Past events

SPIN, WiN France, and WiN Île-de-France organised a technical seminar on EPR-EPR2 nuclear reactors: "Nuclear Energy Today and Tomorrow: The EPR and EPR2 Series" at the EDF Group Foundation.

The event was a great success. The passionate testimonies of the professionals allowed for constructive exchanges between the audience and the speakers. Thanks to the speakers, the moderator, and the large audience.

Our associate Massimiliano Picciani, an expert in innovation management at Bpifrance, was interviewed on BFMTV about Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and France's role in this potential market.

The video of the interview: BFM link 

On Wednesday, April 10th, our vice-president Alberto Ghione participated on behalf of SPIN to the event 'Empowering Global Collaboration: Exploring the significance of Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in advancing scientific excellence' at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris (Link to the event). The meeting, organized by the Permanent Representation of Italy at the UNESCO, was an opportunity to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, a leading center for theoretical physics studies. The ICPT is a UNESCO research center strongly supported by Italy and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), promoting international collaboration and the dissemination of theoretical physics worldwide (particularly in developing countries) without geographical, economic, or gender barriers. We thank the Permanent Representation of Italy to UNESCO and Prof. Maria Vittoria Cubellis for this invitation.

SPIN organised a triple networking cocktail event in Paris and Lyon the February 25th and in Aix-en-Provence the March 26th.

The event had a great success and was an opportunity to present upcoming activities and encourage everyone to join SPIN ! 

The SPIN took part to the Fifth Edition of the France-Italy Energy Forum, organized by the IREFI - Institute for Economic Relations France-Italy, entitled "New Nuclear and Biogas: Italy-France strategies for a common energy policy," held at the Italian Embassy in Paris on March 21st and 22nd.

We warmly thank Fabrizio Maria Romano and Leonardo Mauretti, respectively president and director of studies at IREFI, for inviting our president, Massimo Ciambrella, to attend this insightful meeting. During the event, key players in this new European nuclear era took turns in a stimulating debate to provide observations and recommendations to the European Commission within the framework of The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA).

Lucia Sargentini, a SPIN member, presented our association and the context of the French nuclear industry revival in a webinar proposed by professor Walter Ambrosini of the Pisa University UniPi. The webinar was part of a series started in 2020 on different aspects of nuclear energy. Recordings of the webinars 2023-2024 can be found at this link.

SPIN kicked off the 2024 with a delicious afternoon with plenty of the traditional french cakes: the Galettes des rois. The event took place simoultaneously in Paris (organised with the RéCIF – Réseau des Chercheurs Italiens en France) and in Aix-en-Provence.

Francesco Muratori, a member of SPIN, was invited by the Istituto Maria Consolatrice in Milan to discuss with students about nuclear energy and its potential contribution to the energy transition. This intervention was part of a thematic course on nuclear energy organized by the professors.

SPIN organized a triple networking cocktail event before the Christmas holidays!

The event took place simultaneously in Paris, Lyon, and Aix-en-Provence and was a great success. Over 70 people participated! 

SPIN was present at the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, at the B122 stand with ITA - Paris Office and a significant group of Italian companies involved in the supply chain of the nuclear industry. 

Italy's ambassador in France, Emanuela D'Alessandro, along with her economic advisers, visited us at the Italian stand. Later, SPIN attended the signing ceremony of the Italian-French cooperation memorandum between EDF, GIFEN, Ansaldo Nucleare, and the Associazione Italiana Nucleare, in the presence of Ambassador Emanuela D'Alessandro and EDF CEO Luc Rémont.

On the last day, SPIN hosted the roundtable titled "Made in Italy Technological Solutions for Tomorrow's Nuclear Power" with high-level speakers. 

SPIN contributed to the article "Italy's new perspective on nuclear energy" published in RGN (Revue Générale Nucléaire) magazine on October 27th. The article traces the history of nuclear energy in Italy and explains how, despite the closure of all its nuclear power plants following the Chernobyl accident, the country has never truly ceased its activities related to the sector. 

We thank Sfen - Société française d'énergie nucléaire for giving us the opportunity to contribute on this topic and the Associazione Italiana Nucleare for their support!

SPIN organised a triple networking cocktail event simultaneously in Paris, Lyon, and Aix-en-Provence, open to the public. 

The event had a great success, over 90 people across the three locations participated in this event! Thank you to everyone for coming! 

Network of Italian Researchers in France (RéCIF) and the Committee of Italians Abroad for the consular district of Paris (COMITES Parigi) organised a forum to meet recently arrived young Italians in France. The aim was to guide them in their social and professional integration.

We participated, together with eighteen associations, to thematic workshops, introducing the SPIN association and outlining its role.

SPIN, with its president Massimo Ciambrella, was invited by Dr. Alessandro De Angelis, scientific member of OECD-OCDE, to participate to the seminar on dark matter held by Dr. Elena Aprile, professor of astrophysics at Columbia University. We had the honor of opening the event with a welcome speech together with the RéCIF association  (Réseau des Chercheurs Italiens en France), at the Consulate General of Italy in Paris.

It was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the universe through a very interesting lecture. We thank the institutions for giving us this opportunity.

Associazione Italiana Nucleare and President Stefano Monti invited SPIN to take part to the seminar "Nuclear in Italy: Scenarios and Perspectives", organized at the Italian Chamber of Deputies, where various scenarios for a potential return to nuclear energy in Italy were discussed. Representatives from academia, top-level research, institutions (CIRTEN, ENEA, INFN, ISIN, Sogin, GSE), and industry (Eni, Leonardo, Edison, Enel Group, Ansaldo Nucleare, Confindustria, newcleo, UltraSafe Nucleare, Campoverde Srl) took part in the debate. Interventions of the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani concluded the meeting. Following the various interventions, we remark the willingness to promote preparatory work aimed at defining the necessary conditions for a potential return to nuclear energy in Italy.

SPIN organised a guided tour of the laboratories at the CEA Cadarache research center and the ITER Organization construction site on July 7, 2023, in Provence. The event was open to the general public. It was an opportunity to discover large-scale projects in the nuclear world and to meet the local community of Italian professionals in the nuclear field!

Dr. Riccardo Cocci, a board member of the association, shared his knowledge with students from CE2 and CM1 classes.The main topic was responsible management of energy resources for a sustainable future. Riccardo explained key concepts behind different energy sources, emphasizing the importance of nuclear power as a viable solution to reduce carbon emissions. Students were encouraged to think critically about energy and environmental challenges. 

We thank École Jean Jaurès for their warm welcome and look forward to continuing these enriching exchanges! 

The president, Massimo Ciambrella, met the final-year students to discuss the functioning of our electrical systems and how nuclear power plants can play an essential role in their transition to environmental sustainability. It was a beautiful day, full of exchanges and questions, to prepare for the energy challenges of today and tomorrow.

We organised our firsts networking "apéro" in Paris, Lyon and Aix-en-Provence to gather the spin community and meet each other. There was a strong participation and enthusiasm for the event!

In which context did the idea of the "Chicago pile", the world’s first nuclear reactor, come into being? Enrico Fermi, its creator, profoundly shaped the future of nuclear energy and paved the way for modern numerical computation. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Chicago pile, SPIN with Alumni PoliMi Parigi, Alumni PoliTo Paris and RéCIF organised a seminar on the contribution of the Italian physicist to contemporary science. The event was organised within the framework of GRIM (Giornata della Ricerca Italiana nel Mondo/ Italian Research Day in the World) 2023, under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in France and the General Consulate of Italy in Paris. Link to the event