July 24 – The countdown for the "Ragusani in the World" prize has officially begun: the event, promoted by the Ragusani nel Mondo Association, is scheduled for August 3^rd in Piazza Libertà, in Ragusa. Meanwhile, the winners of the 19^th edition are at the center of media attention. Among them, there is Giovanni Occhipinti, a geophysicist with a passion for the study of earthquakes and tsunamis warning signs through new space techniques, Occhipinti is one of the most respected scholars in his field at the international level; his activity is followed by important research centers and universities around the world. He was born in Ragusa in 1976, where he studied mathematics and physics at the Enrico Fermi High School, Occhipinti continued his studies within the Physics Department of the University of Bologna, where he decided to focus on theoretical geophysics. He attended the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris for a 1-year Erasmus Program, where he later returned to carry out his PhD, demonstrating the possibility to observe tsunamis and earthquakes from space with radar and satellite techniques based on data from the Sumatra earthquake (2004). Between 2006 and 2009, Occhipinti cooperates with NASA and the California Institute of Technology to continue his studies on this exciting and promising discipline. The recent catastrophic seismic events put emphasis on the importance and the need for further studies on the measurement of tsunamis and earthquakes. Occhipinti is today an associate professor at the University of Paris and continues his research at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and the Office National d'Etudes et Recherches Aérospatiales, where he directs the work of young students and doctoral dissertations. The geophysicist regularly visits the best universities in the world to create exciting collaborations and new ideas to implement in the near future effective systems to monitor and report tsunamis. The Zurich Politecnic (ETH) and the Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo are two of the prestigious institutions where Occhipinti spent long periods as visiting professor. His desire to communicate science to the general public is also expressed through a strong participation in events and art installations combining art, science and technology.

THE "RAGUSANI IN THE WORLD" PRIZE

The 19^th edition of "Ragusani in the world" will be held on August 3^rd in Ragusa’s Piazza Libertà. Film and television will be the big protagonists of the night, with a strong female presence. "This edition - said in a note of the organizing Association – will be marked by many new features, but always in the tradition to promote and bring to the forefront our expats’ success stories." Director Alberto Sironi and key Ragusa actors have confirmed their presence: Eng. Salvatore Pace, from Philadelphia, author of important discoveries in the bio-medical field; the young physicist Giovanni Occhipinti, a classic example of the brain drain affecting the country; the mosaic artist and painter Anna Minardo, who lives in Melbourne; Giovanna Biondi, beautician and stylist of international fame, who put her art to the service of the most important fashion brands and designers worldwide.