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Presentation of the Rector's governance team for 2023-2028
The Rector of the Politecnico, Donatella Sciuto , presented the team of delegates who will accompany her during the 2023-2028 term.
The organisation of delegates reflects the Politecnico's missions: Education, Research, Social Responsibility and Care for People.
"Four pillars with equal importance," Sciuto comments, "interrelated, moving together in the direction of sustainable development".
In order to put this vision into practice, the Politecnico's statute provides for a series of decision-making and operational bodies that work together on various fronts (you can discover all the University bodies at this link).
THE VICE-RECTORS
The Rector in-office has assigned the roles of Executive Vice Rector, Delegate Executive Vice Rector and Vice -Rectors of Politecnico's Campuses as follows:
- Delegate Executive Vice-Rector Isabella Nova
- Executive Vice-Rector Emilio Faroldi
- Vice Rector for Cremona Campus Gianni Ferretti
- Vice Rector for Lecco Campus Manuela Grecchi
- Vice Rector for Mantova Campus Federico Bucci
- Vice Rector for Picenza Campus Dario Zaninelli
- Vice Rector for Chinese Campus Giuliano Noci
PROF. ENRICO ZIO CONFIRMED AS ALUMNI AND INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISING DELEGATE
In addition to choosing the Vice Rectors, the Rector can give delegations on specific duties. Starting with the Alumni: Prof. Enrico Zio | is confirmed as the delegate for Alumni and Individual Fundraising. He will work with the group coordinated by Prof. Daniele Rocchi, Delegate for Corporate Relations, who has the task of defining and developing, together with the entrepreneurial world, joint research, educational and innovation initiatives, facilitating the transfer of skills from the university world to industry. Also under this umbrella is the Technology Transfer Delegation, assigned to Prof. Marco Bocciolone.
The increasing complexity of the areas to be covered requires coordination between the various delegates: the 2023-2028 Rector's term will therefore be characterised by the definition of coordination tables for the delegations, in which the coordinators will form a board reporting directly to the Rector. In our case, the Alumni, Individual Fundraising and Technology Transfer delegations are part of the more general Corporate Relations delegation.
Let us look at the other delegates together.
ALL 2023-2028 DELEGATES
Prof. Emilio Faroldi - Development and Enhancement of University Spaces
Its aim is to outline strategies for integrating university spaces and city areas, aimed at the social and physical renewal of existing and currently planned/realised Politecnico campuses in their relationship with urban contexts and territories. The focus is on the strategic vision of the Politecnico's campuses as avant-garde and urban testing grounds, capable of translating the instances of the University's cultural growth to the physicality of its spaces, shaping the academic context and defining an original reality that has its own identity within the urban context.
Prof. Isabella Nova - Strategic Plan Implementation
She works within the framework of the process of planning, management, implementation and enhancement of the University's strategic guidelines, as outlined in the Strategic Plan, which sets out the main objectives, KPIs and basic orientations that inspire the decisions around teaching, research and social responsibility of the Politecnico system.
Prof. Gianpaolo Cugola - Digital Infrastructures and Services
The delegation’s main aim is to continue on the path of digitalisation of the services offered by the University, making the most of the potential offered by information technology to speed up and make more efficient the processes related to the three areas in which the University operates: education, research and social responsibility.
Prof. Cristina Masella - People Management and Organization
The work is part of efforts related to human resources planning, developing logics for resource allocation, reading the organisational impact of policy options and defining actions to support their implementation within budgetary constraints.
Prof. Carolina Pacchi - Institutional and Community Relations
The delegation’s objectives are the promotion of the role, identity and recognisability of the Politecnico di Milano in the territory; the reinforcement and better articulation of the existing systems of relationships with institutional subjects and stakeholders, at different levels; the creation of new channels of relationship, exchange and mutual learning; the connection between the processes of education, research and production of knowledge, internal to the University, and the external context, respecting the freedom and form of the relationships already maintained by the various components.
Prof. Umberto Tolino - Communication
He will work with Prof. Davide Fassi - Delegate for Cultural Activities, Prof. Ingrid Paoletti - Delegate for Exhibitions and Events, and Prof. Federico Bucci - Delegate for Archive, Library and Museums System. The group operates within the communication processes that underlie the University's activities, applying a strategy that integrates teaching, research, the third mission and public events, at the centre of a common identity system.
Prof. Stefano Ronchi - Education and Learning
The Politecnico wants to play a leading role in education on an international level; in a world generally characterised by an increase in the number of stakeholders in the world of education and the rate of schooling, it must be able to increase its prestige in order to attract the best talents from all over the world and provide them with the skills and tools they need to improve the future society. Together with Prof. Federico Caniato - Delegate for Lifelong Learning, Prof. Maurizio Zani - Delegate for Financial Aid and Student Contribution, Prof. Mariapia Pedeferri - Delegate for Student Communication, and Prof. Tommaso Agasisti - Delegate for Learning Analytics, Prof. Ronchi will work to enhance the attraction of talent, the development of their skills, the enrichment of the experience gained during their educational pathways and the impact on the world of work through placement and lifelong learning policies.
Prof. Ilaria Valente - International Affairs
It is the Politecnico's objective to promote and support international relations for teaching and research. In particular, in this complex phase of important and rapid changes around the world, the Politecnico intends to act as the European node of a network of international relations with the aim of forming a qualified international and multicultural community of students, lecturers, researchers. The objectives are the expansion and consolidation of European and international networks in the fields of architecture, design and engineering, the attraction and selection of talent; the enhancement of opportunities for international experience, the attraction of international lecturers. Working together with Prof. Valente will be the numerous delegates to the various Geographical Areas, International Networks, Strategic Projects and school delegates. Find out more at this link
Prof. Alberto Guadagnini - Research
He coordinates and supports research activities, promoting their basic and transformative aspects in a European context, encouraging the interdisciplinary and inclusive nature of research. He supports strategic research in the context of European and international research networks, research infrastructures, open science policies and research quality assessment, in line with the University's strategic programme and with continuous interaction with the Ministry. He will work together with Prof. Francesca Rizzo - Delegate for European Research Projects, Prof. Francesco Topputo - Delegate for International Research Networks, Prof. Davide Moscatelli - Delegate for Research Infrastructures and Prof. Anna Maria Antola - Delegate for Research Quality Assurance.
Prof. Paolo Biscari - Talent Development
Strictly in continuity with the above group, Prof. Biscari will work with Prof. Matteo Maestri - Delegate for International Young Researcher Programmes and Prof. Alessandra Oppio (Alta Scuola Politecnica) and Prof. Daniele Rocchi (PhD School). The group's objective is to monitor and coordinate the actions implemented to support young researchers, understood as researchers present at the University with at least seven years of experience after obtaining their doctoral degree (condition for participation in ERC Starting Grants).
Prof. Alessandro Perego - Sustainable Development and Impact on Society
The aim of the activity is sustainable development (social and environmental) as a unifying perspective that should permeate the three missions of the University - Research, Education and Social Responsibility - and shape the way it relates to the public by generating a positive impact on all University stakeholders, including future generations. The large working group will include Prof. Anna Paganoni - Delegate for Data Analytics, Prof. Pierangelo Metrangolo - Delegate for Sports Activities, Prof. Mara Tanelli - Delegate for Diversity and Inclusion, Prof. Francesca Cognetti De Martiis - Delegate for Off-Campus Projects, Prof. Stefano Maffei – Delegate for Social Innovations, Prof. Alessandro Campi - Delegate for Multichance, Prof. Mario Grosso - Delegate for Relationship with Academic Networks for Sustainable Development, Prof. Emanuela Colombo - Delegate for Science Diplomacy, Prof. Licia Sbattella - Delegate for Psychological Support, Prof. Mario Motta - Delegate for Energy Transition.
Biometric data, be careful when showing your face online
We stress about refusing the use of cookies, we get angry if a telemarketing company gets our phone number without our knowledge. We see our privacy as important, yet we are not always aware that we are putting it at risk. How many times a day do we step into the view of a surveillance camera without even realising?
Do we know where our images of us will be collected and stored? Do we know who will use them, and for what purpose? Most of the time, the answer is no. This is the premise behind Rachele Didero’s work, a student designer at the Politecnico di Milano, who has patented Adversarial Knitted Textile. She has come up with a method for putting together pieces of clothing that can protect the wearer against automated facial recognition.
It works thanks to adversarial patterns ('clashing images'): seemingly abstract images that can confuse surveillance camera algorithms. Essentially, if I wear a piece of clothing that is patterned with a clashing image, my biometric facial data cannot be detected, or is placed into an incorrect category, for example in 'animal' instead of 'person', and therefore is not stored.
The Adversarial Knitted Textile method, patented together with the Politecnico di Milano with the support of Prof. Giovanni Maria Conti, allows the adversarial algorithm to be transferred into a mesh fabric without losing its effectiveness. The patterns confuse facial recognition cameras, thus protecting the person's identity. prof. Giovanni Maria Contiallows the adversarial algorithm to be transferred into a mesh fabric without losing its effectiveness. The patterns confuse facial recognition cameras, thus protecting the person's identity.
RACHELE DIDERO: DESIGNER, RESEARCHER AND ENTREPRENEUR AMONG FASHION AND HIGH-TECH
Rachele Didero, 27, enrolled in Fashion Design at the Politecnico di Milano after graduating. During her studies, she travelled a lot and had a lot of international experiences; she attended the ESDI design school in Barcelona, the Shenkar College in Tel Aviv and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She states that it was there, in 2019, that she discovered the potential of combining computer science and textiles.
"I decided to delve deeper into the research once I returned to Milan and choose it as the topic for my Master's dissertation. The first experiments, in January 2020, took place at the Politecnico di Milano."
After months of research, in collaboration with Shenkar College, including the textile industry, machine learning and anthropometry, the adversarial fabric took shape. Didero tested it against YOLO, the most advanced real-time object-recognition system, and patented it in February 2021, in co-ownership with the Politecnico. The three-dimensional structure of the mesh fabric and its patterns reproduce adversarial images in a way that effectively counters facial recognition algorithms, thus protecting the user's identity.
A MANIFESTO FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
In 2021, Didero founded the start-up Cap_able, with which she prototyped the first Adversarial Knitted Textile clothing collection, the Manifesto Collection. A name not chosen by chance, she comments.
Every morning, as soon as we wake up, we choose what clothes to wear, an outfit that will accompany us throughout the day and represent our image in the world and in our interactions with others. For Didero, this is the first conscious communication action we take, a choice that can become a vehicle for our values, including our human rights.
"In a world where data is the greatest economic resource, Cap_able addresses the issue of privacy, sparking the discussion on the importance of protecting against the misuse of biometric recognition cameras”
Our facial image is a form of biometric data in the same way as our fingerprints or DNA. People should be able to give their explicit consent to the processing of their data, but this is impossible in the case of facial recognition, given that we would have to give consent every time we entered a public space where surveillance cameras are used.
“Manifesto’s aim is to raise awareness about the right to privacy and the protection of biometric data, an issue that is often overlooked despite the fact that it affects the majority of citizens worldwide. The value of this project is two-fold: the clothing is not only a shield against biometric recognition, but it is also, and predominantly, a manifesto intended to spark debate on the importance of protection against the misuse of facial recognition cameras”.
GIRLS@POLIMI: new scholarships for future engineers
One foundation and 12 companies, the Politecnico di Milano Alumni and the University itself hhave donated to promote 25 scholarships worth €24,000 each (€8,000 per year) for girls who want to study Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, undertaking undergraduate engineering degree courses with a low female presence: Aerospace Engineering, Automation Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Production Engineering.
Girls@Polimi is an opportunity to incentivise aspiring engineers to enrol at the Politecnico; in fact, the project is aimed at female students who are still in their fourth and fifth years of high school and are thinking about their future at university. The project is part of the POP-Pari Opportunità Politecniche programme, through which the Politecnico di Milano is committed to guaranteeing an inclusive study and work environment where everyone's uniqueness is respected.
After the success of previous editions, as well as ongoing support from Alumni, the year one foundation – Fondazione r.e.ACT ETS – and 12 companies have decided to donate scholarships: Autostrade per l’Italia Group, Energy Dome, Esselunga, Fastweb, Hitachi Energy, Intesa Sanpaolo, Leonardo, Gruppo Lutech, MEDIOBANCA, Gruppo Nestlé in Italia, Reply and SIAE MICROELETTRONICA. According to the Politecnico, the participation of companies has the objective of engaging with local communities and entities in the name of social responsibility to raise awareness about issues such as diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities.
“This project supports and promotes female talent in STEM fields and, in particular, aims at supporting girls that choose to put themselves to the test in sectors that are key for technological development on a global scale, where female participation is unfortunately still particularly low. The fact that many so companies and one foundation decided to stand by our side confirms the attention on said topics and demonstrates to young women and the society as a whole that the choice to study engineering sets the pillars to pursue important career paths and achieve economic independence”
says professor Mara Tanelli, Rector’s Delegate for Diversity and Inclusion.
2023 is off to the best possible start for polytechnic research in Europe
Tra i tantissimi nuovi progetti di ricerca che partiranno nel corso del prossimo anno al Politecnico di Milano ce ne sono 8, in particolare, selezionati dalla Commissione europea tra migliaia di proposte per ricevere un finanziamento ERC, che sta per European Research Council: ne abbiamo parlato spesso sui canali Alumni, si tratta di un importante strumento della Commissione europea che sostiene ricerche pionieristiche e di frontiera.
ERC grants (i.e. funding) are awarded every year on the basis of certain criteria indicated in the framework programmes for research and innovation of the European Union, such as Horizon Europe - the framework programme currently in force - that covers the period 2021-2027. Our University is performing really well on this front: within Horizon Europe - i.e. from 2021 up until now - it has achieved an extraordinary result: 126 projects, among which 17 ERC, have been selected and have received funding for over 64 million euros.
At the moment the success rate of the "applications" submitted by research groups at the Politecnico is 20.45% compared to about 15% at European level: with these new funds the Politecnico di Milano has received a total of 60 ERC grants. As far as the number of funded projects is concerned, the Politecnico ranks fifth out of all universities in the European Union (Cordis data as of 16/01/2023).
These numbers are an important recognition, open up possibilities in the scientific field and at the same time facilitate the attraction of talent:: the Politecnico sits at the top of the world university rankings also because of the cutting-edge scientific research carried out in its laboratories.The achievement of this Italian record has been possible thanks to the work of the about 3,500 scientists and researchers of the Politecnico. Some of them are “ERC researchers”: It is said that they are among "the brightest minds in Europe", scientists that could be responsible of new and unexpected scientific and technological discoveries.
THE “FANTASTIC EIGHT”
So, we received eight new ERC research grants. These 8 new projects will address issues related to space, energy, sustainability, autonomous driving, medical technologies, technologies for the economic and cultural sphere, i.e. some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
A Consolidator Grant was assigned to the research group of Prof. Camilla Colombo, of the DAER, for the project GREEN SPECIES (we talked about it here). Consolidator Grants are intended for researchers with a consolidated scientific curriculum, who aim to strengthen their research team and develop their career in Europe.
Four Starting Grants went to Fabio Ferrari, Margherita Maiuri, Paola Occhetta and Gianvito Vilé (discover more about them here). Starting Grants are checks for emerging researchers with just a few years of experience. Other 3 researchers have been awarded Proof of concept (PoC) ERC funding. Proof of Concept funding is assigned to researchers that already have an ERC project underway or have recently completed it and want to transform basic research in applied research.
There are also other types of ERC grants for the period 2022-2023 that have not been awarded yet; we are talking about Advanced Grants for outstanding and prominent scientists who were able to open new paths in their research fields, and Synergy Grants (like TOMATTO, of which we talked about here), that promote substantial advances in the frontier of knowledge and encourage new research streams.
PROOF OF CONCEPT (POC): SCIENCE TESTING THE FACTS
The objective of the team coordinated by Prof. Carlo Spartaco Casari is to develop a new printable anti-counterfeiting system (PYPAINT) based on carbon-based nano-structures with a specific optoelectronic response that allows the creation of a unique identifier code for an artwork invisible to the human eye. The project stems from the research activity at the NanoLab of the Energy Department as part of the ERC Consolidator grant EspLORE project, and is carried out in collaboration with the start-up DayOne, headquartered in Rome.
The system is conceived for immediate application in the art market, which has always grappled with the problem of counterfeiting. Artworks are generally not protected with dedicated security devices that enable the unique identification of the work. Historically the problem has to do with the fact that the alteration of the work itself must not be visible and with the relative lack of non-invasive security systems. PYPAINT aims to help safeguard the extreme value of artworks in Europe and the rest of the world.
The CATALYSE project of Professor Matteo Maestri is centred around the development of a software for multi-scale modelling of industrial catalytic processes, combining rigorous adherence to core principles with advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. The software will provide a plug-and-play framework for the inclusion of detailed atomistic-level kinetics in advanced chemical reactor models, serving as a key tool to support the development of new technologies for energy transition and sustainable use of resources.
Prof. Francesco Topputo obtained funding for his GUIDO project, which will lay the foundations for the realisation of an autonomous driving unit for satellites in deep space. Steering a satellite means planning and controlling its trajectory as well as deciding how to direct its thrusters during manoeuvres. The innovative element of GUIDO is its ability to find trajectories with reliable optimization algorithms that can run on a low performance and low energy consumption circuit board. The GUIDO PoC will be developed at the DART Lab, the laboratory managed by Topputo where steering and navigation algorithms for space probes are tested through simulations with integrated hardware.
Space debris: the Politecnico is researching the sustainability of in-orbit missions
The Politecnico di Milano is undertaking an important project to study the sustainability of space missions. With increased activity in recent years, the issue of space debris orbiting the Earth has become increasingly pressing. This debris may pose a threat to future space missions, as well as to the environment.
The GREEN SPECIES project by professor Camilla Colombo at Politecnico di Milano, who received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for this project, addresses these concerns.
GREEN SPECIES: HOW DOES IT WORK?
GREEN SPECIES, “Robust control of the space debris population to define optimal policies and an economic revenue model for sustainable development of space activities”, will develop an interdisciplinary approach for modelling space debris and predicting its progression.
A probabilistic model of space debris will be developed, in which all physical, financial and political variables will be considered. As a novel element, the project will take on the management of the debris environment through a robust controller applied to the space debris model, described as a complex dynamic system.
Model feedback control actions will be turned into policies and guidelines, through quantitative indices, assessing both the environmental impact and the social and economic benefit of space missions through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
SUPPORT FROM ERC
The project was selected from over 2,200 proposals received by the ERC. This is a great result for the Politecnico, given that this year only 14.4% of the projects submitted have received funding. The Politecnico di Milano has reached a total of 60 ERC grants, including 14 Consolidator Grants.
Under Horizon Europe (the European Union's funding programme for research and innovation 2021-2027), the Politecnico has, to date, achieved an extraordinary result with 126 winning projects, including 17 ERC projects, worth more than 64 million euros. Currently, the Politecnico's success rate is 20.45% compared to the rest of Europe, which is about 15%. The Politecnico is the fifth largest university in the European Union in terms of the number of funded projects (Cordis data as of 16/01/2023).
ERC Consolidator Grants are intended for researchers with at least seven years of experience after their PhD and who have a very propitious scientific career. These are scholars who aim to consolidate their independence in research, strengthen their research group and continue to develop a career in Europe. Funding can be up to €2 million per individual project for a maximum duration of five years.
Made in Polimi: 40 years of management engineering at the Politecnico
Politecnico di Milano, early 1980s: a group of professors among which Umberto Bertelè, Francesco Brioschi, Armando Brandolese, Adriano De Maio, Francesco Jovane and Renato Wegner creates the programme “Ingegneria delle Tecnologie industriali ad indirizzo economico organizzativo”, later known as “Management Engineering”.
But this is just the beginning of a story that today is on full display at the permanent exhibition “Made in Polimi – Storie di Ingegneria Gestionale”The exhibition itinerary – inside building BL26/b in the Bovisa campus – tells us about the creation and evolution of management engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in over 50 years.
The exhibition recalls the most significant phases in five multimedia panels: degree programme, department, observatories, graduate school. The exhibition venue is a physical and digital space where the visitor - on a daily basis - can regain full awareness of the "roots" of a programme that has been in place for 40 years.
Management engineering at the Politecnico has been a very successful programme from day one: the goal was to create a hybrid professional figure that would combine "the rigour of the engineer with expertise in the economic field". For years freshmen had to study on notes and handouts, because the subject was new and official textbooks did not exist.
“The idea was to create an innovation engineer, a manager able to combine understanding of technologies and knowledge of organizational and management issues. Before the programme was launched, to acquire such skills students had to graduate in engineering and then obtain an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from a business school,”
says Umberto Bertelè, Emeritus professor of Strategy.
Read here for more information
Credit foto: Matteo Bergamini, Lab Immagine, Dipartimento di Design, Politecnico di Milano
labimmagine-design@polimi.it
RESTART: a smarter Italy
The RESTART project at the Politecnico di Milano has officially started. RESTART stands for“RESearch and innovation on future Telecommunications systems and networks, to make Italy more smart”. The project is structured as an extended partnership funded by NRRP resources, which involves 12 universities, 3 national research institutes and 10 private entities. It aims at creating a network connecting universities, research institutes, private citizens, businesses and public administrations to improve our country's ability to use telecommunications in a wide range of sectors such as agriculture, commerce, energy production and distribution, finance, industry, healthcare and mobility.
LET’S GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT
Extended partnerships are developed within the scope of Mission 4 - component 2 of the NRRP with the objective of strengthening the supply chains of fundamental and applied researchat a national level and to amplify the impact of such research activity on strategic, European and global value chains. This component focuses on technology transfer and on the creation of a solid and structured ecosystem for research and innovation, which is crucial for the country's competitiveness. Over the next 5 years about EUR 6 billion will be allocated to supply chain research and technology transfer: "component 2" concerns the transfer of scientific and technological results from research institutes to businesses. Over the long-term, this process aims at making the country more competitive from a technological, educational and productive point of view.
EUR 116 MILLION TO GIVE A BOOST TO THE SECTOR
The Università di Tor Vergata is leading the RESTART project while the Politecnico di Milano will host the headquarters of the scientific direction, and prof. Antonio Caponeof the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineeringwill act as the scientific representative.
Thanks to the investment of EUR 116 million it will be possible to finance doctoral programmes and fundamental and applied research activities, projects to support the creation and development of start-ups and spin-offs, and training activities in collaboration with other universities and businesses. The project will encompass specific initiatives for industrial districts and the south of Italy as well, e.g. to support the design and construction of tech islands and ecosystems, such as private 5G/6G networks with related services and cloud edges. Digital transformation of businesses/administrations and business efficiency will be among the key points and the same goes for the creation of new businesses and the increase in their average size.
"The recent technological changes have triggered a transformation of the communication infrastructures so that now it is possible to conduct research in two directions which seem promising in terms of economic impact. On the one hand, we can programme the communication network by shifting innovation to software development where the entry barriers are lower, and in the meantime good ideas from researchers can have a strong impact on the economic fabric of a country like Italy. On the other hand, thanks to the unbundling of the network we can leverage our skills in basic technologies, even in niches, to foster innovation without having to compete with international giants in the sector."
stated Capone during the kick-off event at the Politecnico di Milano.
5 former students that made a name for themselves in the fields of architecture and design
Today we want to talk about five Alumni and Alumnae who have become famous architects and designers and have made a fundamental contribution to their "action fields". To talk about them we’ll start by quoting their own words, because "people change, but characters and virtues are handed down", especially in the case of the values at the core of Politecnico.
As always, before we start we want to stress that this list does not constitute a ranking. It is not easy to summarize the life and the career of these great professionals in a few lines, and without a doubt many other Alumni who have made a fundamental contribution will come to your mind. Therefore we encourage you to bring them to our attention in the comments, we will be happy to write a second "episode"!
GAE AULENTI
Ghettoisation in general makes me furious. And I get particularly angry when I ear people say: I needed an architect and I chose a female one.”
Gae Aulenti graduated in 1953 and started her career as a designer at a time of profound evolution in the Italian architectural culture. After graduating from Politecnico, she approached two of the main sites of theoretical elaboration on architecture of the time.
For Aulenti, architecture looks ahead, beyond the gender conditions from which it must free itself and towards a new destiny to be designed and built with knowledge. She rejects the idea of the "woman architect", which she finds ghettoising. She sees talking about architecture and design in terms of gender as reinforcement of the idea that these two specialities for women are something that limits them to surfaces and decoration, while the heart and skeleton of the project are reserved for male designers.
Read the full text: 5 Politecnico Alumnae who made history
LILIANA GRASSI
''Architecture gives me a sense of being, it is a synonym of freedom, a freedom that must be constantly monitored and protected through the study of history, through an accurate research, through the loneliness of imagination, through disinterested reflection... "
Alumna in architecture in 1947, Liliana Grassi graduated together with Ambrogio Annoni and assisted the latter for several years, both at university and on the building site. Years later she started teaching Restoration of monuments. Eminent figure in the Lombard and Italian cultural landscape, Liliana Grassi held various prestigious institutional positions, gaining recognition above all for her great practical and theoretical contribution in the field of restoration. Her most important achievement is the restoration in the name of philological rigour, love and respect for the artistic object of the ancient Ospedale Maggiore di Milano, distrutto dai bombardamenti del 1943 e poi adattato a sede dell’Università degli Studi, connotato dal rigore filologico, l’amore e il rispetto per l’oggetto artistico.
Source: “Dal Politecnico di Milano protagonisti e grandi progetti”
FRANCA HELG
"Details are essential for the definition of the whole, a detail can determine a project and for sure characterize it. The overall result of the work is connected to details, in terms of design and quality. Details affect the spatial and volumetric values of what is built"
After graduation in 1945 she associated with , Franca Helg , with whom she collaborated until his death. In her designing work, Franca Helg has always shown meticulous attention to details, fusing modernity and classicism, rationality and creativity, giving life to works characterized by elegance and simplicity, unlinked to the cultural trends of the moment. And we must not forget industrial design: Helg created vases, handles, chairs, suspension lamps, desk lamps, floor lamps and the Primavera armchair in cane and wicker.
The teaching of Architectural Composition represented an important part of her life: earlier at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV), then at the Politecnico di Milano, where she became full professor in 1984.
Sources: L’Enciclopedia delle donne; Corriere della Sera
GIO PONTI
“Building, not rebuilding”
In 1945 Gio Ponti wrote this sentence in the style magazine that he had founded and of which he was director in order to stress that mere reconstruction would not be sufficient to give everyone a house in the immediate post-war period: in the construction field there was a significant amount of backlog work to be carried out.
Painter, decorator and designer, in 1928 he founded Domus, a magazine in which, in 1952, he wrote: “Let's go back to chairs that are chairs, to houses that are houses, to works without labels, without adjectives, to the right, true, natural, simple and spontaneous things”. Two years later he created the Compasso d'Oro award. For may years he worked as a professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico where he designed the buildings Trifoglio and Nave. His works also include the Grattacielo Pirelli (1960) and the "Superleggera" chairs.
Source: “The Polimi Guide”
MARCO ZANUSO
“No form can exist when separated from colour, just as no colour is conceivable if detached from a form”
Architect, urban planner and designer, Marco Zanuso graduated in architecture in 1937 from the Politecnico di Milano, where he then returned as a professor in 1969.
During his professional activity, he devoted particular attention to the relationship between architect and industry, between project and experimentation, between product functions, form and materials. He created a vast array of objects - Arflex and Gavina furniture, Brionvega radio and television equipment, Borletti sewing machines - for which he received multiple awards, including seven Compasso d’Oro and six international awards at the Triennale di Milano; moreover several of his pieces are part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Zanuso was first and foremost an "architect of the mind", always ready to redefine codes, to undermine conventions. He had a forward-looking mindset, but he was always committed to revolutionize everyday life with simple, turnkey solutions.
Sources: “Dal Politecnico di Milano protagonisti e grandi progetti”
Area Arch
Prof. Amalia Ercoli Finzi receives the Hubert Curien award
ECCSELLENT, the NRRP project for the reduction of atmospheric CO2, gets underway
Last December saw the launch of activities linked to the project ““ECCSELLENT- Development of ECCSEL - R.I. ItaLian facilities: usEr access, services and loNg-Term sustainability”, which aims to strengthen Italian research facilities in the field of carbon dioxide capture, utilisation, transport and storage.
This is a particularly important topic with regard to the efforts to mitigate climate change: alongside improving energy efficiency and harnessing renewable energy sources, CCUS (CO2 Capture, Utilisation and Storage) technologies have also been identified as a strategic measure with a view to reducing carbon emissions.
For the next three years, the ECCSELLENT project, which has been created as part of the European ECCSELL network, will be responsible for developing new technologies and research infrastructure in the field of CCUS, while simultaneously encouraging access to and enhancing the services and sustainability of the laboratories in the network that already operate within the CCUS sector, making it possible to reinforce scientific excellence and providing the national research system with the tools necessary to promote the decarbonisation of industry, one of society’s biggest challenges.
ECCSELLENT will be financed by 16.5 million euros from the Ministry of Universities and Research as part of NRRP Mission 4 “Education and Research” - Next Generation EU. The partners, coordinated by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS, are the University of Bologna, the Politecnico di Milano (in partnership with LEAP, the research centre founded by the Politecnico di Milano which operates in the energy-environment sector), ENEA and the National Research Council of Italy (CNR).
Thanks to this important project, the Politecnico di Milano will be equipped with a mobile experimental system for carrying out applied research activity relating to CO2 capture processes which are crucial for the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industry sectors
stated Manuele Gatti and Matteo Carmelo Romanoprofessors at the Politecnico's Department of Energy .
Find out all about frontier research at Politecnico and on the topics defined by the European Commission as part of the Recovery Plan. Visit the Next Generation EU website of the Politecnico di Milano .
Foto di Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash