Bridges to Italy
A USA-Italy non-profit business associationBridges to Italy at the End of the Year Meeting of the Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria.
The Young Entrepreneurs Group of Confindustria met on 12/20/2011 to discuss internationalization strategies for SME’s. Rosario Branda, Director of Confindustria Cosenza, cited a recent study that forecasts a longer-than -expected recession until mid-2012. According to the study, in 2013 the global economy will start expanding again, thanks to a growth in demand from the emerging countries.
Paolo Filice, President of the Young Entrepreneurs Group, explained why he chose internationalization as the theme for the last meeting of the year. He said that it is important to try to connect entrepreneurs interested in expanding abroad with supporting organizations and investors.
Giuseppe Gaglioti, President of the Chamber of Commerce, mentioned that many small companies are not ready to enter foreign markets given the increasing competition created by the world economy.
Domenico Quaglio, President of Bridges to Italy – Italia, introduced the objectives of the non-profit association, namely to connect Italian innovative companies with US Capital and managerial skills. Marco Iusi, coordinator of Bridges to Italy’s CERVELLI IN MOVIMENTO AWARD, explained how the award was developed to help young Italian entrepreneurs in their globalization efforts while providing them the tools to stay in their home country. The winner of the 2011 edition of the Award, Professor Marco Castriota, gave a testimonial about the experience of his startup which, thanks to the competition, went to Southern California and could present its energy savings innovation to the largest Angels investor organization in the United States.
“Made in Italy” Renewable Energy Solutions Conquer America
The BRAINS IN MOTION 2011 AWARD presents the three winning projects from Calabria looking for international investors:
an innovative technology for indoor thermal insulation, a new generation
of solar ‘trackers’ and kinetic turbines to generate energy from rivers without damaging riverbeds.
The winner of the first edition of the BRAINS IN MOTION AWARD, as part of the prize, granted by the non-profit association Bridges to Italy, organizer of the award, in collaboration with Tech Coast Angels, the largest U.S. angels investors organization, has taken part in an investors roadshow from San Diego to Los Angeles. “It’s been amazing: a unique opportunity for our startup to lay the seeds of international growth” says Marco Castriota about the journey in Southern California. Castriota is the 36 years old chemist from Cosenza (Calabria), professor at the University of Calabria, CEO of the nanotechnology company NOTREDAME and author of the winning project ‘SMARTLAYERCAL‘ an innovative thermal insulation technology.
THE 2011 AWARD WINNERS - Marco Castriota’s innovation was chosen as the winner among the fifteen projects which participated in the first edition of ”Brains in Motion”, an advanced training program and award aimed at supporting the international growth of Southern Italian high-tech enterprises. The three finalists were selected by a jury chaired by Sandra Savaglio, world renowned Astrophysicist, and composed of scholars, business leaders and investors involved in the US high-tech world. The Jury panel included members of Tech Coast Angels, as well as Toni Volpe, President of Enel North America and Professor Francesco Lanza di Scalea of the University of California in San Diego. The winning project, ‘Smartlayercal’, belongs to an area of great global interest: energy savings and renewable energy. It consists in a particularly innovative film which is made of flexible electrochromic materials, adhesive, and self powered by photovoltaic sources. It can be easily applied to new and existing windows, by anyone including the end-user, favoring less heat consumption during the winter and air conditioning in summer. ”We calculated that the Smartlayercal technology can allow energy savings of about 30% in the buildings where it is applied,” says Roberto Termini, COO of the team, “this system also allows the end-user to manage his/her energy consumption through wi-fi technology.” The second and third places went, respectively, to Roberto Polillo – for ‘TUCANO’, an innovative solar tracker to heat water and generate energy for industrial use and to Manuel Sanchez Blanco with ’ SYNTENERGY’, a project for the implementation of a new type of turbine to generate kinetic energy from river currents and tides without damaging riverbeds.
THE CALIFORNIA ROADSHOW – The SMARTLAYERCAL team has already completed the roadshow in Southern California where, in a few days, it presented to over 200 key people between investors and potential partners thanks to the active collaboration of Tech Coast Angels (TCA). TCA is a vibrant Southern California-based angels organization with nearly 300 members who provide money, connections, knowledge, mentoring and operational assistance to bold early-stage entrepreneurs with game-changing ideas.
THE AWARD CEREMONY – “I am really satisfied: Italy once again, with its highest level of creativity and expertise of its researchers, shows that high-tech can and must become a driving force for the economic recovery of the entire country,” said the President of Bridges to Italy, Bianca Dellepiane, at the Award ceremony organized at the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles on October 14th. The ceremony opened with a fun and passionate documentary titled “Calabria According to Us” created by the youthful DYNEMATICA team (another Award’s participant which specializes in 3D educational tools and virtual reality). After a burst of applause, the actual award ceremony took place among representatives of all major Italian and Italian-American institutions. Speeches and laudatory remarks were given by the host, Alberto Di Mauro, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, who introduced the speakers starting with Consul General Giuseppe Perrone, followed by Bridges to Italy’s Presidents for the U.S. and Italy Bianca Dellepiane and Domenico Quaglio and Tech Coast Angels Chairman, Mike Napoli. Then, Consul General Perrone presented the award “CERVELLI IN MOVIMENTO 2011” (Brains in Motion 2011) to the winner, congratulating him for the innovative idea and wishing him great success thanks to the contacts made during the meetings with Southern Californian investors. The winner’s speech demonstrated that the prize had achieved not only its stated objective of increasing the startup’s international growth opportunities, but also the implicit goal of taking back to Southern Italy the passion to mentor other innovators about the American-way to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in high-tech.
THE FUTURE - Now, upon the conclusion of this first edition of BRAINS IN MOTION, the more difficult phase begins, a thorough follow-up work to select the best opportunities and open up real prospects of growth for SMARTLAYERCAL. ”We are already working on the 2012 edition, which will launch in December in conjunction with the Italian Award ceremony, ” added the President of Bridges to Italy – Italia, Domenico Quaglio, ”this first experience has given excellent results, but we can do much more to improve the entrepreneurial skills of Italian researchers and make their work more competitive at the international level “.
Chi e’ il vincitore dell’Award “Cervelli in Movimento” 2011?
Presidente Bridges to Italy-Italia e Dr. Castriota
Il vincitore della prima edizione dell’Award ”Cervelli in Movimento” 2011, indetto da Bridges to Italy e realizzato in collaborazione con Tech Coast Angels, l’incubatore dell’Universita’ della Calabria TECHNEST e la University of California Irvine per appoggiare il processo di internazionalizzazione ed imprenditoria tecnologica delle startup del Mezzogiorno, e’ il Dr. Marco Castriota, laureato in Chimica (con votazione di 110/110), dottore di ricerca in “Scienze e Tecnologie delle Mesofasi e dei Materiali Molecolari” ed iscritto dal 19/01/2001 all’ordine dei Chimici e’ amministratore unico e legale rappresentante della società nanotecnologica NOTREDAME (NuOvi subsTRati pEr lo sviluppo di Dispositivi elettro-ottici flessibili Autosufficienti da impiegare nel settore del risparMio Energetico).
Il Dr. Castriota è attualmente assegnista di ricerca presso il Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università della Calabria sul tema:“Self-organized Nanomaterials for tailored optical and electrical properties”. Oltre all’attività accademica, ha ottenuto l’idoneità in un concorso per ricercatori (TT) bandito dall’ INFM-LICRYL (N°929).
I suoi principali interessi di ricerca sono: Sintesi sol-gel ed ottenimento di film sottili e particelle sub-micrometriche, Materiali e display elettrocromici, Materiali polimerici, Materiali piezoelettrici, Materiali liquidi cristallini, Spettroscopia micro-Raman ed IR nel campo della scienza dei materiali e della diagnostica, Spettroscopia d’impedenza, Nanotubi di carbonio.
Negli ultimi 10 anni ha collaborato presso diversi enti di ricerca, fra i quali Dipartimento di Fisica e di Chimica-dell’Università della Calabria, Laboratorio LiCRYL-INFM-CNR, Centro di Eccellenza CEMIF.CAL, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Tulsa Oklahoma- USA. In questo periodo, la sua attività di ricerca, ha riguardato principalmente lo studio, la sintesi e le tecniche di deposizione di materiali elettrocromici da impiegare in dispositivi elettrocromici e in celle asimmetriche a cristalli liquidi nematici per il controllo delle proprietà di trasmittanza degli stessi.
Ha sviluppato complesse sintesi sol gel per l’ottenimento di film ultrasottili di materiali elettrocromici su “large area” elettrodi. Inoltre, si è interessato dello sviluppo di materiali polimerici e non solo, da impiegare come mezzi ionici adottando strategie atte a migliorarne le prestazioni per l’applicazioni in dispositivi elettrocromici ed in batterie alcaline, quali ad esempio il nano-confinamento di polimeri elettrolitici o l’impiego di liquidi ionici per migliorare la conduzione ionica degli stessi. E’ stato invitato a rappresentare la sede italiana della P&G al corso: “Procter & Gamble (P&G)
Research and Development (R&D) Easter Course 2005” Egham, UK.
E’ autore di 40 pubblicazioni su riviste internazionali e di circa 40 contributi a congressi scientifici. Il Dr. Castriota fra i vari inviti ricevuti ha tenuto un seminario al corso di dottorato in “Scienze Chimiche” presso il Dipartimento di Chimica dell’Università di Firenze dal titolo: “Characterization of Some Materials used in Electrochromic Devices”, e un seminario al convegno “II Ed. SAVUTAMBIENTE: The climate change and its consequences on the ecosystems. A confront between Energy, Farming, Science and Life styles” dal titolo “Renewable Energy Supplies: novel technologies and further developments”.
Svolge correntemente attività di docente a contratto presso la facoltà di Scienze e di referee di prestigiose riviste internazionali fra le quali: Chemical Physics Letters, Journal of Sol Gel Science and Technology e The Journal of Physical Chemistry.
Nel corso degli anni ha collaborato alla stesura di diversi progetti di ricerca per lo più rivolti al trasferimento tecnologico fra i quali: il progetto finanziato per la creazione del laboratorio tecnologico LABORATORIO DI SPETTROSCOPIA MICRO-RAMAN PER INDAGINI NON DISTRUTTIVE SU BENI CULTURALI, (LABSRIB).
IL PROGETTO VINCENTE
Il progetto iscritto alla competition Cervelli in Movimento si chiama SMARTLAYERCAL ed è stato selezionato per la fase di pre-incubazione del progetto CRESCITA dell’Universita’ della Calabria. Inoltre la proposta NOTREDAME si è qualificata seconda nella START CUP locale e si è qualificata fra le prime dieci alla STARTCUP nazionale del 2009. Il Dr. Castriota è stato invitato a presentare l’idea di business a diverse manifestazioni fra le quali: INTESA SANPAOLO START UP INITIATIVE (25/01-30/01/2010) Milano, GREEN TECHNOLOGIES INVESTMENT FORUM (11/02/2010) Milano ed il TECHGARAGE CLEAN & GREEN
(26/03/2010) Milano.
L’idea di Business proposta da NOTREDAME, oltre a suscitare l’interesse della stampa locale ha attirato l’attenzione della stampa nazionale come si evince degli articoli de “IL
SOLE 24 ORE”: pagina 2, N°359 del 31 dicembre 2009 e de “NOVA-IL SOLE 24 ORE”: pagine 12-13, N°215 del 18 Marzo 2010.
“SMARTLAYERCAL” e’ una pellicola adesiva ’elettrocromica’, flessibile, ed energeticamente autosufficiente destinata ad essere applicata alle superficinvetrate degli edifici, in grado di essere controllata unicamente mediante tecnologia Wi-Fi. Si tratta di una tecnologia alternativa per l’isolamento termico degli edifici proposta da NOTREDAME, con l’obiettivo di ottimizzare il riscaldamento degli edifici (minor uso del riscaldamento nei mesi invernali e dei condizionatori nei mesi estivi), consentendo un risparmio energetico di circa il 30%.
PERCHE’ HA DECISO DI PARTECIPARE A CERVELLI IN MOVIMENTO?
Il Dr. Castriota risponde: “Quando mi sono iscritto, speravo potesse essere un percorso formativo atto alla mia crescita professionale come A. U. della società nel mondo globalizzato in cui stiamo vivendo.Inoltre, speravo che vi fossero occasioni per la crescita aziendale sia dal punto di vista geografico e sia del punto di vista economico. Adesso che ho vinto questo Award e ci prepariamo ad affrontare il Road Show in California, mi auguro di poter incontrare il giusto business angels o partner capace di credere nella nostra impresa e di aiutarci ad entrare nel mercato con un prodotto altamente innovativo capace di dare un reale contributo al risparmio energetico del pianeta senza trascurare gli elevati margini di profitto che in breve tempo sono previsti.”
SE UN INVESTITORE AMERICANO LE CHIEDESSE DI ‘CONVINCERLO’ DELLA SUA IDEA IN UN MINUTO, COSA DIREBBE?
Il team è giovane, forte, coeso e preparato. L’idea consente di cambiare in meglio il mondo. I profitti saranno strabilianti, in un breve periodo.
www.notredame-smartlayercal.com
Bridges to Italy Announces the Winner of the Brains in Motion Award
The Winner and his Team with Bridges to Italy-Italia's President.
Bridges to Italy, a non-profit organization that generates connections between Italian innovators and US Capital opportunities, is to announce the winner of the Brains in Motion award in a ceremony at the Italian Cultural Institute in Westwood, Los Angeles. The ceremony will be held on October 14, 2011, at 6.30 p.m. in collaboration with the Italian Consulate General and the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles.
“The access to venture capital is what makes California the cradle of global innovation,” said Bianca Dellepiane, president and founder of Bridges to Italy. “Often, this type of access is very hard for Italian companies, especially for the ones located in Southern Italy.”
In order to overcome these obstacles and allow Italian creativity in all fields of technology to emerge in the global marketplace, the winner of Brains in Motion will fly to Los Angeles in October to meet U.S. companies and angel investors from Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investment organization in the U.S., during a roadshow around Southern California. At the end, the winner will receive the Bridges to Italy’s Brains in Motion award at the ceremony held at the Italian Cultural Institute and maybe he will have increased his chances of obtaining the funds needed to jumpstart his business.
The team of judges, which includes colleagues from Enel North America, the University of California San Diego, and Tech Coast Angels, has selected the finalists and the winner from the original 15 entries. The winner is Marco Castriota, CEO of a small Nanotech startup from Calabria, Italy, which makes a new type of electrochromic film, easy to install and remove on any type of flat or curved window without the need of buying new glass or frame, it is therefore highly economical and it offers an increase in thermal efficiency, resulting in 30% energy savings.
Winner of Bridges to Italy’s PREMIO AWARD Nominated One of the Top Ten Brilliant Scientists by Popular Science
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I am sending excerpts of the November issue of Popular Science that features the 2011 Brilliant ten nominations for the best scientists below the age of 40. I have feelings of deep gratitude towards the associations such as Bridges to Italy, ITWIIN and GWIIN that believed in my research in the past and I have wonderful memories of our meetings.
Thank you very much!!!
Best regards
Alessandra Luchini, PhD
Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine
Assistant Professor
George Mason University“
Domenico Quaglio Now Among the Owners of Cosenza Calcio!
Stefano Fiore, Technical Director
Yesterday, the Mayor of Cosenza, Mario Occhiuto, announced the creation of the newly restructured ”Cosenza Calcio” soccer team that sees among its new owners our own Domenico Quaglio, President of the Italian branch of Bridges to Italy.
Domenico Quaglio, an accomplished corporate attorney and a successful entrepreneur, is very passionate about soccer. His passion has led him to the VP position in the Rende soccer team and now on the Board of Directors of the reformed Cosenza Calcio soccer team – division D.
Along with Mr Quaglio there are 8 additional Directors from the Calabrian business community: Eugenio Guarascio, CEO of “Ecologia Oggi”, Pietro Marchese, businessman in the lamellae field, Ettore Caroselli, involved in healthcare, VincenzoPerri, president of the soccer academy Real Cosenza, Mario Silletta already president of the team Silana, Carmine Federico, expert in professional training, Massimo Palermo, involved in the finance industry and Pietro Ventura, entrepreneur in the transportation sector.
We wish Domenico the best in this new venture and many successes to the Team!
Sandra Savaglio at Bridges to Italy in Rende
Sandra Savaglio is a world-known astrophysicist who is currently Senior Scientist at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (near Munich). Her research focuses on the investigation of the young universe: cosmic chemical evolution, distant galaxies, intergalactic and interstellar medium. Recently, she specialized in the exploration of the galaxies that host the most energetic events in the universe: the gamma-ray bursts.
Sandra, originally from Calabria, since the opening of Bridges to Italy in Rende last year and the launch of the BRAINS IN MOTION AWARD, has provided full support to our mission donating her time and energies as President of the International Jury Panel which will select the winner of the Award and now as member of our newly formed Advisory Board. Sandra’s commitment to our mission demonstrates that, even if sometimes the brains find employment abroad, the heart often stays in the native country.
This week, while vacationing in Calabria, she went to visit the Italian headquarters of Bridges to Italy where she met the President, Domenico Quaglio: the picture above shows that they are both taking advantage of the beautiful Mediterranean summer. Enjoy!
EU Parliament’s Vice President Meets Bridges to Italy in Calabria.
It was recently held, at the headquarters of Bridges to Italy in Calabria, a meeting between Domenico Quaglio, President of Bridges to Italy-Italia, and Gianni Pittella, Vice President of the European Parliament.
- Hon. Gianni Pittella meets Domenico Quaglio at Bridges to Italy – Italia Headquarters
The purpose of the visit of EU Parliament VP was to determine whether there are conditions for a fruitful collaboration with this new Italy-Usa association which aims at supporting the activities of the Southern Italian startup firms and ensuring their visibility and market growth both in Italy and the United States. After a brief presentation, Mr. Quaglio explained the mission and the recent activities carried out by Bridges to Italy, such as the competition for young entrepreneurs “Brains in Motion Award” (CERVELLI IN MOVIMENTO) which, in contrast to the phenomenon of the so-called brain drain, seeks to help innovative ideas of young Southern Italian researchers get exposure to Angel investors and potential business partners in both sides of the Atlantic . In the Fall the international jury, chaired by Sandra Savaglio, world-famous Calabrian Astrophysicist, will select the winner who will have the opportunity to spend 10 days in Los Angeles, hosted by Bridges to Italy. During this time, the winner will present his business idea to Tech Coast Angels, the largest organization of angel investors in the United States. Other popular initiative from the illustrious guest’s prospective was the Calabrian visit of Mike Napoli, Chairman of Tech Coast Angels. In fact, Mr. Napoli played a fundamental mentoring role for the young entrepreneurs participating at the “Brains in Motion Award”.
Mr Pittella listened with interest to the presentation and expressed appreciation for the value of a project that wants to help reviving Southern Italy‘s competitiveness through the growth of its innovative sectors.
In the coming days Bridges to Italy will initiate a more operational dialogue with he Zephyr Foundation, chaired by Mr Pittella. The idea is to create a network between the United States, Italy and the Mediterranean that can launch projects of development of the poorest areas of the Mediterranean basin through the support of the European Community and the Americans. Mr Pittella has offered its support to ensure that such project can operate in synergy with Meseuro, the European Centre for a Mediterranean development policy chaired by parliamentarians Pittella (PD) and Mauro (PDL): a bipartisan organization to facilitate dialogue and innovative proposals among Euromediterranean organisations, institutions, businesses and their respective leaders and representatives.
This meeting soon to be formalized into a partnership that hopefully can be productive for Southern Italy and Calabria.
