Canton Ticino joined the Helvetic Confederation in 1803. It is the Italian-speaking Swiss Canton. Since antiquity, Ticino’s territory constituted a vital connection in the transportation of people and goods along the N-S axis of Europe. In particular, after Canton Uri built the “Devil’s Bridge” over the Reuss torrential river (it was believed that only the devil could build a bridge there). 

Canton Ticino still plays a vital role in the European N-S transportation system, hosting some of the most daring Swiss infrastructures, like the Biaschina Viaduct (610 m long, 160 m span, 102 m high) and the AlpTransit (57 km, world’s longest railway tunnel), Gotthard (17 km) and Monte Ceneri (15 km) tunnels.

The Conference will be focused on the durability of transportation infrastructure and will gather experts and scientists from all over the world.

 

Special Award

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland will award Prof. Karen Scrivener for her scientific contribution to the development of sustanaible cementitious materials, with a video message from Martina Hirayama, the Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation.