L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 6 Paolo Miliozzi, President of Fondazione Italia, Paladin of Our Language VALERIO VIALE P aolo Miliozzi grew up in C i v i t a n o v a M a r c h e , Adriatic seaport in Italian region of Marche. Strangely enough, historically this area didn't give birth to mar- itime explorers, as in the case of V e n i c e , l a p p e d b y t h e s a m e A d r i a t i c S e a . R e g a r d l e s s , Civitanova Marche has a strong marine bond, as demonstrated by its annual "Feast of the Sea." During Paolo's boyhood, one of his heroes was none other than Cristopher Columbus, the most famous Italian sailor and explorer of all times. Upon receiving a fellowship to study microprocessors at the p r e s t i g i o u s U n i v e r s i t y o f California, Berkeley, Miliozzi became the paladin of Italian language and culture in Southern California, serving as President of Fondazione Italia, since 2006. It seems befitting, then, that o n C o l u m b u s D a y o f 2 0 0 7 , P a o l o M i l i o z z i w a s a w a r d e d with the "Heritage Award" from the Orange County American- Italian Renaissance Foundation (OCAIRF). Please, introduce yourself. What is your cultural back- ground (especially in terms of studies)? I g r e w u p i n C i v i t a n o v a Marche. From my early child- hood, my bond with the sea has been very strong and I have been carrying it along, since. Waking up in the morning and watching the offing of the sea – the "big blue brother" as the famous Italian song, Gente di Mare, describes it – has always inspired me to explore further. G r o w i n g u p , I d i s c o v e r e d another big passion: volleyball. I played with my hometown club t h r o u g h o u t m y h i g h s c h o o l years, and I also participated in many beach volleyball tourna- ments. My bent for math, physics and science has been evident since I was little, but, in my school years, I also developed a strong interest for poetry, litera- ture, and art. With so many Italian giants in each one of these disciplines, it has always been easy to find h e r o e s . L e o n a r d o , D a n t e , M i c h e l a n g e l o , R a f f a e l l o , Foscolo, Leopardi, D'Annunzio, Colombo are only a few of the greats who shaped my life and my interests. After graduating at the top of m y c l a s s i n m y h o m e t o w n ' s "Liceo Scientifico – Leonardo da Vinci", I pursued Electronics Engineering, by enrolling in the University of Bologna. Those were very formative years for me, since it was my first time living away from my family. I learned a lot, including how to cook, activity that has become one of my favorite hob- bies. While living in Bologna, I developed lots of friendships that still go on today. Bologna is a wonderful uni- v e r s i t y t o w n . I w a s l u c k y enough to be there during the celebrations of its Athenaeum's 900th anniversary, and it was indeed a remarkable experience. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Bologna, with my thesis focused on microelectronics design, I enrolled in the PhD program w i t h t h e s a m e f o c u s a t t h e University of Padua, joining their research team. After one year there, during which I also served the country as a Lieutenant in the Italian Air Force, I won a scholarship to spend two years as Graduate R e s e a r c h s t u d e n t a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Berkeley. California represented my ideal home, for the combination of a great beach volleyball tradi- tion across the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, along with the top microelectronics design uni- versities and companies in the world. What was the focus of your research at the University of Berkeley, California and how was your experience there? First and foremost it was a very humbling experience, being surrounded by so many brilliant professors and scholars, whose research had impacted so deeply various aspects of our lives. Secondly, being able to meet fellow students from all over the world, opened up my horizons in a unbelievable way. Last but not least, I met Ana who would become the love of my life and my lifetime compan- ion. M y r e s e a r c h f o c u s e d o n Integrated Circuit design for t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n d e v i c e s . T h a t w a s t h e t i m e w h e n t h e i n t e r n e t r e v o l u t i o n w a s j u s t starting and the first platforms to support the need for bandwidth were being devised. Ana still makes fun of me for my clumsy attempts to explain t o h e r , i n m y t h i c k I t a l i a n accent, the difference between Analog and Digital design dur- ing one of our first dates. In ret- rospect, it's amazing how we made it to the next… Tell us more about your leadership position in the chip design company, MaxLinear? In 2009 I joined MaxLinear, a company that specializes in the design of integrated circuits for telecommunications, like cable m o d e m s , c a b l e a n d s a t e l l i t e receivers, etc. In my role as Vice President LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY of System-On-Chip Technology, my organization is responsible for devising the best process technologies to be applied to our devices, for developing the nec- essary technological infrastruc- ture to enable circuit design, and finally for the physical imple- mentation of our products. How did you get involved w i t h F o n d a z i o n e I t a l i a ? Science and language/humani- t i e s a r e u s u a l l y f i e l d s t h a t don't marry together. What do you like about teaching Italian language? Ever since I moved to the US, my connection to everything Italian has remained very strong. I am proud of my heritage and all the contributions Italians h a v e m a d e a n d c o n t i n u e t o make, in lots of different fields. After our daughter Monica was born, we realized that she should be able to speak Italian fluently, not only in order to communicate with her grandpar- e n t s , r e l a t i v e s , a n d f u t u r e cousins, but also to enjoy her I t a l i a n h e r i t a g e a s a n a t i v e . Therefore we decided to look for kids' Italian classes. Unfortunately, we could not find any in Orange County. So my wife decided to get together with a few of our close Italian friends, who also had children of s i m i l a r a g e . T h e " S a t u r d a y Italian School for kids" in OC, was born. We then got in touch with Fondazione Italia, which already had an infrastructure for teaching Italian in Southern California, and decided to work together. At that point, I knew that my love f o r t h e I t a l i a n h e r i t a g e h a d already become a major part of my life and I set out to a mission to help other families to achieve this same goal. T h e n o n - p r o f i t n a t u r e o f Fondazione Italia was in line with my objectives and therefore decided to join the Board. In a few months the previous presi- d e n t , A l e s s a n d r o L a g u e r c i a , decided to retire after a very long t e r m o f s e r v i c e , a n d I w a s offered the position. Y o u ' v e b e e n s e r v i n g a s President of the foundation, since 2006. What are the most r e m a r k a b l e g o a l s y o u c o n - t r i b u t e d t o r e a c h i n t h e s e eleven years? And what were t h e b i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e s y o u faced? It's amazing how so many years have already gone by. The most remarkable goal we have reached, throughout the years, h a s b e e n t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e Fondazione Italia brand, which lots of people now recognize as the premier non-profit organiza- tion for the teaching of Italian in Southern California. This has been a collective effort by our numerous members who have donated infinite hours to the cause. I would like to rec- ognize here a few of them: our Vice-President and Secretary, B e t t i E n g l e r , o u r T r e a s u r e r , Giulio Maresca, our Executive D i r e c t o r , H i l a r y S t e r n , o u r P r o g r a m D i r e c t o r G e n n y N e v o s o , a n d t h e r e s t o f t h e B o a r d , T e r e s a D ' A g o s t a r o , L o u i s D i C e n z o , D u c c i o Mortillaro. Moreover, I would like to also recognize our advi- s o r s : P r o f . E l i s s a T o g n o z z i ( U C L A ) , a n d P r o f . S i m o n a Montanari (CSULA). In a few years the Saturday Italian school of OC grew from one class of about 10 students to plenty of classes for both kids a n d a d u l t s , r e a c h i n g a p e a k enrollment of about 90 students. The biggest reward, brought about by this growth, has been the gratitude from lots of fami- lies, which - in their common love for the Italian language - gravitated towards the school and would have not known each other otherwise. M o r e o v e r , w e h a v e i n t r o - duced various Italian traditions, s u c h a s t h e c e l e b r a t i o n o f Carnevale, as well as Christmas w i t h t h e p r e s e n c e o f B a b b o Natale and Befana and so on. O n a p e r s o n a l l e v e l , t h e biggest reward came from my son Christian, when he was 5. We were in Civitanova, visiting my family during our summer vacation, and he was attending a summer camp. He told one of the teachers, with no accent, that he was from Civitanova, but he had been living in Los Angeles for the last 5 years. Fondazione Italia plays also the institutional role of manag- ing funds, contributed by the Italian government towards the teaching of the Italian language i n A m e r i c a n s c h o o l s . O u r biggest accomplishment in this area has been the initiation and support of the full-immersion program that is now at its sev- e n t h y e a r a t t h e B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n E l e m e n t a r y i n Glendale. The main issue we have faced throughout the years, has been to find the appropriate facilities for our Saturday school, in order to keep the cost of the classes at a level in line with the spirit of a non-profit. President of Fondazione Italia - Paolo Miliozzi surrounded by his team of teachers and educators. Photo Courtesy of P. Miliozzi

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