| Umberto Colombo | |
| Birth Date: | 1927 |
| Death Date: | 13 May |
| Death Place: | Rome |
| Citizenship: | Italy |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Workplaces: | University of Milan |
| Alma Mater: | University of Pavia |
| Awards: | Conrad Schlumberger Award (1958) Honda award for ecotechnology (1984) |
Umberto Colombo (1927 - 13 May 2006) was an Italian chemical engineer, academic and the minister of universities, science and technology of Italy.
Colombo was born in 1927.[1] He received a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Pavia.[1] He was a Fulbright Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
Colombo trained as a chemical engineer [2] and worked as a professor at the University of Milan in the 1970s.[3] He served as the president of the Italian energy firm Eni for a short period from November 1982 to January 1983 [4] before being appointed as the head of the Italian nuclear energy unit.[5]
From 1993 to 1994 Colombo served as the minister of universities, science and technology in the Ciampi cabinet.[6] [7] Following this he became a member of the Italian national council of economy and labour.[2] He was one of the shareholders of Energy Conversion Devices and became a member of its board of directors in July 1995 before retiring in November 2004.[8]
Other posts that Colombo held included the chairman of ENEA (Italian national agency for new technology, energy and the environment; 1983-1993), president of the European Science Foundation (1991-1993), chairman of the Italian hydrocarbons trust, director general of Montedision's R&D and strategic planning, director of Montecatini's G. Donegani research centre, governor of the international development research centre (IDRC; 1985-1990) in Canada, chairman of the United Nations's advisory committee on science and technology for development (1984-1986), chairman of LEAD-Europe,[9] and president of the European institute research management association.[1] [10] [6] [8] He was also a member of the Club of Rome's executive committee that had been founded by Aurelio Peccei.[11]
In 1989, Colombo and fellow Italian scientist Francesco Scaramuzzi experimented with nuclear fusion reporting that they had successfully created nuclear fusion at room temperature.[12]
Colombo was the recipient of the Honda Foundation's award for ecotechnology in 1984.[1] [13] He was also awarded China's state international scientific and technological cooperation award in 1999.[14]
Colombo died in Rome on 13 May 2006 aged 78.[8]