How AI is revealing lost secrets of the Roman Empire
In the spring of 2023, as he drove to his SpaceX internship in Starbase, Texas, a college student named Luke Farritor found himself riveted by a podcast. The hosts were describing a competition with an audacious goal: to read a 2,000-year-old scroll without physically unrolling it. The manuscript was part of a cache of papyrus rolls buried and carb...
What Texas can learn from Italy’s big bet on tiny community health homes
In early 2020, the world watched as a terrifying new virus arrived in Italy and brought the country to its knees. Images of vacant streets, doctors in head-to-toe protective gear and stacked body bags flooded the nightly news, serving as a warning of what awaited the rest of us. By the time COVID-19 hit the United States in full force, the lessons...
Ryan Calabretta-Sajder Named Director of International and Global Studies Program
Ryan Calabretta-Sajder has been appointed as the new director of the International and Global Studies Program (INST) within the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Calabretta-Sajder, who currently serves as an associate professor and section head of Italian, as well as the associate director of the Gender Studies Program, brings a wealth of aca...
Italian scientists in San Antonio (TX) create first mouse model with complete, functional human immune system
A breakthrough for biomedical research promises new insight into immunotherapy development and disease modeling. Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have created a humanized mouse model with a human immune system and a human-like gut microbiome that is capable of mounting specific antibody responses. The scien...
TXST students learn Italian while giving back with service-learning projects in Italy
Basking in the sunny beach breeze by the Amalfi Coast. Touring the Caseificio Michelangelo mozzarella cheese factory in Piano di Sorrento and Barlotti Caseificio in Paestum to taste an ancient Greek tradition. Hiking Mount Vesuvius to learn about its historic eruptions and enjoy breathtaking views of the Gulf of Naples. These are a few of the adven...
U of A Chapter of National Italian Honor Society Initiates Nine New Members
On April 9, the U of A chapter of Gamma Kappa Alpha, the national Italian academic honor society, held its annual initiation ceremony. The chapter congratulates the nine new student members: Juan Carlos Esquivel Monroy, Leah Foster, Michelle Kamanga, Emily Lawless, Jordyn Moore, Claire Phelps, Adriana Tredway, James II Sterling West and Grace Wils...
Italian Innovators at South by Southwest in Austin: Twelve Startups Among Creative Giants
Italian creativity in the arts meets and stimulates technological innovation at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), the Italian pavilion at the SXSW Creative Industries Expo will feature twelve innovative startups, demonstrating the country's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creativity and...
Scholarship Opportunities 2024 at the ICCC in Houston, TX
Exciting news! The Italian Cultural & Community Center is now accepting applications for our Merit Based Scholarship! Graduating high school seniors of Italian descent may be eligible to apply for this $1,000 renewable scholarship. Applicants must have a family history of ICCC membership. If you don't have a family history with the Italian Cultural...
D'Eugenio Wins AATI's First Book Award
Daniela D'Eugenio, assistant professor of Italian in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, was awarded the 2022 First Book Award Prize. D'Eugenio's book, titled Paroimia: Brusantino, Florio, Sarnelli, and Italian Proverbs from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, was published with Purdue UP in 2021. Boasting 572 pages an...
Tulane archaeologist brings Pompeii to life with groundbreaking technologies
Allison Emmerson, associate professor of classical studies at Tulane University, is the director of the Pompeii I.14 Project, Tulane’s very own archaeological site at Pompeii in Italy’s Campania region. In the field of archaeology, the project is a part of a movement pioneering new research technologies, and Emmerson herself is one of the few femal...
Event on Space Exploration – Quo vadimus?
This year, once again, we commemorate a significant occasion established by MAECI in honor of the launch of Italy’s first satellite, the “San Marco 1”, on December 15th, 1964. This date marked Italy’s ascent as the third country globally to venture beyond Earth’s atmosphere. On December 15th, the Consulate General of Italy in Houston and the Space...
Ancient Roman Concrete Meets Modern 3D Printing to Save Coral Reefs
The underwater coral reefs of the world are some of our Earth’s most diverse and fascinating, living, breathing ecosystems. Unfortunately due to pollution, climate change and other negative factors, coral reefs are in extreme danger of extinction, with 90% of Earth’s coral projected to die out by 2050. However, efforts have been underway around the...