ISSNAF Annual Event 2025: Renewing Italy-U.S. collaborations in Research and Innovation

Washington Dc - November 6th, 2025. "𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔."

With these words, Cinzia Zuffada, President of ISSNAF, opened the ISSNAF Annual Event on November 6th at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., highlighting the organization’s strength, mission, and impact.

Dr. Zuffada expressed ISSNAF’s gratitude to Ambassador Peronaci and Minister Bernini for their remarks, which underscore the high regard the Italian government holds for the Italian scientific community in North America and for ISSNAF itself. She warmly welcomed Ambassador Peronaci in his new role and thanked him for graciously accepting to serve as Chair of the ISSNAF Honorary Board of Directors.

ISSNAF also extended its sincere appreciation to the Embassy of Italy for its invaluable support of the Young Investigator Awards program and for generously hosting the event, which is honored to take place under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic. 

President Zuffada, now also a Senior Fellow at the Scuola Superiore Studi Avanzati La Sapienza, emphasized one of ISSNAF’s most important pillars: researchers’ mobility. Since 2023, ISSNAF has received support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research to build a national system connecting Italian students and recent graduates with ISSNAF members for research and training opportunities in North America. The initiative was presented to Italian universities in Rome last May and was met with strong interest.

ISSNAF has also strengthened its partnerships with foundations dedicated to advancing research and supporting the transition from academia to entrepreneurship. In addition to its ongoing collaboration with Fondazione Marche and the AC75 Accelerator, ISSNAF has welcomed the Tech Europe Foundation as a new partner. These collaborations draw on the technical expertise of ISSNAF members and, starting in 2025, will support the launch of the Innovator Awards, which will honor outstanding Italian researchers and innovators in North America who bridge scientific excellence and entrepreneurial impact.

"𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼𝑆𝑆𝑁𝐴𝐹 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑎 𝑃𝑎𝑒𝑠𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑢𝑝 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡."

She also noted the steady growth of the ISSNAF Chapter network—with the recent addition of Idaho and Québec—which expands the organization’s ability to engage members locally and extend programs such as mentoring, advising, and mobility. Chapters, she stressed, serve as multipliers, forging connections with institutions and partners committed to promoting Italian innovation across North America.

ISSNAF renews its deepest thanks to the Embassy of Italy for their invaluable support of the Young Investigator Awards program and for generously hosting the event, that is honored to be under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic.

Present and Future of Quantum Technologies

This year’s event was dedicated to quantum technologies. Ambassador Marco Peronaci highlighted the contribution of Italian research, which he described as “an extraordinary catalyst for new initiatives and joint projects between Italy and the United States in the most advanced areas of scientific research.” In a message read at the opening of the event, Minister of University Anna Maria Bernini recalled the recent launch of the National Quantum Strategy, calling it “a key milestone that positions our country at the forefront of this transformative frontier.”

Tommaso Calarco, Coordinator of the National Strategy for Quantum Technologies and Professor at the University of Bologna, opened the discussion on quantum technologies, outlining strategic guidelines and opportunities for development in the field.

His online presentation was followed by a roundtable examining recent advances, practical applications, and industrial implications.

The panel featured:

• Anna Grassellino, Director, National Quantum Information Science Center, Fermilab

• Tommaso Macrì, Senior Director of Business Development, QuEra Computing Inc.

• Stefano Poletto, Director, Quantum Engineering, Rigetti Computing Inc.

• Massimo Ruzzene, Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of Colorado Boulder

  
  

The discussion was moderated by Andrea Alù, Chair of ISSNAF Scientific Council and Distinguished Professor and Einstein Professor of Physics at the City University of New York.

Celebrating Scientific Excellence

This year, ISSNAF honored the remarkable career of Prof. Pietro De Camilli, recipient of the 2025 ISSNAF Lifetime Achievement Award.

Prof. De Camilli is the John Klingenstein Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Cell Biology at Yale University School of Medicine, founding director of the Yale Program for Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, and Repair, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He has been widely recognized for his pioneering research on neuronal communication, uncovering how the brain’s key cells exchange messages across the specialized junctions known as synapses.

Recognizing the Young Investigator and Innovator Award Winners

This year, five researchers were honored with the Young Investigator Awards, recognizing both their outstanding contributions and their potential to shape the future of their fields.

They were joined in the celebration by the first recipient of the newly established ISSNAF Innovator Award, specifically the TEF Award for Stem Entrepreneur, which this year recognized groundbreaking innovation in the field of robotics.

The Young Investigator Awards finalists and the Innovator Award winner also had the opportunity to showcase their research during the poster session, engaging in discussion and networking with experts and representatives from their respective areas of work and study. 

Strength in Collaboration

Heartfelt thanks to all who contribute to the vibrancy and success of the ISSNAF community!