4 meetings with IIT on brain, bioinspired robotics, artificial intelligence, and environmental sustainability
The seventeenth edition of the Rome Science Festival started yesterday and will last until Sunday, November 27th, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica “Ennio Morricone,” featuring a rich program of events and internationally renowned guests, scientific journalists, as well as photographic and interactive exhibitions. This year’s theme is “Explore,” which the organizers have divided into five thematic areas – Spaces, Society, Life, Minds, and Futures – to underline how science is both a physical and mental exploration of the reality that surrounds us. “To explore, it’s not enough just to study; it’s also necessary to listen, recognize one’s mistakes, question what is taken for granted, and critique one’s own ideas. Only in this way can explorers expose themselves to new scenarios and find new solutions to problems,” as stated in the press release.
Among the scheduled events are four different meetings featuring the participation of IIT researchers Monica Gori, Barbara Mazzolai, Agnieszka Wykowska, and Fabrizio Pirri, the coordinator of the IIT Center in Turin.
The first IIT event will take place on Wednesday, November 23rd, at 7:00 PM, titled “Born to Explore,” with Monica Gori, head of the “Unit for Visually Impaired People” Lab at IIT, and Daniela Lucangeli, a researcher at the University of Padua, president of Mind 4 Children, and author of the book “Il tempo del noi. Da Socrate a Montessori, i giganti del pensiero che mi hanno ispirato” (Mondadori). The two researchers and psychologists will guide the audience in discovering the brain and its potential, explaining how learning is a key concept that should inspire our society. The discussion will be moderated by Roberta Fulci, a journalist and host of Radio3 Scienza. Tickets can be purchased at the link. Following that, on Thursday, November 24th, at 11:30 AM, there will be an event for the younger audience featuring Barbara Mazzolai, Associate Director for Robotics at IIT, writer, and inventor, along with the popularizer Chiara Segré, a biologist, writer, and scientific supervisor at the Umberto Veronesi Foundation. They will present their latest book “L’Incredibile Plantoide e i super poteri del regno vegetale” (Editoriale Scienza). The presentation will be hosted by Michele Bellone, the scientific coordinator of the Festival. Reservation is mandatory. The weekend features two events highlighting multidisciplinarity.
On Saturday, November 26th, at 3:30 PM, there will be a talk titled “Portrait of CO2 (a matter of life and death),” dedicated to the increasing urgency of reducing CO2 emissions to safeguard human societies and the environment from the most severe impacts of climate change. The speakers will be Sergio Ramazzotti, co-founder of Parallelozero, journalist, and writer, Fabrizio Pirri, coordinator of the Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies at IIT, and Elena Verdolini, a researcher at CMCC. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Emanuele Menietti from Il Post. Tickets can be purchased at the link. On Sunday, November 27th, at 3:00 PM, there will be a roundtable discussion titled “Where is Artificial Intelligence Taking Us?” focusing on Artificial Intelligence and robots that are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. The participants include Daniele Bonacorsi, a professor at the University of Bologna and INFN researcher, Paola Inverardi, Rector of GSSI, Francesco Iorio, HT, and Agnieszka Wykowska, head of the “Social Cognition in Human-Robot Interaction” Lab at IIT. The discussion will be moderated by Marco Cattaneo, Director of Le Scienze. Tickets can be purchased at the link.
The Rome Science Festival is produced by the Fondazione Musica per Roma, with the project partnership of Codice Edizioni, and promoted by Roma Capitale – Department of Culture. It is created in collaboration with ASI – Italian Space Agency and INFN – National Institute of Nuclear Physics, with scientific partners including CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, CNR – National Research Council, ENEA, ESA – European Space Agency, GARR Network, GSSI – Gran Sasso Science Institute, Human Technopole, IIT – Italian Institute of Technology, INAF – National Institute for Astrophysics, INGV – National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, ISPRA – Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Planetarium of Rome Capitale, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. Cultural partners include Fablab for kids, Fondazione Sylva, G.Eco, Ludo Labo and GAME Science Research Center, Multiversi, Parallelozero, SMAILE, Technotown, and Assipod – Italian Podcast Association. It also involves the participation of Libraries of Rome, Bioparco di Roma, Municipio II, Sapienza University of Rome.
