Professor Gaetano Guerra, Professor of Industrial Chemistry at the University of Salerno, Italy, will be President of the Società Chimica Italiana (SCI, Italian Chemical Society) from January 2020 to December 2022. He succeeds Angela Agostiano, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Bari, who will contribute to the Executive Committee of the Society for a three-year period. The Executive Committee also includes two Vice Presidents, which will be elected in December.
Gaetano Guerra told ChemViews Magazine that his main objective is to increase interactions of the scientific and professional chemical community, not only with other scientific communities, but mainly with industry and society. In particular, he wants to improve relationships with the chemical industry, mainly at the European level.
As part of this strategy, the SCI, in collaboration with the European Chemical Society (EuChemS), will organize the international event “Chemistry meets Industry and Society (CIS21)” again in 2021. Its first edition was held in 2019 in Italy. CIS21 aims to be a creative breakthrough-type international conference. It is supposed to bridge the gap between the scientific capabilities of research and the needs of industry and society. The event will showcase presentations from projects, scientists, companies, public agencies, etc. on:
- applicable research results (rather than just scientific aspects), communicated in a suitable form for companies and non-experts
- specific requests from companies regarding both fundamental and applied research that they identify as a basis for innovation
- strategic aspects of research identified by public agencies to foster competitiveness in the area of chemistry and address big societal challenges
Gaetano Guerra studied chemistry at Federico II Naples University, Italy, where he received his Ph.D. (cum laude) in 1976 under the supervision of Paolo Corradini. From 1979 to 1983, he was Researcher at the Istituto Guido Donegani, Montedison, Milano, Italy. In 1983, he began his teaching and research career in macromolecular chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the Federico II Naples University, first as an Assistant Professor (Ricercatore), then as an Associate Professor. Since 1995, Guerra has served as Professor of Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Salerno, Italy.
His research focuses on theoretical and experimental studies of polymeric materials, the study of structure-property relationships for semicrystalline polymers of industrial relevance (mainly isotactic polypropylene), fluorinated homopolymers and copolymers, polyethyleneterephtalate and syndiotactic polystyrene, and, last but not least, the discovery and possible applications of co-crystalline and nanoporous-crystalline forms of polymers.
Among other honors, Gaetano Guerra has received a Macromolecular Chemistry award from the Accademia Napoletana di Scienze Lettere e Arti in 1986, the National Federchimica Award in 1992 from the Italian Federation of the Chemical Industry, and the “Premio Linceo” from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in 2003. He has been a Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei since 2017.
Selected Publications
- Nanoporous-crystalline films of PPO with parallel and perpendicular polymer chain orientations,
Paola Rizzo, Chiara Gallo, Vissia Vitale, Oreste Tarallo, Gaetano Guerra,
Polymer 2019, 167, 193–201.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2019.01.073 - Graphene-Based Carbocatalysts for Thermoset Polymers and for Diastereoselective and Enantioselective Organic Synthesis,
Maria Rosaria Acocella, Gaetano Guerra,
ChemCatChem 2018, 10, 2350–2359.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201702015 - Intercalation and Exfoliation Compounds of Graphite Oxide with Quaternary Phosphonium Ions,
Marco Mauro, Mario Maggio, Angela Antonelli, Maria Rosaria Acocella, Gaetano Guerra,
Chem. Mater. 2015, 27, 1590–1596.
https://doi.org/10.1021/cm504174v - Regio- and Enantioselective Friedel-Crafts Reactions of Indoles to Epoxides Catalyzed by Graphene Oxide: A Green Approach,
Maria Rosaria Acocella, Marco Mauro, Gaetano Guerra,
ChemSusChem 2014, 7, 3279–3283.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201402770 - Site Chirality as a Messenger in Chain-End Stereocontrolled Propene Polymerization,
Giuseppe Milano, Luigi Cavallo, Gaetano Guerra,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 13368–13369.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja026675e - Stereoselective Cyclopropanation by Cyclocopolymerization of Butadiene,
Stefania Pragliola, Giuseppe Milano, Gaetano Guerra, Pasquale Longo,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 3502–3503.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja017416c - Relationship between Regiospecificity and Type of Stereospecificity in Propene Polymerization with Zirconocene-Based Catalysts1,
Gaetano Guerra, Pasquale Longo, Luigi Cavallo, Paolo Corradini, Luigi Resconi,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 4394–4403.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja964142y - Enantioselectivity in the Regioirregular Placements and Regiospecificity in the Isospecific Polymerization of Propene with Homogeneous Ziegler-Natta Catalysts,
Gaetano Guerra, Luigi Cavallo, Gilberto Moscardi, Michele Vacatello, Paolo Corradini,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1994, 116, 2988–2995.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00086a031 - On the Chain Conformation of Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) in the Crystalline Modification above 30 �C,
P. Corradini, G. Guerra,
Macromolecules 1977, 10, 1410–1413.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ma60060a047
Also of Interest
- The Power of Chemistry for Humanity,
Vera Koester, Angela Agostiano,
Chemviews Mag. 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201800045
President of the Italian Chemical Society, Angela Agostiano, about her vision for chemical societies and the societal importance of chemistry - New SCI President,
ChemViews Mag. 2017.
Angela Agostiano, University of Bari, has been elected President of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI)
