To celebrate the Italian Research Day in the World – an initiative organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in partnership with the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) – the Italian Embassy in Washington hosted the “Life as a Scientist” photographic exhibition. Organised in association with the Bracco Foundation, the exhibition which is part of the “100 Women Against Stereotypes” initiative launched in 2016 by the Osservatorio di Pavia and the Gi.U.Li.A Journalist Association, features a series of portraits by the famous photographer Gerald Bruneau The exhibition was commissioned with a view to overcoming the prejudice often associated with women’s work in science and technology and to inform the public of their achievements.
Laboratories, universities and operating theatres are the workplace of women who commit to advancing the frontiers of knowledge on a day-to-day basis. “This exhibition highlights the competence of Italian women in the STEM areas as being key to growth and progress and the motive force of the excellent bilateral relations between Italy and the United States.
It opens a window on the everyday life of exceptional Italian women – biologists, chemists, engineers, astrophysicists, mathematicians, surgeons and computer scientists – who, through their work and the results achieved, are promoting the cultural change needed to assure gender equality in every social segment and sector,” said Ambassador Armando Varricchio. To highlight the excellent cooperation between Italy and the United States in the field of science, research and technology and to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Embassy also organized a round table with renowned Italian and American scientists. Ambassador Varricchio and Jonathan Margolis, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science, Space and Health at the Department of State, attended the round table.The event started with the screening of a video on the personal and professional stories of two Italian researchers and scientists living in the United States, Veronica Bindi, University of Hawaii / NASA and Barbara Marchetti, eCampus University / Catholic University of America.
According to the estimates of the National Science Foundation (NSF), there are more than 15,000 Italian researchers in the United States and the number of Italian professors in American universities increased by 6% in the last 10 years.
The Italian Research Day in the World will be celebrated in the United States with events organised by the Italian Consulates in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, along with universities and local research centres, the Italian Cultural Institutes and the Italian Scientists and Scholars of North America Foundation.