Guarnieri - Montel Award for innovation in mechanics and agricultural plant design

Last November took place the first workshop on innovation in agricultural mechanics in memory of Professors Guarnieri and Montel. During the meeting, organized by the University of Bologna, a money-prize was awarded to the best presentations carried out by PhDs

In the Agro-Food Sciences and Technologies Department (DISTAL) of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, was held from the 5^th to 6^th November the “1st Workshop on innovation in mechanics and plant engineering applied to agro-food biosystems”. The meeting was created by the Universities of Bologna and Foggia to keep alive the memory of Professor Adriano Guarnieri and Dr. Gian Luca Montel, who were two leaders of the research in the field of agricultural engineering. The aim of this workshop is to promote the activity of PhDs and PhD students in the field of agricultural mechanics through the presentation of their work to the scientific community. The realization of this event was possible thanks to the support of several sponsors such as FederUnacoma, Arbos Group Spa and the Italian Association of Agricultural Engineering (AIIA). In particular, the support provided by FederUnacoma allowed the awarding of the “Guarnieri – Montel” prize, consisting of a cash sum of 2,500 euros, granted to the best presentation made by the research doctors of the XXX cycle participating in the event. An integral part of the workshop was the inauguration of the “Adriano Guarnieri” classroom (previously Aula 6) at the Faculty of Agriculture located in viale G. Fanin in Bologna. During the inauguration ceremony, held with the presence of the Rector of the University of Bologna Francesco Ubertini, professors Giovanni Molari, Valda Rondelli, Angelo Fabbri and professor emeritus Enzo Manfredi recalled the research and teaching activities carried out by professor Adriano Guarnieri, concluding the ceremony with the installation of a commemorative plaque. The event attracted participants from the most important Italian agricultural faculties. The “Guarnieri – Montel” prize was assigned from the workshop’s scientific board to PhD Massimiliano Varani of the University of Bologna, who presented a study on the measurement of pression acting on a plow’s moving part. In second and third place were classified respectively Alessandro Biglia – thanks to his work dedicated to innovative thermal processes for the food industry – and Claudio Perone, with a study on a low-energy consumption system for greenhouse ventilation. The first three classified have been rewarded with a one-year free registration to AIIA and, in addition, the first two will have the abstract of their work published in the scientific Journal of Agricultural Engineering (JAE).