Umberto Colombo (1927 – 13 May 2006) was a
Jewish-Italian
Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...
chemical engineer, academic and the minister of universities, science and technology of Italy.
Early life and education
Colombo was born in 1927.
He received a PhD in
physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...
from the
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...
.
[ He was a Fulbright Fellow at ]the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
in the United States.[
]
Career
Colombo trained as a chemical engineer and worked as a professor at the University of Milan
The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...
in the 1970s. He served as the president of the Italian energy firm Eni for a short period from November 1982 to January 1983 before being appointed as the head of the Italian nuclear energy unit.
From 1993 to 1994 Colombo served as the minister of universities, science and technology in the Ciampi cabinet
The Ciampi Cabinet, led by the former Governor of the Bank of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, was the 50th cabinet of the Italian Republic and the second and final cabinet of the XI Legislature. It held office from 29 April 1993 until 11 May 1994, a ...
. Following this he became a member of the Italian national council of economy and labour. He was one of the shareholders of Energy Conversion Devices and became a member of its board of directors in July 1995 before retiring in November 2004.
Other posts that Colombo held included the chairman of ENEA (Italian national agency for new technology, energy and the environment; 1983-1993), president of the European Science Foundation
The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that promotes the highest quality science ...
(1991-1993), chairman of the Italian hydrocarbons trust, director general of Montedision's R&D and strategic planning, director of Montecatini's G. Donegani research centre, governor of the international development research centre (IDRC; 1985-1990) in Canada, chairman of the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
's advisory committee on science and technology for development (1984-1986), chairman of LEAD-Europe, and president of the European institute research management association.[ He was also a member of the Club of Rome's executive committee that had been founded by ]Aurelio Peccei
Aurelio Peccei (; 4 July 1908 – 14 March 1984), was an Italian industrialist and philanthropist, best known as co-founder with Alexander King and first president of the Club of Rome, an organisation which attracted considerable public atten ...
.
Works
In 1989, Colombo and fellow Italian scientist Francesco Scaramuzzi experimented with nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...
reporting that they had successfully created nuclear fusion at room temperature.
Awards
Colombo was the recipient of the Honda Foundation's award for ecotechnology in 1984.[ He was also awarded China's state international scientific and technological cooperation award in 1999.]
Death
Colombo died in Rome on 13 May 2006 aged 78.[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colombo, Umberto
20th-century Italian engineers
20th-century Italian Jews
20th-century Italian politicians
1927 births
2006 deaths
Eni
Jewish engineers
Jewish Italian scientists
Italian chemical engineers
Italian corporate directors
Government ministers of Italy
Leaders of organizations
University of Milan faculty
University of Pavia alumni
Independent politicians in Italy