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- Info
Italian Grantees
Renato Panesi - Fulbright BEST, academic year 2009/10
 I'm an Italian PhD in aerospace engineering with a business idea based on my research during my PhD course.
Seven months ago I left Italy to go to the Silicon Valley, as a Fulbright Scholar at Santa Clara University. I was selected to attend a program in Technology Entrepreneurship: six months of classes and practise that would have taught me how to transform my business idea in a concrete business plan, aimed to launch my startup. At that time I was not aware of what an amazing adventure waiting for me. During the program, I realized the value of the experience I was living. Networking events, during which I got in touch with people that helped me or gave me information useful to develop my business plan, visits to the most famous companies of the Valley (Google, Facebook, Linkedin, HP), seminars at Stanford University and UC Berkeley, three months of internship at NASA Ames research center (I'm an aerospace engineer, what could I wish more?): these are only few of the many opportunities that the San Francisco Bay Area offered me.
What an amazing place is the Bay Area. It is unique: it is not only the heart of the innovation and a land of great opportunities, but a woderful place to live, with a nice weather, amazing landscape, incredibly open-minded people.
It's impossible to describe in few paragraphs the many experiences I had in these few months: I can only list the most important:
Three months internship at NASA Ames Research Center, Lunar Science Institute. I helped the institute in building a partnership with Italian research institutes, universities and the Italian Space Agency, aimed to start new and common researches related to moon sciences.
Startup School at University of California at Berkeley 2009: a full day of lectures and seminars with the most successful entrepreneurs of the Valley.
41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 1-3, Houston,TX: the most exciting experience of my internship.
Fulbright Enrichment Seminar, March 4-7, Philadelphia, PA: a unique occasion to get in touch with open-minded people from all around the world, meet new friends, discuss about challenging problems that the world has to face in the immediate future.
Fulbright-Finmeccanica Workshop, March 10-11, Washington DC: Finmeccanica is the biggest Italian Company active in the aerospace field. They organized this workshop to get in touch with Italian fulbrighters working in relevant fields. It was a great opportunity to share knowledge and experiences, as well as a great networking event.
2010 Rice Business Plan Competition: I participated with my business idea to the most prestigious BP competition in the world.
The personal experiences have been likewise exciting: among them, ten days at Hawaii, the Vancouver winter Olympics, a five days hike in the majestic parks in Utah and Arizona.
If I'm not anymore the person I was seven months ago, if I learned to think in a different way, to have a turn of mind of the world much more wide and conscious, I owe it to my Fulbright experience. To say that I'll carry this experience in my heart is not enough. This adventure scarred and I'm more than convinced that my future will be different from the one I imagined one year ago.
While writing, I can't do without thinking about the most significant experiences of these seven months, shared with wonderful people with whom a strong friendship rose. Besides the professional aspect, this adventure has been an unique and unbelievable personal experience. I realize that living such an experience is a privilege reserved to few and I'm really proud of it.
Renato Panesi, Fulbright-BEST, academic year 2009/2010
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Daniela Fernanda Parisi - Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, academic year 2009/10
 As a 2009- 2010 Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of History and in the European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh PA (USA), I am doing research on the history of analysis, thought, and culture of the Italian and the North American economists of the Twentieth Century.
My research focuses on the relationships between economists through their scientific production, their correspondence, and the items preserved in the archives of national, international, private and public institutions, and foundations financing their research projects.
This field of analysis recognises that the differences either between the theoretical systems and the policy implications derived from the theoretical systems were not marginal, because the same word used by them embodied distinct conceptions of society and, what is most important in the present time, of the relationship between citizens, State, and the so called civil society.
The living and continuative interaction with the colleagues of the University of Pittsburgh - on the occasion of seminars, lectures, meeting, conferences and individual talks - gave me an unexpected quantity of new questions and hints useful to enlarge and deepen my research.
On the side of the interaction with the students the experience was fruitful because gave me an idea of the similarities and differences of the questions, anxieties and situations that contemporary Western - but non European - young people are facing.
Finally, Pittsburgh is a nice and friendly town to live in and I enjoyed my six month stay: I experimented my first more than two months never-ending snowing; I liked the green and the blossoming trees everywhere during the Spring; I discovered step by step, bus stop by bus stop, the complex map of the town with its three rivers and its very different areas; I enjoyed studying in my huge office, in the rich and comfortable Hillman Library, and the helpful attitude of the colleagues and the staff.
Daniela Fernanda Parisi - Fulbright Disitnguished Lecturer - academic year 2009/10
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Giovanni Presti - Fulbright Scholar in Residence, 2009
 I'm often asked what it was like to stay and teach in Turlock. My usual answer is: "At home". There are a lot of analogies between where I was born and lived for half of my life, in Sicily, and Central Valley in California: oranges, lemons, and other kind of fruits and vegetables, earthquakes and... almonds too. Turlock is a farming area well known for its almonds, and almond pastries are one of the most famous Sicilian cookies. By the way, that area of California and Sicily share the same latitude.
I was hosted as a Scholar-in-Residence by California State University Stanislaus in the fall semester of 2009. I enjoyed life on campus, teaching classes and being in contact with students. Though it was not my first experience in a US college, it was my first trip to California and the longest period spent in the USA. I taught two classes in Applied Behavior Analysis, a research seminar and a class in behavior modification where students were requested to complete a self-change project, and it was a great experience working through the differences between our Italian system and the one in California. Students are the same across cultures, societies, and countries, with their thirst for knowledge, their joy for life, and their struggle to make their dreams match with reality.
Times were hard, though. California is facing the worst economic crisis since the Depression era and life at college was heavily affected by budget cuts.
In the past two years I've been working in Sicily on a project called Food Dudes that tries to address this problem, by increasing kids' Food and Vegetable consumption. This program is part of an international effort that involves the University of Bangor, in North Wales, my University, IULM, in Milan, Board BIA in Ireland and now CSU Stanislaus. So part of my time was also dedicated to work with the Faculties of the Nursing School and Social Workers that are developing an American version of the program.
Research is a way also to share knowledge across all boundaries, and this is what Science is about. I had also the opportunity to travel to different places, such as Oxford (Mississippi) and Reno (Nevada), among them to give talks to students and to spend some time in mutual scientific exchange with colleagues that live and work there.
Everywhere I went I was warmly welcomed... like being at home.
Giovanni Presti - Fulbright Scholar in Residence - 2009
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Luca Ruiu - Fulbright BEST, academic year 2009/10
 My project is focused on the discovery, development and marketing of safe and ecologically compatible biotechnologies applied to the management of insect pests of agricultural, medical and veterinary importance. Indeed, the use of chemicals is causing public concerns and real risks for the environment and human health. I develop alternative strategies to chemical pest control, involving the use of "naturally occurring" and "environmentally friendly" microbial agents. The essence of this strategy is to discover and employ very specific natural enemies of insect pests, for example, a bacterial, viral and fungal disease agent which affects only a particular insect pest species, and is harmless for humans and other organisms.
Bioecopest, Luca Ruiu's new startup company, recently won first prize, the National Award for Innovation, at the Start Cup Sardegna, the largest business plan competition in Italy. Bioecopest develops natural innovative solutions to meet the growing demand for environmentally-friendly pest management products. Luca worked on the development of Bioecopest during his stay at Santa Clara University as a Fulbright BEST scholar enrolled in the 2008/2009 Certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship program. Bioecopest received 60,000 Euros and an award plate from the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.
Luca Ruiu - Fulbright BEST - academic year 2009/10
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Carlo Baggi - Fulbright Scholar in Residence, year 2007
 Being my first teaching experience, the Fulbright Scholar in Residence program has been extremely positive, considering that it represented a major change in my personal and professional life. In fact, after traveling internationally for many years for business, in 2005 I decided to follow my innate passion for food and culture, earning a Master's Degree in Food Culture and Communication at the Slow Food-founded University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy. Thanks to the Fulbright grant, I had the opportunity to spread this passion to both students and colleagues of the Culinary Arts program at Chattahoochee Technical College. The main objective of the course I developed was to bring to the students of a cooking school an understanding of food history and anthropology, culinary traditions and techniques, and environmental and social issues related to sustainable food production, as well as the impact that our food choices have in a globalized world. Since arriving in Georgia, I also had the chance to talk about sustainability with the American Culinary Federation, organic agriculture with local farmers, and traditional food-ways with both local shopkeepers and larger food retailer like Whole Foods. Following the same philosophy, the college is now involved in the important task of implementing sustainability approaches in all its major activities, from recycling of paper and plastic, to sourcing local, organic and seasonal foods for the curriculum menus, composting food waste, growing a roof-top garden and using eco-friendly kitchenware and cleaning detergents. Apart from the teaching activities, the experience proved to be personally and professionally enriching, as a result of the links established with the local community, as well as with organizations such as Georgia Organics, the Georgia Restaurant Association, Slow Food USA and Slow Food Atlanta. I am convinced that the Fulbright experience will add a plus to my résumé; in addition, I had the chance to directly acknowledge the fundamental role that information and education have in fostering cultural growth. At the same time, being able to relate with both students and American colleagues has significantly helped in understanding why it is essential to stimulate critical thinking and the exchange of different opinions to make education a continuous learning process.
Carlo Baggi - Fulbright Scholar in Residence - 2007
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