In the annals of automotive history, few names are as enigmatic and yet profoundly impactful as Elio Trenta,  a prodigious talent who, at the tender age of 20, patented the concept of the automatic shift—a technological marvel that would later become ubiquitous in modern vehicles. Trenta’s journey into the world of engineering was nothing short of...

The “Mona Lisa” has given up another secret. Using X-rays to peer into the chemical structure of a tiny speck of the celebrated work of art, scientists have gained new insight into the techniques that Leonardo da Vinci used to paint his groundbreaking portrait of the woman with the exquisitely enigmatic smile. The research, published Wednesday in t...

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has it all wrong. The eponymous Robert Oppenheimer, who served as the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the development of the atomic bomb, did not usher in a new technological age Enrico Fermi was the true architect of that epochal era. About Enrico Fermi September 29, 2023, marks the 122nd birth date o...

Four billion dollars to challenge ChatGPT, OpenAI and Microsoft. Money that will be invested in Anthropic, an ambitious startup founded by two Italian American siblings-Dario and Daniela Amodeo. Anthropic's Claude and Claude 2 chatbots, based on large language models, are similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard in the sense that they can tran...

For Steve Blank, one of the great sages of Silicon Valley, innovation is born where there is a concentration of money and crazy people. In Italy, people are trying to create an ecosystem based on the same principles. It is MIND - Milano Innovation District, the innovation district that is being developed less than half an hour by subway from the ci...

Many cities and countries have banned texting while driving, but comparatively little’s been done about texting and strolling — and the very real risk of stumbling into oncoming traffic. Padova, however, is rolling out an experiment designed to educate phone-glued pedestrians.  Under the guidance of local company La Semaforica, the city recently in...

In the new episode of Italian Innovators I present the story of GIULIO NATTA, the inventor of plastic and the first and only Italian scientist awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Starting from the Nobel ceremony in 1963, I examine both Natta’s path toward his scientific discovery and the unexpected outcomes that it generated. I reconstruct the s...

Star Italia Accelerator, the accelerator for Italian Startups and Innovative SMEs born with the aim of creating qualified access to the U.S. market, to stimulate entrepreneurial skills and accompanying the entry and growth of the best Italian innovation talent. Star Italia Accelerator, based in Miami with a strong Italian flare, and the initiative...

According to the latest ANAS (National Autonomous Company of State Roads) updates, a true engineering marvel will soon arrive in Italy. Our engineers are working on a highly sophisticated project that will make Italy the first European country to have a smart road. The first 100 kilometers have already been wired, and the project appears to be a te...

It's an Italian invasion in Houston — and it's happening in the name of accelerating innovation within aerospace. For the first time, Italy has announced an international aerospace-focused program in the United States. The Italian Trade Agency and Italian Space Agency will partner with Space Foundation to launch Space It Up, an initiative that will...