The project, funded by INAIL, is coordinated by the NEST Laboratory at the Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) and involves the entire Nanosciences Institute of the National Research Council (CNR-NANO), the Center for Nanotechnology Innovation of the Italian Institute of Technology (CNI-IIT) and the Italian Association for Industrial Research (AIRI-Nanotech).
INAIL is the public body that manages insurance against accidents at work and is dedicated to the protection of workers with the aim of reducing the amount of accidents and ensuring that those who have suffered accidents at work are reintroduced into the workforce. It also conducts research activities on the theme of health and safety at work. In particular, INAIL's Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene performs and promotes studies, scientific research and experimentation, following the principles set out in occupational medicine, occupational epidemiology and occupational and environmental hygiene.
The NEST Laboratory (National Enterprise for nanoScience and nanoTechnology) of the Scuola Normale Superiore is a research and training centre on nanoscience themes. The expertise developed is used to create new nano-biotechnological tools, and nano-electronic and photonic devices and architectures.
The Nanosciences Institute (CNR-NANO) is the National Research Council structure dedicated to cutting-edge research in nanosciences: in particular to the synthesis and production of nanostructures and devices, to experimental and theoretical-computational studies of their properties, functionalities and interfaces, to the integration in complex functional systems. Comprising three units (NEST in Pisa, ECMT in Lecce and S3 in Modena), CNR-NANO has research infrastructures with high technological content and it is strongly involved in the Horizon 2020 program.
The Center for Nanotechnology Innovation@NEST (CNI-IIT) is a centre of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) hosted within the NEST Laboratory. It undertakes a multidisciplinary research activity focused on nanomaterials, on their interaction with biological structures and on the development of new techniques for their observation. The centre's research activity is divided in thee main areas: CVD growth of graphene and other 2D materials, new advanced optical and electronic microscopy techniques and nanomedicine.
Committee for the development of nanotechnologies and other enabling technologies. Since 1974, AIRI has been promoting cooperation in industrial research to increase the competitiveness of the Italian production system. The Association acts as a link between industrial groups, companies, research centres, universities, associations, science parks and financial institutes involved in industrial research in the main Italian economic sectors. Partners comprise more than a third of Italian researchers.
AIRI’s objectives include the promotion of policies, programs and incentives for R&D and measures for management of R&D at the Italian and European level; the analysis of priority innovations and technologies for industrial development; the assessment of R&D regulations; the study of themes connected to corporate social responsibility and to responsible research and innovation.
Nanotec IT is the AIRI centre acting as the national focal point to promote nanotechnologies and other enabling technologies (Key Enabling Technologies) and to favour synergies between public and private research, and between Italian and European research.
AIRI/Nanotech IT activities include the organisation of work groups on themes of interest, the preparation of documents (position papers), the participation in Italian and European projects and the spread of information on R&D, the running of workshops, events and other initiatives creating a dialogue between industry, research, institutions and civil society.