^{Author: Florian Pump}

On November 19, 2024, the Italian Ambassador to Germany, Armando Varricchio, ceremoniously awarded the renowned TU Dresden researcher Prof. Gianaurelio Cuniberti the Order of the Star of Italy (Ordine della Stella d'Italia) in the class Ofiizier (Ufficiale). The award recognizes his remarkable commitment and his successful efforts to strengthen and deepen relations between Italy and Germany. The award ceremony took place during an event on the topic of artificial intelligence at the Italian Embassy in Berlin. It was organized by the Association of Italian Researchers in Germany (SIGN e. V.), of which Cuniberti is the founding president.

The Order, which refers to the Stella d'Italia, one of the country's oldest national and state symbols, is the second highest civilian award of the Italian Republic. It is awarded by the Italian President on the recommendation of the Italian Foreign Minister and after careful selection by a forty-member Order Council (Consiglio dell'Ordine). The Order is awarded to Italian citizens and foreigners who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding contributions to cultural, social, scientific and economic exchange between Italy and other countries.

"It is a great honor for me to be awarded this medal. This is not only a recognition of my scientific work, but also a sign of appreciation for my efforts to build bridges between my native country and my current home in Germany," said Prof. Cuniberti.

Prof. Gianaurelio Cuniberti was born in Genoa (Italy) and has been Chair of Materials Science and Nanotechnology at TU Dresden since 2007. He is an honorary professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology POSTECH (Korea), the University of Alabama (USA) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China). In 2018, he became a professor of the transCampus, the privileged partnership between TU Dresden and King's College London.

Cuniberti is an elected member of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) and the Academia Europaea, the two most prestigious scientific academies in Europe, and the German Academy of Science and Engineering – acatech. He has made fundamental contributions to various scientific fields of nanotechnology and materials science, which are of great importance, for example, for the realization of the digitalization of the sense of smell. His research activity is internationally recognized by more than 500 scientific articles and his applications have an impact on the commercialization of patents and the creation of high-tech start-ups.

Contact:

Prof. Gianaurelio Cuniberti
Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering
Institute of Materials Science
Chair of Materials Science and Nanotechnology
Phone: +49 351 463-31420

http://nano.tu-dresden.de/