Seminar to the Departmento di Informatica L'Aquila

The title of my presentation was "Department of InformaticsUniversita degli Studia dell’Aquila -The Role of University in Technology Commercialization and Business Development &Role of LSU in Disaster Recovery" I met with Claudio Arbib and Paola Inveradi at the department and discussed the presentation and the issues facing both L'Aquila and Louisiana caused by the disasters of earthquake and hurricanes and oil spills. We discussed the differences in funding for university research in the two countries. We have many commonalities as well as many differences. We discussed university research funding and the technology commercialization process. I gave a presentation on the LSU process for tech commercialization and the services of the LBTC and the LSU South Research Park. Incubation is new to this area as they have none in L'Aquila and only three in the entire region of Abruzzo and none are affiliated with universities. My presentation covered LSU / LBTC's role in the commercialization of technology and the incubator and research park clients involved in information sciences. I also gave a detailed report on the role LSU and the LBTC played in the Katrina recovery and in the oil spill disaster. It appears that the university has not played a major role in the earthquake recovery for a number of reasons. After my presentation, I met with several faculty members that had questions on how to pursue technology commercialization and how the university can be better involved in the recovery. It is very difficult, with many university faculty losing their homes and living quite a distance away from L'Aquila, as far as Rome and Pescara. Also, it appears that Italian industries do not fund research projects to the level that LSU is able to get private and public funding for projects and research. We had several one on one discussions with faculty and there is great interest in developing a long term relationship with LSU for disaster management, disaster recovery, business incubation, soft landings for technology spinoffs and other aspects of mutual interest. Tomorrow, I am going to tour the Gran Sasso Laboratories with Professor Piero Tagnolatti. The rest of the week is filled with seminars with the departments of science.

May 31 Presentation to the Department of Information Sciences Faculty and Students

Today's presentationDepartment of InformaticsUniversita degli Studia dell’AquilaThe Role of University in Technology Commercialization and Business Development &Role of LSU in Disaster Recovery

Weekend trip to Florence

What perfect timing, the Florence Gelato Festival was held this weekend and I collected a lot of ideas for Corrado DiMartino of Baton Rouge's Latte e Meile Gelateria.

With the weekend off, I traveled to Florence by almost every possible mode of transportation. Car from Bank of Italy meeting to L'Aquila bus station, bus to Rome, subway to Rome Train Station, train to Florence and cab to hotel in Florence. This is not a trip for the weak of heart. Florence is beautiful and full of life, I imagine the way L'Aquila was before the quake. By comparing a vibrant Italian town to the current situation in L'Aquila, it is easy to see the affects of the earthquake. The earthquake took the heart out of L'Aquila and took away its historic center city with all the quaint streets, shops, churches, hotels and restaurants and the hub of the Universita degli Studi dell'Aquila. I have been told that the students would gather in the square and it was a social, business, academic and residential hub for the city. Today it is barricaded and guarded by the military and fire department and during the day, construction crews are busy working to return it to its life. Now Pictures of Florence:

More Earthquake Damage Pictures from L'Aquila

The earthquake in April of 2009 hit the historic area badly but also hit other parts of the town and the region. One cannot drive through town without seeing some reminders and damaged buildings from the quake. Notice the car crushed as the entire first floor of an apartment complex fell down on the garage below. Also, many buildings are structurally damaged and must be taken down as well as many are unsafe for future occupancy. Not as many as Katrina but bad.

More Earthquake Damage Pictures from L'Aquila

The earthquake in April of 2009 hit the historic area badly but also hit other parts of the town and the region. One cannot drive through town without seeing some reminders and damaged buildings from the quake.

Guardia Di Finanza Pirtures

These are pictues from the tour of the Guardia Di Finanza hosted by Ten. Col. Carretta for me and the faculty of L'Aquila. The Guardia hosted the G8 summit attended by President Obama and was the recovery hub during and after the earthquake. It is an educational institution that trains the Guardia under the guidance of the Minister of Finance and they have a multitude of missions.

Visit with the Bank of Italy on May 27

Professors Margherita Mori and Lelio Lepadre set up a meeting for me with the Bank of Italy and Dr. Giovanni Alfieri, Direttore della Filiale di L'Aquila and Dr. Alessandro Tosoni and several other officers of the Bank. The Bank of Italy is comparable to the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States. The Bank of Italy is housed in Rome but has offices in each region, including the L'Aquila office for the Abruzzo Region. They conduct economic research and perform structural economic analysis, economic outlook and policy, issue financial statistics and preform regulatory functions. They issue annual and quarterly reports on the Italian and World economy. They work closely with several of the University of L'Aquila faculty and researchers. I was asked to give a presentation on the LBTC and LSU's role in economic development and business disaster recovery. The Bank of Italia worked very hard to reestablish their presence in the L'Aquila historic area and to reopen their bank in the historic area as soon as possible. Their bank is located on the main square that was severely damaged by the earthquake. From their board room we were able to see work being done in the square and the church next door. They feel that is it vital to L'Aquila's recovery to have the historic area rebuilt as soon as feasible. They have played a major role in this redevelopment strategy and even provide housing for employees and earthquake victims to speed up the rebuilding process. I spoke on the programs enacted to get the small businesses back into business after Katrina and the current work of the LBTC on disaster preparedness and the oil spill disaster. They were interested in the funding and programs such as loans and grants given to Louisiana businesses to reopen after the disasters as well as the role of LSU in the recovery process. We had coffee in the coffee bar across the street prior to the meeting to support one of the historic and first businesses to open after the quake. After our meeting and presentations, we went to lunch at an excellent restaurant called the Casele Signorini Ristorante Hotel in L'Aquila where we continued our discussions on the comparisons of the business recovery programs for the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina, Lake Charles after Rita and Ike, Baton Rouge after Gustav and now the Louisiana coast after the oil spill of the British Petroleum explosion.