systems -
A new way of thinking portable plantar pressure
measurement systems in clinical environment
for applications like orthopedics, rehabilitation,
biomechanics research and many others is
presented. By providing a standard system and
its building blocks (sensors) separately, the
end user will be able to easily assemble and
customize the device on his own. Thus, one
pays only for what he really needs and avoids
overcomplexity often not required. In time, more
types of sensors will be added and the same
concept will be used to expand for measures in
any other part of the body. I imagine in the near
future a new ‘Lego’ medical world where players
aren’t children, but my customers!
HaleTech – Technology Towards Health
- Scientific evidence claims that current
rehabilitation lacks objective data to assess
patient’s conditions and evaluate outcomes of
rehabilitation. The HaleTech project wants to
address this issue by developing technological
systems capable of providing quantitative
data form patient’s body during sessions of
domestic rehabilitation. The system provides
some sensory feedback to guide the patient in
performing correctly his/her exercise. HaleTech
system are designed around the user: they
are unobtrusive, user-friendly and highly
customizable.
Giuseppe Cavallo
from Bio-Medical University Campus of Rome
Biomedical Engineering
Microsystems for Innovative Methods in
Diagnosis and Therapy of Cancer - Human
immune system is a high-potential resource
to fight most diseases, but it generally fails
against cancer. Advances in biotechnology
are necessary to improve the effectiveness of
cancer immuno-therapies. The research I made
at the University of Bologna brought to the
development of microsystems which can handle
just one or few cells, providing new methods for
training cells of the immune system to destroy
cancer cells and for better monitoring the
effectiveness of cancer immuno-therapies.
Massimo Bocchi
Biotechnologies
Alexandros Chatgilialoglu
Lipids in Cell Cultures (LCC): a Biotech
Company for Certified Membrane Lipidomics
- Cultured cells change their membrane lipid
composition due to the culturing conditions, thus
creating an indefinite palette of phenotypes. The
mission of LCC is to develop innovative culturing
supplementation media and protocols for
membrane lipid standardization of different cell
lines, according to their original cell type. LCC
wishes to support and contribute to the scientific
advancements concerning the relevance of
membranes in cell biology.
Biotechnologies
Business/Innovation Management

11www.fulbright.it
Biosensors for Point of Care Diagnostic
(POC): A Multiparameter Sensor to Monitor
Overweight and Liver Related Diseases -
Healthcare home testing is a worldwide $7 billion
market. Up to 45% of all medical tests in the
next seven years will be conducted outside the
hospital laboratory. I propose a small portable
amperometric POC biosensor for easy, low cost
simultaneousmonitoringoffourkeyphysiological
parameters: the content of cholesterol, bilirubin,
glucose and transaminases, respectively
detected by the enzyme cholesterol oxidase,
bilirubin oxidase, glucose oxidase and amino
transferase. Screen-printed-electrodes and
MicroElectrodeArrays will be applied.
Arianna Tibuzzi
from University of Trento
SOAIntegrationTool:ANewSoftwareSolution
for Efficiently and Flexibly Combining Web
Applications in the Internet - This project is an
application of the research carried on during my
Ph.D. It aims at developing and commercializing
a software tool that enables the integration of
Web applications in the Internet in an efficient
and flexible manner. The idea is to wrap a Web
application into one or more Web services that
can be used within standard Service Oriented
Architectures (SOAs). More specifically, the tool
relies on a formal framework to obtain certified
Web Services.
Antonella Chirichiello
from University of Rome La Sapienza
Computer Engineering
Electronics Engineering
How to Establish a New Industry Based on
Production and Utilization of Sustainable
Bio-fuels using Jatropha Curcas - The
need for mitigation of Climate Change, energy
security, scarcity and volatility of fossil fuels,
are indicating bio-fuels as a potential global
business. Jatropha curcas represents an
optimal feedstock for bio-fuel production: not-
competing with food crops, low agricultural
input, adapted to semi-marginal lands, it reduces
poverty and prevents desertification in tropical
and subtropical developing countries. Agroils
America aims to establish a new industry of
sustainable bio-diesel and bio-jet-fuel feedstock
in US and other American Countries.
Federico Maria Grati
from Danish Technical University
Environmental and Territorial Engineering
Domenico Centrone
from Polytechnic University of Milan
MAINs - MAINtenance Solutions - MAINs aims
to help maintenance managers or in general
equipment users, in taking effective and efficient
maintenance decisions in order to optimize
time and costs of maintenance interventions
and improve safety and environment aspects.
This is achieved through the development of
customized solutions based on software and
hardware modules built on a new approach for
reliability estimation.
Industrial Engineering
Management
Porous Silicon in Photovoltaic - Discovered by
chance in 1956 at Bell Labs, porous silicon is now
employed in DNA sensing, MEMS, gas sensing,
etc. Its advantage over other techniques is due
to the non-vacuum and easy scalable process.
The present work proposes the application of
this technique for the realization of a cheap
and effective antireflection coating for standard
silicon solar cell, and for the production of an
original free-standing nanostructured substrate
for hybrid or third generation solar cell.
Natanaele Bacci
from University of Pisa
Micro and Nanoelectric Technologies

12www.fulbright.it
Learning Italian through Spoken Interaction -
My teaching project will basically focus on
improving students’ speaking skills. I will work
with beginners who have not probably had any
experience in Italian, so far. I will not carry on
ordinary language classes, since they will not
include grammar lessons: my main goal, in
fact, will be having the students speaking Italian
intensively, starting from reading various kinds
of texts and discussing them. Authentic cultural
materials from Italy such as books, pictures,
songs or videos will enrich my classes.
Ivana Garita
from University of Rome La Sapienza to Russell Sage College, New York
As a Foreign Language Teaching Assistant in
the U.S., my main goal is that of participating
in a cultural dialogue, to exchange ideas
and perspectives. Through this opportunity
of intellectual and personal growth, I want to
bring my experience in the world, to travel and
communicate with my identity, and to cultivate
my strong belief in the values of tolerance and
togetherness that always guide, in my opinion,
the life of a teacher.
Giuseppe Sorrentino
from University of Naples L’Orientale to Ramapo College of New Jersey
FLTA is a very challenging opportunity in my
career because I will have the responsibility to
teach Italian at Bard College. I may be asked to
teach my own class and to share my culture to
other international students. Also, I am going to
live in a great country and to learn about new
traditions and way of life. For these reasons, I
am sure FLTA is going to be a big step in my life!
Roberto Polo
from University of Florence to Bard College, New York
Italian Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA)
2009-2010
My name is Daria Angeli and I am one of those
people who have been fortunate enough to be
selected to participate in the FLTA - Fulbright
Program for the upcoming academic year
2009/2010. My destination will be Wheaton
College, Norton, Massachusetts, an area
where I have always longed to go. Being a
Teacher Assistant there, would mean a lot to
me. First of all, having a MSc in Anglo-American
Literature with a focus on comparative studies,
would certainly give me the chance to enrich
my knowledge and to deepen my research
on literary topics, with the not-so-secret hope
to produce interesting course material for the
pupils-to-be. Secondly, this opportunity could
only bring me closer to confirm my career choice.
The chance of teaching Italian as a second
language would - without doubts - improve my
teaching skills, sharpen my techniques and
methodologies and raise awareness about the
beauty and the significance of the Italian culture
among American students. Grateful for this very
huge prospect, I must say that I am really looking
forward to it.
Daria Angeli
from University of Verona to Wheaton College, Massachusetts
Cosimo Palmisano
from Polytechnic of Bari
Client/Server Contextual Recommender
System - It is a set of data mining algorithms for
predicting and pushing products/service to be
sold to “brick and mortar” firms facing the online
market. It consists of a firm-centric RS and of a
customer-centric RS application, to be provided
to the final customers for creating customers’
networks, negotiating with the firm, introducing
contextual recommendation queries but also to
activate prospects. A different recommendation
algorithm is customized for different customers
in different stages of their lifecycle.
On-line Communication Technology
Management
Italian Language

13www.fulbright.it
La storia di Luigi Gerardo Napolitano, maestro
riconosciuto a livello internazionale della nuova
scienza della microgravità, si può dire che inizi
con l’assegnazione della “Fulbright Student
Scholarship”, borsa di studio “agognata da molti
e raggiunta da pochi” messa a disposizione nel
Dopoguerra dagli americani per gli studenti
meritevoli.
A prospettargli la preziosa opportunità era
stato nientemeno che il generale Umberto
Nobile, il trasvolatore del Polo Nord in dirigibile
e protagonista della drammatica vicenda della
“Tenda rossa”. Napolitano era allievo di Nobile
all’Università di Napoli, un allievo prediletto del
quale aveva constatato le grandi capacità e
per questo gli suggeriva, ottenuta la laurea in
ingegneria meccanica e poi la specializzazione
in ingegneria aerospaziale all’Università di
Roma, di volare negli Stati Uniti per conquistare
il massimo della conoscenza possibile. Per
questo nel 1953 partirà da Napoli a bordo della
nave Vulcania e sbarcherà a New York. Qui alla
Polytechnic University lavorerà con lo scienziato
italiano Antonio Ferri emigrato dopo la guerra
oltre oceano diventando uno dei grandi cervelli
eccellenti della scienza aeronautica e spaziale
americana.
Ma qui oltre ad immergersi nella frontiera della
conoscenza Napolitano avrà modo di gettare
i primi semi di quel rapporto con l’America
che si rivelerà prezioso per il suo futuro di
scienziato. Al suo ritorno in Italia, grazie alla
preziosa esperienza della “Fulbright Student
Scholarship”, Luigi Gerardo Napolitano maturò
capacità tali da spingerlo verso la nuova
frontiera della scienza microgravitazionale. E
i suoi esperimenti a bordo dello shuttle della
Nasa apriranno possibilità di applicazioni
pratiche molto importanti.
La microgravità in orbita è una risorsa da
sfruttare per produrre beni utili alla vita
quotidiana ma impossibili da ottenere sulla
Terra. E Napolitano svelò alcuni dei segreti
che permettono di ottenere questi risultati.
Purtroppo la prematura scomparsa nel 1991 gli
impedì di tagliare altri importanti traguardi ma
già era diventato un personaggio internazionale
presiedendo per due volte l’International
Astronautical Federation. All’agenzia spaziale
Europea ESA aveva assunto la responsabilità
dei programmi di utilizzo della stazione spaziale
e poco prima della scomparsa era stato eletto
presidente del CIRA, il Centro Italiano di
Ricerche Aerospaziali di Capua.
By Giovanni Caprara
Luigi Gerardo Napolitano Maestro della Nuova Scienza della Microgravità
Fulbright Story
Luigi Gerardo Napolitano
Alumnus (1953-1954)
Polytechnic Institute -
Brooklyn, NY
Fulbrighters’ Publications and Works
They Call me Muslim
by Diana Ferrero (2003-2004)
In popular Western imagination, a Muslim
woman in a veil – or hijab – is a symbol of Islamic
oppression. But what does it mean for women’s
freedom when a democratic country forbids
the wearing of the veil? In this provocative
documentary, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays
the struggle of two women – one in France and
one in Iran – to express themselves freely.
In 2004, the French government instituted
an “anti-veil law,” forbidding Muslim girls from
wearing the hijab to school. Samah, a teenager
in Paris who, at 14 decided to wear the veil,
explains how the law attacks her sense of
identity – and does not make her feel liberated.
“Who says that freedom is not wearing anything
on your head?” she asks. Half a world away
in Tehran, “K,” forced to wear the hijab by the
Islamic regime, defiantly wears it her own way
– and her translucent scarf loosely draped over
her hair puts her at risk of arrest. When Ferrero
films her at home, K, comfortable in a tank
top and shorts, says, “They call me Muslim...
But do you see me as a Muslim? What do
you have in your mind for a Muslim person?”
Beautifully shot and finely crafted, THEY CALL
ME MUSLIM highlights how women still must
struggle for the right to control their own bodies
– not only under theocratic regimes, but also in
secular, democratic countries where increasing
discrimination against Muslims and sexism
intersect.
Women Make Movies. They Call Me Muslim.
Available at: http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/
c698.shtml [Accessed: June 12, 2009].
Documentaries
The Fulbright Story

14www.fulbright.it
A yearning for adventure, a desire for fulfillment,
and the need to get on with life after an
unsuccessful liaison brings Harriet Sackett to
the village Vitorchiano in the heart of the Italian
countryside. The year is 1922. Her intention is
to photograph and research Etruscan tombs on
behalf of the theosophical society.
Some months later Sarah, Harriet’s friend since
childhood, and her husband Stephan, Harriet’s
cousin, meet up with Harriet in Florence.
Sarah becomes deeply worried about Harriet’s
welfare and on her return to London sends her
housekeeper, Mrs. Parsons to help out for a
while. Almost immediately an urgent telegram
summons them back to Italy. Mrs. Parsons had
arrived to find Harriet emaciated on the point
of collapse and unable to communicate. The
atmosphere in the country cottage is deeply
unsettling and the only clue to her condition is
the discovery of a diary – a diary documenting
a passionate relationship with a mysterious
Federico del Re.
Lappin, L. (2004). The Etruscan. Galway: Wynkin de
Worde
The Etruscan
by Linda Lappin (1978-1979)
Books
Come il barbiere di Stalin, che non si sentiva
responsabile dei crimini del dittatore, ciascuno
si sente pulito e pensa sinceramente di non aver
nulla a che fare con misfatti e inadempienze
che constata ogni giorno: eppure anche noi
flirtiamo con il male. Qualche volta lo serviamo.
Pensionati e lavoratori, politici e cittadini,
dipendentipubblicieprivati,lavoratoridipendenti
e popolo delle partite IVA siamo l’un contro altro
armati, convinti che altri siano i responsabili.
D’Anselmi invece se la prende con le personali
responsabilità di ciascuno. Il messaggio finisce
per essere tuttavia ottimistico e non catastrofista
perchè riconsegna a ciascuno la chiave della
propria felicità. Puntando l’attenzione sul
lavoro delle imprese e delle istituzioni l’autore
svolge un’analisi puntuale dei diversi settori
dell’economia e del sociale, crea un database
sterminato di scempiaggini che si perpetrano
e di cose buone che si fanno, e presenta cosi
uno spaccato della nazione e l’agenda per una
cultura dell’attuazione.
Bonomi, A. (2008). Il Barbiere di Stalin.
Università Bocconi Editore.
Il Barbiere di Stalin
by Paolo D’Anselmi (1978-1979)
America: Un liberale guarda alla terra della libertà
by Paolo L. Bernardini (2004-2005)
Un penetrante reportage dall’America e
sull’America di un liberale europeo che
attraverso brevi flash, annotazioni, e appunti
riesce a condurci senza censure e dogane
ideologiche entro i confini dell’Impero.
Tra la Pennsylvania e il Missouri, tra Boston
e l’Alabama, l’autore si confronta con luoghi,
istituzioni, realtà imprenditoriali e culturali che
rendono nitidamente percepibile la freschezza
e la vitalità di questa nazione non ancora del
tutto guasta dal progressivo espandersi del Big
Government.
L’America, una galassia piena di stelle che
neanche l’astronomo più diligente potrà mai
conoscere in tutta la loro varietà.
Bernardini, P.L. (2008). America: Un liberale guarda
alla terra della libertà. Liberilibri. 270.
In Deliberative Environmental Politics, Walter
Baber and Robert Bartlett link political theory
with the practice of environmental politics,
arguing that the “deliberative turn” in democratic
theory presents an opportunity to move
beyond the policy stalemates of interest-group
liberalism and offers a foundation for reconciling
rationality, strong democracy, and demanding
environmentalism. Deliberative democracy,
which presumes that the essence of democracy
is deliberation - thoughtful and discursive
public participation in decision making- rather
than voting, interest aggregation or rights, has
the potential to produce more environmentally
sound policy decisions and a more ecological
regional form of environmental governance.
Deliberative Environmental Politics: Democracy and Ecological Rationality
by Walter F. Baber (2008-2009) and Robert V. Bartlett (2006-2007)

15www.fulbright.it
Media and Public Spheres, now available in
paperback, presents empirical studies of print,
recorded music, movies, radio, television and
the Internet that reveal how media structures
public spheres as well as how people use
media to participate in the public sphere. They
explore the nature of public spheres, how
they are deliberative, egalitarian, exclusive or
alternative, and the dilemmas that each of these
present. The studies include cases of media,
present and past, in North America, Europe and
Asia.
Butsch, R. (2009). Media and Public Spheres. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan. 286.
Media and Public Spheres
by Richard Butsch (2007-2008)
The new book covers the bases: the 19th
century terror of the crowd in the discussion of
audiences; the bizarreness of the Payne Fund
studies into cinema; the mass comm panics;
the so-called new world of the Internet; and so
on. Butsch is again right to draw our attention
to how quantoids reinvent old studies and
rehearse old reactionary anxieties. It’s an older
story even than he suggests. The emergence
of private, silent reading in the ninth century,
which ended religion’s monopoly on textuality,
was criticized as an invitation to idleness. In
the 12th century, John of Salisbury warned
of the negative impact of juggling, mime,
and acting on unoccupied minds. As printed
books began to proliferate in the early 18th
century, critics feared a return to the disorder
of the post-Roman Empire. Erudition would be
overwhelmed by popular texts, just as it had
been by war. When Goethe’s The Sorrows of
Young Werther came out in 1774, its suiciding
hero was deemed to have caused numerous
mimetic suicides among readers, and the book
was banned in many cities.
Miller, T. 2009 Jan 28. Richard Butsch: The Citizen
Audience: Crowds, Publics and Individuals.
International Journal of Communication [Online] 3:0.
Available: http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/
view/484/319
The Citizen Audience: Crowds, Publics, and Individuals
by Richard Butsch (2007-2008)
La Società del Giardino: Un Percorso Illustrato
by Starleen K. Meyer (1994-1995)
The inspiration for this book is found in my
deep fondness for La Società del Giardino, for
the principles of friendship, for the pleasures of
social life and of culture on which it was founded,
and for its tranquil atmosphere, friendly, rich
with beauty, and consonant with the discreet
spirit of the Milanese. Seen in this light, the
present volume - realized in the same year the
225th anniversary of the founding of the club
was celebrated - is balanced between ease of
consultation and completeness, in order to offer
to the club’s guests a framework of information,
to the club’s member a synthesis, and to both
an illustrated panorama of the art, the palazzo
and the history of the club still characterized by
vitality.
Meyer, S.K. (2008). La Società del Giardino: Un
percorso Illustrato. Milano: Galli Thiery Stampa.
(Continued) Baber and Bartlett defend
deliberative democracy’s relevance to
environmental politics in the twenty-first
century against criticisms from other theorists.
They critically examine three major models
for deliberative democracy, those of John
Rawls, Jurgen Habermas, and advocates of
full liberalism such as Amy Gutmann, Dennis
Thompson and James Bohman- and analyze
the implications of each of these approaches
for ecologically rational environmental politics
as well as for institution, citizens, experts, and
social movement. In order to establish that
democracy is ecologically sustainable and
that environmental protection can (and must)
become a norm of culture rather than a mere
fact of government, they argue, new models
of ecological deliberation and deliberative
environmentalism are required.
Baber, W. F. and Bartlett, R. V. (2005). Deliberative
Environmental Politics: Democracy and Ecologi-
cal Rationality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 264.
Books

16www.fulbright.it
This essay will examine one of the five
“strategic spheres” of Rome’s 2004 Piano
Regolatore (master plan) for the historic
city, the Tiber River and consider proposed
interventions and programming by artist Kristin
Jones (no relation to the author). Hardly an
unknown or marginal element in the city, the
Tiber has historically dominated whole regions
of Rome, which it has served as the main
artery for commercial, military, transportation,
and drainage infrastructure up to the 19th
century. Yet the Tiber River has threatened
the life of the city with violent acts of periodic
flooding throughout its history, which led to
the construction of embankments to control its
inundations. Consequently, during the modern
age, the Tiber’s presence and vitality in Rome
have been diminished when compared with the
preceding three thousand years of life along its
banks.
Jones, K.B. February (2009). Rome’s Uncertain
Tiberscape: Tevereterno and the Urban Commons.
The Waters of Rome. Number 6. pp.1-12.
Rome’s Uncertain Tiberscape: Tevereterno and the Urban Commons
by Kay Bea Jones
Articles
Caputi, I. (2008). Costellazione Cancro. Plurilingual Journal of Creativity and Criticism. Editrice
Società Fiorentina.Volume ii, 119.
Poetry

17www.fulbright.it
Join the State Alumni Website and Exchanges Connect!
Join STATE ALUMNI, a prestigious, password-
protected website created exclusively for alumni
of U.S. government exchange programs! The
Fulbright Community on STATE ALUMNI brings
together current program grantees and alumni –
as well as serves as the program’s professional
support network for nearly 300,000 Fulbright
alumni worldwide. To join, go to: https://alumni.
state.gov/register or http://exchanges.state.gov.
ExchangesConnect is a growing global
community of people interested in cross-
cultural dialogue and international exchange.
It is open to anyone who wishes to join, and
its purpose is to form an online community of
individuals dedicated to building bridges among
cultures and making a positive contribution to
the world. There are several affinity groups
within ExchangesConnect, including one for
the Fulbright Program. It is particularly useful
in helping prospective candidates learn more
about the Fulbright Program. Register for
ExchangesConnect at http://connect.state.gov/
main/authorization/signUp.
News
On April 9, 2009, the newspaper La Repubblica
reported that a group of young researchers from
the Department of Agriculture of the University
of Turin, in collaboration with Prof. Alberto Alba
and professors from the University of Modena
and Milan discovered that bacteria named
Wolbachia may in fact be attributed for the sex
change of its host insects. A current Fulbright
Grantee, U.S. Graduate 2008-2009 Margaret
Sherriffs, from the University of California, is
currently conducting her research and field
and greenhouse experiments at the University
of Turin in cooperation with the Alma Lab. Her
research involves the study of co-evolution
between Wolbachia bacteria and its insect
hosts. Because Wolbachia is transmitted only
from mother to offspring, males are essentially
“dead-end” hosts. Consequently, Wolbachia
strains have evolved the ability to manipulate
host reproduction to increase production of
infected females. In the case of two analyzed
insects, these bacteria would be responsible
to make genetic male embryos develop into
females.
The study has been accepted and will be
published briefly in the research journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological
Sciences. This study could have a considerable
effect in the study of epigenetics, which involves
changes in phenotype (appearance) or gene
expression caused by mechanisms other than
changes in the underlying DNA sequence, as
it may represent the core of numerous severe
pathologies.
Margaret Sherriffs (US Graduate 2008-2009 at the University of Turin) in the News
News News
Rotary Event: The U.S. - Italy Fulbright Commission Receives a Prize
April 6, 2009 - Jolly Hotel, Rome
On April 6 2009, The Rotary Club Roma Sud-
Ovest organized an event to celebrate the
strong bonds between Italy and the USA.
The most representative American cultural
organizations in Rome received an award by
Gen. Luigi Magliuolo for their role in bridging
culture between the two countries. In addition
to Fulbright other organizations that received an
award were: the Center for American Studies,
the American Overseas School of Rome, the
American Academy in Rome, the Marymount
International School Rome, and The American
University of Rome.
Maria Grazia Quieti, Executive Director The U.S.
- Italy Fulbright Commission, receives a prize
from Gen. Luigi Magliuolo, President Rotary
Club Roma Sud-Ovest
Fulbright-Rotary Club Napoli Posillipo Scholarship
June 8, 2009 - Rotary Club Posillipo, Napoli
On June 8, the Rotary Club Napoli Posillipo and
The U.S. - Italy Fulbright Commission celebrated
the new scholarship for research programs
addressed to Italian students that are currently
enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Architecture or
Engineering. The Commission’s Public Affairs
Officer, Isabella Lanciotti, illustrated the details
of the scholarship and U.S. Consul General in
Naples, Patrick J. Truhn, gave a speech on the
economic policies enacted by President Barack
Obama.
Margaret Sherriffs

18www.fulbright.it
Program at Glance
Program for U.S. Citizens A.Y. 2010-2011
for more information please visit www.fulbright.it

19www.fulbright.it
Program at Glance
Program for Italian Citizens A.Y. 2010-2011 and A.Y, 2011-2012
for more information please visit www.fulbright.it

20www.fulbright.it
The US - Italy Fulbright Commission
Via Castelfidardo, 8 - 00185 Roma
Tel. 06/4888.211 - Fax 06/4815680
e-mail: info@fulbright.it
www.fulbright.it
The Fulbright - Italy Newsletter is published by The US - Italy Fulbright Commission
Please send us your contributions and/or comments to fulbrightcommission@fulbright.it
To unsubscribe please send an e-mail to fulbrightcommission@fulbright.it with “UNSUBSCRIBE” as a subject heading.

Fulbright Commission Italy Newsletter :: Issue 3

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