International Award "The Technovisionaries®" 2011

The International Award "Le Tecnovisionarie®", an integral part of the international conference "Women&Technologies® 2008-2015", is awarded every year to "visionary women" who, through their work in Research, Public Administration, or Business, have been able to "invent the future", combining innovation and technologies, maintaining an overall vision and a necessary centrality of the individual. Nominations for the IV edition 2011 of the Award were made online on the website www.womentech.info until October 17, 2011. Among the over 30 candidates, a selection of finalists, including the 5 winners, one for each competition category, was made; furthermore, a special mention was given to two young researchers. The Jury consists of 8 members, chosen among qualified representatives of the thematic areas of the different competition categories, the world of culture and communication.

Diana Bracco President and CEO of the Bracco Group, Vice President of the Milan Chamber of Commerce and President of the Milan Foundation for Expo 2015.
Giovanni Caprara Journalist, writer, popularizer, responsible for the scientific editorial office of Corriere della Sera.
Deborah Chiodoni Director of External Relations and Press, Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, Milan.
Giovanna Luini Gatti Writer, breast oncologist and scientific communicator of IEO.
Gianna Martinengo Creator and Chairperson of Women&Technologies®.
Silvia Rosa Brusin Journalist, presenter and deputy editor of Leonardo, RAI3.
Massimo Scaccabarozzi CEO of Janssen-Cilag S.p.A. and President of Farmindustria.
Federica Villa Director of the Presidency and Institutional Relations of the Milan Chamber of Commerce. Composition of the Jury

The award ceremony took place during the gala evening held in the charming setting of Palazzo Cusani, at the conclusion of the Conference. The award ceremony was hosted by Cinzia Sasso , a journalist from Repubblica, in the presence of 160 guests.

The First Prize is intended for women who have dedicated their passion and professionalism to one of the two fundamental areas of the relationship between science, health, and technology: Biotechnology. 1st Prize "Bio WomenTech"

Franca Melfi, Director of the Multidisciplinary Robotic Surgery Center, University Hospital of Pisa.
Franca Melfi developed an innovative surgical technique in 2002 that utilized the Da Vinci robot to perform minimally invasive removal of lung tumors and mediastinal masses.
Internationally recognized for her pioneering work in thoracic robotic surgery, which began before this method became popular not only in thoracic surgery, but also in various other disciplines.
Over the past 4-5 years, robotic techniques have seen a significant increase in the treatment of many urological and gynecological pathologies, and the emerging disciplines where this procedure is applied are thoracic and abdominal surgery. Among other publications, she wrote and published the first scientific study on robotic pulmonary lobectomy in 2002, followed by other scientific publications in this field in 2006, 4 years later. In 2009, she founded the robotic group of the European Society of Thoracic Surgery and currently serves as the director of the Multidisciplinary Robotic Surgery Center in the cardiothoracic department of the University Hospital of Pisa. She coordinates periodic robotic surgery courses at European and international levels and is a member of the scientific committee of the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS).
Massimo Scaccabarozzi, Chief Executive Officer of Janssen-Cilag S.p.A. and President of Farmindustria Reason: Deliver the Award:

The First Prize is intended for women who have dedicated their passion and "technovisionary" professionalism to one of the two fundamental areas of the relationship between science, health, and technology: Nanotechnologies. 1st Prize "Nano WomenTech"

Michela Matteoli, Director of the "Cellular Biology of the Synapse" laboratory, Department of Pharmacology at the University of Milan and President of Neuro-Zone Srl.
Michela Matteoli's scientific career is characterized by a continuous combination of successful innovative methodologies with cutting-edge technologies, for increasingly frontier research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. In the early '90s she developed a assay to deepen the study of communication between neurons in culture, which still represents one of the most used methods in research laboratories worldwide to analyze the dynamics of synaptic vesicles in cultured neurons. Starting from the early 2000s, with her discoveries published in important international journals, she contributed to clarifying the mechanisms of communication between different cells of the nervous system in physiological and pathological conditions, actively participating in the main European networks for the study of what will later be called "synaptopathies". After understanding early on the importance of combining physiologically relevant cellular systems with new technological approaches, in 2008 she established a fruitful collaboration with IBM for the development of a new microfluidic platform for understanding the cellular mechanisms involved in neuroinflammation processes, the first step in the onset of neurodegenerative diseases.
Alessandro Spada, Member of the Council of the Milan Chamber of Commerce and President of Innovhub.
Reason: Deliver the Award:

Special Prize: "Space" for health
Aimed at women involved in aerospace innovation in the health sector, or in the transfer of technology from aerospace research to the health sector. "Technovisionaries" from the extraordinary to the ordinary.

Samantha Cristoforetti, Astronaut, ESA.
She is the first Italian astronaut and the third for Europe, after the English Helen Sharman and the French Claudie Andre-Deshays. Samantha Cristoforetti's passion is flying: she graduated from the Technical University of Munich in Germany and in aeronautical sciences at the Academy of Pozzuoli, she is an Officer Pilot of the Italian Air Force and among the first women to become military pilots, just ten years after women were allowed to enter the Armed Forces. She was selected for her constant interest in studies related to the physiology of flight and the adaptation of the body, especially the female body, to the aeronautical and space environment. The hope is that in her role as an astronaut she can be a reference point for those interested in human adaptation phenomena in space, seeking answers to the possibility of humans surviving outside of Earth with a focus on the common citizen so that they can benefit from their health from such research.
Giovanni Caprara, Journalist, writer, popularizer, responsible for the scientific editorial office of Corriere della Sera. Reason: Deliver the Award:

Special Award: Emergency Women, Women in Emergency
Intended for women who have allowed, thanks to their "being tech visionaries", significant innovations in the fields of Emergency Medicine and disasters, with particular attention to developing countries or those affected by calamities.

Cecilia Strada, President of Emergency.
For the passion and professionalism with which she carries out the functions of President of Emergency, for the attention with which she dedicates herself to the development of projects both abroad (Sudan, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Cambodia, Iraq), and in Italy, in favor of quality and free medical assistance for all.
Monica Guarischi , Delegate Councillor for the promotion of Equal Opportunities, Lombardy Region Reason: Deliver the Award:

Special Award Scientific Communication: If I say Health...
Intended for women, journalists, or communicators, engaged in the complex task of making complex health-related topics accessible and "within reach of everyone" through various media and formats.

Nicoletta Carbone, Journalist, host of "Essere e Benessere" on Radio24.
For making medicine a science accessible to everyone, skillfully and professionally using the radio and web channels.
Adriana Albini, Head of Oncology Research, Scientific and Technological Hub - IRCCS MultiMedica Reason: Deliver the Award:

Special mentions Association Women and Technologies
Intended for young female researchers in the field of bio and nanotechnologies

Carlotta Guiducci, Associate Professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne.
Carlotta Guiducci has developed technologies that can profoundly change the future. Starting from integrated electronics, Guiducci has developed an interface with the living world. In particular, Guiducci and her collaborators have invented integrated sensors that detect the presence of biological material, such as DNA and/or proteins, and electronically communicate this information to an electronic and informational system.
Guiducci's work is visionary because it provides a bridge between the biological and computational world, with important implications for health and environmental management, pollution control, and individual and community safety. This work also offers the possibility of developing new directions for integrated electronics and biomedical systems, creating high-value-added devices in Italy and Europe. Consequently, these technologies have many potential applications in small, medium, and large industries. The industrial development of the technology proposed by Guiducci creates a new dimension, with positive consequences on employment, competitiveness, and potentially on the quality of life of the communities that adopt its use.
Mariagiovanna Sami, Professor of Computer Architectures, Polytechnic University of Milan; Member of the National Academy of Sciences, known as the XL, Past President of the Strategic Committee of Women & Technologies® Reason: Deliver the Award:

Stefania Rapino, Electrochemistry, University of Bologna.
Stefania Rapino graduated with honors in Chemistry from the University of Bologna in 2002. She completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences at the computational chemistry group of the "G. Ciamician" chemistry department at the University of Bologna, obtaining the title of doctorate in 2006. From her Ph.D. to the present, she has collaborated with the electrochemistry group (UNIBO) and with the European Institute of Oncology (IEO, Milan) as a post-doc working on various projects.
Over the past four years, she has worked closely with the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan, developing new electrochemical tools (e.g. microprobes) for the investigation of oxygen and ROS (species closely related to those involved in the current project) in complex systems such as in vivo cells and for technological development for early tumor diagnosis. Stefania Rapino is a co-author of 14 scientific articles in high-impact factor journals. Due to her profile characteristics, which encompass technological, theoretical, and experimental skills, Stefania Rapino is truly an excellent example of a researcher.
Francesca Zajczyk, appointed by the Mayor of Milan for the development of initiatives for equal opportunities. Reason: Deliver the Award:

Intended for the Women and Technologies Association Awarding of the President of the Republic's Medal