Christmas Party

On December fifth,the Leonardo da Vinci Society will celebrate the holiday season at a Christmas Party at the Century Club with a presentation: “IL PRESEPE NAPOLETANO” ( THE NEAPOLITAN NATIVITY SCENE”) by  Dr.Mario Fusco.

Dr. Fusco was born in Naples and attended the Liceo there until he emigrated to the United States at the age of fifteen.  He completed his education in this country, earning a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Davis. He has had a long career at the Lockheed Martin Missile and Space Company, working notably on the Hubble Space Telescope and other space exploration programs, and he is still active in this field. He has also had a part-time academic career, teaching physics, engineering, history of science and Italian at a number of universities including Stanford, San Jose State, and Menlo College.

At the same time, Dr. Fusco has been active in the affairs of the Italian and Italian American communities of the Bay Area, and has kept close links with his country of birth, continuing a lifelong study of its history and culture.  His latest endeavors in this area include the launching of the Istituto Educazione Italiana, an Italian cultural and language organization on the Peninsula, which he now directs, the establishment of the Annamaria Napolitano Scholarship Fund, the establishment of a program of Italian Language at Menlo College, and the creation of a Student Exchange Program between Menlo College and the University of Salerno in Italy.  He is a board member of the Leonardo da Vinci Society, and a member of Il Cenacolo, the Business Association Italo America (BAIA), and the Silicon Valley Italian Executive Council (SVIEC).