CIAO CALIFORNIA!

Hello everybody!Last but not least, right? So, let me introduce myself.

My name is Emanuele Orgiu, the fifth italian guy that joined the BEST/Fulbright Silicon Valley Immersion Program. I come from Italy. I was born in Sardinia, the small island on the left of Italy in the map. Sardinia is wonderful and well-known for its amazing wildlife and especially for its impressive coasts and beaches that pull a great deal of tourists in. This is just a taste of Sardinia's beaches:

I spent almost all my life in my native village, Laconi (http://www.laconi.it/english/indexi.html) where I obtained a diploma from "Liceo Classico Pitagora". Immediately afterwards I moved to Cagliari, the largest city in Sardinia, where I studied Electronic Engineering, graduating in 2004 with a thesis entitled "Realization of an all-organic field-effect transistor combining Soft Lithography and Lithography Tecniques".

Immediately afterwards I joined the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (DIEE), University of Cagliari, as Ph.D. student in the fantastic team named DEA (Advanced Electronic Devices) coordinated by prof. Annalisa Bonfiglio. Here is my "Magic Team":

Currently, my research is focused on innovative electronic devices, in particular Organic semiconductors based devices, organic dielectrics characterization, Soft Lithography processes and innovative textiles applications.

In 2006 I spent some months working as a researcher in Konarka Austria (Forschungs und Entwicklungs) GmbH, a company leader in the world for research on organic solar cells. Its chief scientist and cofounder is Dr. Alan J. Heeger, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000.

In October 2006 I applied for the BEST-Fulbright program, discussing an entrepreneurial project based on the development of organic sensors.

I've been selected and... Here I am! I'm getting used to California and to its sun even if it seems that the warm got shy so far. ;-)

Presently I attend some classes of the MBA program of the business school in Santa Clara University.

It is a big change route in my career but I think this experience will be great because in Silicon Valley I can "smell" the right climate that will help me to realize my entrepeneurial project when I come back to Italy.

For now I just want to say thanks to the BEST/Fulbright staff for giving me this great and unexpected possibility.

Many many thanks to Mr Gaetano Pellicano & Ms Candace Putnam (U.S.-Italy Embassy), to Mr Arthur Austin (IIE) and to Kevin Holmes (CIE) for really taking care of us all.

That's all, folks!

Emanuele