Slice of History - From Pisa to Pasadena

In the summer of 1986, a young Italian who had never stepped foot outside of Europe arrived at JPL — the science-minded high school graduate had been selected for NASA’s International Summer Student Program and eagerly seized the opportunity to work on Lab.

While at the Lab, Luigi Civalleri worked in the Geology and Planetary Section of the Earth and Space Sciences Division, under the supervision of renowned JPL astronomer Eleanor Helin.

“Working with Ms. Helin, the Lab’s acclaimed asteroid-tracker, Luigi assisted in searching for new asteroids by measuring asteroid positions, and analyzing computer data about them,” read a September 1986 article in JPL’s Universe newsletter.

“My experience at JPL was mind-blowing … I felt like a kid in a candy shop. Every day brought fresh excitement,” Civalleri said in a June 2025 email correspondence, reflecting on that summer almost 40 years ago. “What struck me most at JPL was the great camaraderie and informality, a far cry from what I was used to at home.”

The internship program, funded by a gift from German inventor Arthur Wenke, covered students’ travel to the NASA center of their choice and provided a small weekly stipend. Civalleri was hosted by the family of then-Galileo Project Manager John Casani, who died June 19, 2025.

“The Casani family was easygoing and lovely hosts,”  Civalleri said.

Civalleri returned to Italy that fall to begin a Master’s degree in applied mathematics at the University of Pisa. He later built a successful career in science communication and translation, working on Italian editions of bestsellers such as “Guns, Germs, and Steel” by Jared Diamond and “The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene.

Today, Civalleri is a professor in the Master’s in Science Communication program at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), a research university in Trieste, Italy. CL#25-2462

The content presented here should be viewed in the context of the time period. Our intent is to present the history of JPL in a factual manner that uses primary resources and historical context. We recognize that some information or images do not reflect the current values, policies, and mission of JPL.