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From right, Gerardo Dutto, Paul Schaffer, Lia Merminga, Luca Doria, Anna Grassellino, Alice Miceli, Rolf Keitel, Tim Meyer, Nigel Lockyer, Franco Mammarella, His Excellency Andre Meloni, Ambassador of Italy (holding the Canadian flag), Maurizio Giraldi, Gordon Ball, Mr. Francesco de Conno, Consul General of Italy, Marcello Pavan and Marco Marchetto. |
On Friday, TRIUMF was honoured by the visit of the Ambassador of Italy His Excellency Andrea Meloni and the Consul General of Italy in Vancouver, Mr. Francesco de Conno. For the occasion, they met with Division Heads and several Italian-Canadian members of the TRIUMF community. The typical rainy Vancouver weather did not dampen the spirits of the Italian delegation and they were warmly welcomed.
During the visit, the group enjoyed a very special tour of the facilities which included a stop at MDS Nordion. Escorted by Nigel Lockyer (TRIUMF director), Franco Mammarella (Group Leader, Electrical Services), and Marcello Pavan (Outreach Coordinator), our Italian guests received first-hand insights into particle physics, nuclear medicine, nuclear physics, and accelerators. The conversation during the tour was conducted entirely in Italian. Former head of the Cyclotron Division, Emeritus TRIUMF Scientist Gerardo Dutto, who completed his studies in Italy, offered a historical perspective of scientific collaborations between Italy and Canada to our honoured guests.
The local delegation included a cross-section of Italian-Canadians from the TRIUMF community. In addition to division heads and group leaders, post-doctoral researchers Luca Doria and Alice Miceli, Ph.D.-student Anna Grassellino, and TRIUMF researcher Marco Marchetto were present. Our neighbours Jerry Porter from MDS Nordion and Dr. Vesna Sossi from UBC also joined the day.
During a coffee break, Nigel Lockyer offered the Ambassador and Consul General espresso in lieu of the regular coffee. Laughing, the Ambassador warned that it was dangerous to offer espresso to an Italian, but upon trying the Hot Spot Cafe's espresso, he exclaimed that it was indeed "first rate!"
-- Melissa M. Baluk, Communications Assistant