Sections/associated societies focus: The Italian galaxy

The community of Italian geoscientists looks like a composite galaxy; there is a major star (eni, the national oil company) and a minor star (OGS, the Italian National Institute for Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) which are surrounded by a few large planets (e.g., polytechnic schools at Milan and Turin, universities in Naples, Rome, Trieste, Padua), several minor celestial bodies. Throughout our history, Italian geophysicists have been affiliated with SEG, EAGE, both of them, or none. The only way to get a critical mass was to somehow join all of them together. The solution, which arrived 12 years ago, was unique: a combined EAGE-SEG section. The first executive committee, in 2001, included a president from academia (Alfredo Mazzotti, Pisa University), a vice president from industry (Luca Bertelli, eni), a treasurer from a research institute (Aldo Vesnaver, OGS). Such "rainbow representation" has been maintained in the succeeding years. The current leadership is headed by Massimo Antonelli (eni) and includes representatives from industry (eni), research (OGS and Aresys), academia (Naples).