The Fondazione EL.B.A. was created by an initiative of Professor Claudio Nicolini, member of the National Science and Technology Council, as an outgrowth of the successful intergovernmental agreement, called "Elba Project", on bioelectronics and biomolecular engineering signed on December 7 1990 by the Italian Minister of Research and University Antonio Ruberti and by the Vice-Minister for Science and Technology of the Soviet Union Ivan Bortnik, and later extended to the European Commission as observer evolving into a long-range research project with multidisciplinary activities.
Over the period of about 5 years, an extensive exchange program of scientists has been established in the above areas. More than 400 man-months Russian scientists worked permanently in Italy on research projects of common interest; while many other seniors have been staying for short research stages of various duration. Some of the results of strategic importance for future development of bioelectronics have resulted in numerous publications in major scientific journals and have been presented at international conferences. In addition, several patents have been deposited.
Several public and private institutions from USA, Russia and Italy, participate to the initial formal notary act in Rome on March 8, 1994, as founding members contributing to a different degree to the initial patrimony of long-term "non-accessable" bonds.
Participate to the Fondazione with formally designed high rank officials the
The Commission of the European Union, Brussels, acted during 1994 as observer at the first meetings of the Board of Trustee, which until 1997 has included two Nobel Prize winners as Alexander Prokorov and Carlo Rubbia. Shortly thereafter the Fondazione EL.B.A. has been introduced by the Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research of Italy among the few research institutions recognized directly by the Ministry (under the Chapter 2102) with a first contribution for the year 1994, and successive contributions for the following years up to now. On March 12 1997 the Council of State has expressed its formal consensus n. 418/97 to the legal recognition of the Fondazione Elba as Fondazione di Diritto italiano by the Italian Government.
