The last three years have seen an important change for the life of INGV. The consolidation of the budget has allowed the recruitment of 276 researchers, technologists, technical collaborators. Most of them were precarious workers who had been serving the institution with dedication for years and without any guarantee for the future. Thanks also to the new regulatory instruments, what seemed like a distant dream only a few years ago has been achieved.
The ongoing scientific challenges have highlighted the great competence and passion of the researchers who work for the three departments of INGV: Environment, Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Ambitious corporate projects will soon be launched that will address some of the most advanced scientific goals in the geosciences. The creation of two very important pan-European ERIC consortia for research such as EMSO and EPOS, research infrastructures respectively for marine and terrestrial areas, represents a fundamental evolution for the scientific world and for INGV.
The seismic and volcanic events that have shaken Italy since 2016 have always seen the women and men of the Institute in the front row, contributing with their scientific knowledge to the understanding and mitigation of the natural phenomena of the Earth. We are also trying to start many more collaborations with universities, by setting up new campuses and sharing research doctorates.
The new INGVNewsletter was created with the intention of making known and promoting the Institute's activities, even those that do not always find space in the media: ideas and solutions for the technological development of humanity are born from research hidden in laboratories. It will be our ever-present "open day", in the hope that INGV's scientific results and cultural activities will excite young people who are looking to the future in particular. Because if it is true that innovation and development sometimes arise from the intuition and abilities of individuals, it is also true that only the strength of a strong and cohesive group finds the energy to face the challenges of scientific research which can then be of use for the civil society.
This year INGV celebrates its twentieth birthday and we look forward to having many of you to support us. In this newsletter, I invite you to read the article by Franco Barberi who recalls how the Institute was born. I wish you a good journey through the pages of the Newsletter which represent virtual doors of the INGV, to let you participate in the monitoring, seismic and volcanic surveillance activities, as well as all the varied researches that we carry out. A big thank you to all the colleagues of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology who enthusiastically keep it alive and incessantly active every day.
Carlo Doglioni