The Scuola Normale opens its doors to Bright, the European Researchers’ Day. On Friday 29th September, from 4 pm to 10 pm, 5 booths set in the cluster of the Palazzo della Carovana, in Piazza dei Cavalieri, will display the activities of the Nest, Saet, and Smart laboratories. Furthermore, professors and researchers will join the “research aperitifs” organised by coffee shops and bookshops in the centre of Pisa. Below are the details of the programme devised by the Scuola for Bright 2017.

Research aperitif seminars:

Speaker: Andrea Ferrara, Full Professor of Cosmology
Title: “Nello spazio, verso le origini del cosmo” (In space, towards the origins of the cosmos)
Time and place: Bazeel – Lungarno Pacinotti 1, 8:30 pm
Abstract: The ability to travel through space does not serve the sole purpose of physically exploring our solar system and the nearby stars, but is essential to answer questions about the origin of the Universe. The forthcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will represent a big step forward for science: let’s find out the reason.

Speaker: Giorgio Bacci, Research Fellow in History of Contemporary Art
Title: Disegnare Sogni. Il cinema di Silvano Campeggi (1946-1969) (Drawing Dreams. Silvano Campeggi’s Cinema (1946-1969))
Time and place
: Katerina Café – Via San Lorenzo 67, 5:30 pm
Abstract: This seminar is related to the exhibition of Palazzo Blu closing on 1st October and promoted by the Palazzo Blu Foundation with the patronage of the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Comune of Pisa. The exhibition is dedicated to one of the best poster designers of all times, Silvano Campeggi, alias Nano, who, between 1946 and 1969, produced the posters for such masterpieces as Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Casablanca, West Side Story, and Singin’ in the Rain, other than portraying some of the most notorious actors and actresses of the time (like Paul Newman, James Dean, Ava Gardner, and also Marilyn Monroe, whom he portrayed live in 1957).

Research Booths

Time and place: Cluster of the Palazzo della Carovana, 4-10 pm

  1. NEST Laboratory

Title: “Proprietà superidrofobiche di materiali nanostrutturati” (Superhydrophobic Properties of Nanostructured Materials)
Abstract: Visitors will be able to experience the “lotus effect” on different materials, fabrics and constructions materials included. We will show them how common these properties are in natural nanostructured materials such as broccoli, lotus leaves, candles’ carbon black, etc. The booth’s background will show pictures and videos.

  1. SMART Laboratory

Title: “ELiTe: la linguistica sperimentale” (ELiTe: Experimental Linguistics)
Abstract: Visitors will be guided into the world of voice and language through the simulation of experiments and interactive games displaying the most recent researches on experimental linguistics. It will be possible to play with ultrasounds in order to see the tongue’s movements, the non-words will show how our brain elaborates the words’ meaning, there will be acoustic and articulatory illusions, and voice will be represented by an acoustic wave. Our guests will have the chance to bring home the digital imprint of their voice and a 3D paper model of their larynx.

  1. SMART Laboratory

Title: “Viaggio tridimensionale tra spazio e tempo, storia e scienza” (Tridimensional Journey through Space and Time, History and Science)
Abstract
: We will explore the virtual world through a guided visit to the world of the most spectacular scientific researches. Wearing a 3D helmet, we will be able to “stroll” in the ancient Segesta’s agora, inside the human brain, or in a molecule.

  1. SAET Laboratory

Title: “Uno sguardo moderno su un mondo antico” (A Modern Glance on an Ancient World)
Abstract: The past can come back by combining humanistic knowledge and advanced technologies. We will travel through the ancient scriptures of the Mediterranean world, read Greek and Latin inscriptions, and see excavation and prospecting works, drone photos and 3D models, and authentic artefacts of the Etruscan Pisa.

  1. SAET Laboratory

Title: “L’antico nella modernità” (Antiquity in the Modern World)
Abstract: Antiquity is not only a passive study subject. It frequently participates in culture, politics and society all throughout history and until our days. The Renaissance passed down to us a ‘History of Art’ by Pliny the Elder. Generally speaking, antiquity – through French Revolution – handed down to the 19th-century Europe the political model for different regimes and political experiences, and triumphed during the first half of the 20th century, legitimising nationalisms and totalitarianisms.

Connection with the SAET archaeological expedition, currently undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Locri Epizefiri’s territory, and with the Archaeological Museum of the Ancient Town of Locris; presentation of SAET’s research; visit to the Lapidarium Segestanum in the first-floor hallway of the Palazzo della Carovana; exhibition of Etruscan materials found during the excavation works in Via Sant’Apollonia in Pisa (Aula Mancini – First floor – Palazzo della Carovana)

7 pm: Vincenzo Galilei Choir