Getting to Know You…

Quick Stats

Name: Luigi Maffei

Location: Naples, Campania, Italy

Years with I-INCE: I have been a member of the Board of Directors of I-INCE since 2010.

Born & Raised: In Naples, a beautiful and eccentric capital of South Europe. Very special was the three years’ permanence in Australia with my family in the 1970s during my High School.

Education: BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Napoli (1980), PhD in Technical Physics (Acoustics) from University of Ancona (1986)

Favorite music artist: Cat Stevens

Favorite pastime/hobby: Modest production of olive oil and red wine in a small family farm.

Favorite sports team: Soccer Team Napoli

What is the most important part of your job?

Transferring Innovation technology in and out the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”.

The University has launched an important program that contemplates the building of new vanguard laboratories and the support for researches in the field of green technologies and i-health.

What might people be surprised to learn about your job?

At the Department, our research group is formed by many researchers and Ph.D. candidates with backgrounds in engineering, architecture, design, psychology, medical sciences. We investigate, with an interdisciplinary approach and specific new facilities, the human reactions to multisensorial environmental stimuli.

What’s the best part about working with I-INCE?

My first real contact with I-INCE was only during INTER-NOISE 88 in Avignon. It was the first international conference I could join as a young researcher and I remember the strong sensation to be fully immersed in a friendly and inspiring world: lots of people to exchange ideas with and to whom your technical and scientific results could be presented, interesting lectures given by experts from all over the world, new equipment and materials visible in the exhibition. Since then, I experienced this strong sensation at each of the following INTERNOISEs, probably because the Congress structure was able to evolve itself following the new times, the new needs of the society, and the expectations of the noise control community.

I-INCE makes all of this possible thanks to the search for new topics with a relevant impact for the industry and for the community, thanks to the invitation of well-known international experts for keynote lectures, and thanks to the use of the most updating technologies.

What do you want people to know about I-INCE?

The  I-INCE Board of Directors, but also the CSC Congress Selection Committee, the CEC Congress Evaluation Committee, the FCTP Future Congress  Technical Planners, and all other organisms that act in favor of I-INCE are formed by people that are members of National Societies member of I-INCE. Thanks to these people and to the local organizers, every year an INTER-NOISE Congress will be run. In parallel other technical and editorial activities are organized and the young professional program (with grants, workshops, practice schools) is managed.

They all work on a voluntary basis in a collaborative, and most importantly, in a friendly and open atmosphere.  This is an invitation to other members to be part of this atmosphere offering their availability to help I-INCE in its activities.

If you’d like, tell us about your family?

My wife and I have two daughters. The first is a medical doctor for an international non-profit organization. The second is a labor lawyer. My missing brother’s son is part of our family. He is seven years old and he is very ironic.

What would you do if you couldn’t be what you are now?

I state that the work I do is really beautiful, and I feel very lucky. However, as I often emphasize, I am attracted to manual work and in particular to that done by farmers to whom all my admiration goes. Currently, as a hobby, I dedicate myself to a modest production of olive oil and red wine, but in the future, I could increase all this. I could also buy the most “silent” tractor in the world!

Best book you’ve read recently or movie you’ve seen recently?

I loved the story and the movie that I have seen very recently

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” with Tom Hanks and Matthew Rhys.