BELISSIMA at the Workshop Serbia-Italia
The Workshop of the Association of Italian and Serbian Scientists and Researchers (Associazione Italiani e Serbi Scienziati e Studiosi, AIS3) was organized at the University of Belgrade from 25th to 26th June 2012. This was the first meeting of the association initiated by Dr. Paolo BattinellI, astrophysicist from Rome and the science attache of the Italian embassy in Belgrade. The meeting ``Serbia--Italia, Status and Perspectives of the Scientific and Technological Bilateral Cooperation'' started with the General assembly of the association. Dr. Zoran Knežević, director of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade (AOB), who has a strong and long-time collaboration with colleagues from Italy was elected a member of the Steering committee of the AIS3 association. The opening remarks were presented by numerous distinguished researchers and the ambassador the Republic of Italy, H.E. Armando Varricchio. The following speakers delivered their remarks: Dr. Paolo Battinelli, Prof. Dr. Marko Ivetić (vice-rector of the University of Belgrade), Prof. Dr. Branko Kovačević (rector of the University of Belgrade), H.E. Armando Varricchio, Academician Ljubiša Rakić (Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts), Prof. Dr. Ljubiša Topisirović (president of the Council of Institutes, University of Belgrade), Prof. Dr. Fernando Ferroni (president of the Istutito Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy), Prof. Dr. Lidietta Giorno (National Research Council, Italy), Prof. Dr. Adriano De Maio (president of the Area Science Park Trieste, Italy) and Prof. Dr. Gian Paolo Vettolani (scientific director of Istituto Nazionale di Astro Fisica, Italy). All speakers expressed their opinions and agreed that the already strong collaboration between Serbia and Italy in science and technology needs additional boost and that the AIS3 initiative provides an important framework in this sense. The full program is available here.
Opening remarks of the AIS3 workshop. From left to right: Dr. Paolo Battinelli (Rome observatory and the science attache of the Italian embassy in Belgrade),
Prof. Dr. Marko Ivetić (vice-rector of the University of Belgrade), Prof. Dr. Adriano De Maio (president of the Area Science Park Trieste, Italy), Prof. Dr. Fernando Ferroni (president of the Istutito Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy), Academician Ljubiša Rakić (Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts), Prof. Dr. Branko Kovačević (rector of the University of Belgrade), H.E. Armando Varricchio (the ambassador the Republic of Italy), Prof. Dr. Ljubiša Topisirović (president of the Council of Institutes, University of Belgrade), Prof. Dr. Lidietta Giorno (National Research Council, Italy), and Prof. Dr. Gian Paolo Vettolani (scientific director of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy).
In the afternoon of the first day of the Workshop among numerous presentations, Dr. Srdjan Samurović, coordinator of the BELISSIMA project, on behalf of the AOB, delivered a talk ``Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade: Institutional and Individual Cooperation with Italy``. After presenting the collaborations of Dr. Knežević and his own, he particularly emphasized the importance of BELISSIMA for the future of the AOB and presented the results of the project and the plans for the future as well as the participation of the colleagues from Italy in the project. He also announced the big international BELISSIMA conference scheduled for September 2012 and showed that among its participants will also be Dr. Paolo Battinelli, the initiator of the AIS3 association. Dr. Samurović also invited the participants of the Workshop to visit the exhibition dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the AOB which takes place in the vicinity of conference room of the Workshop.
Dr. Srdjan Samurović, coordinator of BELISSIMA, presents the project.
The book of abstracts of the Workshop was printed and given to the participants and the Proceedings of the Workshop which will include all the contributions will be printed soon. The Web page of the AIS3 association is http://www.ais3.rs and at the time of this writing (late June 2012) is under construction.
