Genoa, 26th December 2011 – On December 23rd, under the direction of Chairman Dr. Gabriele Galateri, the Board of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia assembled to deliberate on the changes in the composition of its governing body, made necessary following the recent appointment of Prof. Vittorio Grilli, President of the Foundation, and Prof. Andrea Zoppini, member of the Executive Committee, to new responsibilities in the Italian Government.

Consequently, the Board assigned the offices of President of the Foundation and of the Executive Committee to Gabriele Galateri, already Chairman of the Board, and the office of Chairman of the Board to Dr. Gianfelice Rocca. On the same date, the Board also appointed Prof. Giuseppe Pericu, already a member of the same, to be a member of the Executive Committee in place of Prof. Andrea Zoppini.

Commenting on the Board's decisions, Gabriele Galateri stated: "The strong and effective leadership of Vittorio Grilli enabled the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, in very few years, to establish itself on the international scientific scene for the level of its results and its ability to attract researchers from all over the world. IIT is a great resource for our country, a factor of trust and credibility: excellence in research is an essential requirement for competitiveness. ITT's focus on many of the frontier areas of global research (such as nanotechnology, neuroscience, robotics, new materials), combined with numerous synergies with the best Italian universities and the National Research Council, will help us to give new momentum to the high profile innovation that Italy needs – especially today – to fuel its economic growth and overcome the crisis."

Gianfelice Rocca added: "It's an honor to be appointed Chairman of the Board of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The experience of IIT summarizes the essence of the challenge that Italy must face in order to ensure a sustainable future: invest in the country's youth and in research, staking everything on merit, which is a powerful factor of competition and innovation. IIT is proving that this model actually works: with publications in the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, with foreign scientists that have been drawn back to Italy, with patents and with the growing interest from national and international companies. In this way we generate knowledge and ideas, and help to increase human capital which is the true wealth of a country, as well as its most important guarantee to be able to face global competition on equal terms."

The Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a private law Foundation jointly established by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with the aim of promoting excellence in both basic and applied research and to facilitate the development of the national economy. IIT's total staff is comprised of approximately 900 individuals. The scientific area is represented by about 550 people, of which nearly 25% are foreigners coming from more than 35 countries worldwide and around 15% are "returning Italian brains." Approximately 25% of the staff is composed of young graduate students.

IIT has produced approximately 65 patents and more than 2000 publications. The departments that collaborate in the main office based in Genoa include Robotics ("Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences" and "Advanced Robotics"), departments oriented to life sciences ("Neuroscience and Brain Technologies" and "Drug Discovery and Development") and the "Nanochemistry", "Nanophysics", "Nanostructures" and "Pattern Analysis & Computer Vision" facilities. Since 2009 the scientific activity has been further supported by 10 research centers located throughout Italy (Turin, Milan, Trento, Parma, Rome, Pisa, Naples, Lecce) that are developing the new platforms of the 2009-2011 scientific plan.

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