This week, the new IFRF offices in Livorno, Italy, begin their activities. Last week, all the IFRF  furniture, reports, books and documents arrived at Livorno and were relocated in the building that will be the IFRF headquarter for  the future. A new archive has also been created, which collects more than 50 years of IFRF history.

So far, the new IFRF staff comprises myself, as director, an investigator Giovanni Coraggio (formerly based at the IFRF’s Velsen office in The Netherlands), and a new Administrative- Communication assistant, Tracey Biller. A search to recruit a second investigator has been initiated, with a view to having two investigators active from the beginning of 2007.

The new offices are placed next to the Livorno laboratory of ENEL, where IFRF has immediate access to a very wide range of semi-industrial scale experimental combustion test facilities capable of firing the full range of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. These facilities include a replica of the IJmuiden No 1 furnace. The facilities will be available for undertaking the IFRF Members Research Programme and Members’ test work over the whole range of industrial process sectors, and on a confidential basis. In next weeks Monday Night Mail details on the experimental facilities will be distributed.

The new IFRF address is:

Fondazione Internazionale per la Ricerca sulla Combustione- IFRF
Via Salvatore Orlando 5,
57123 Livorno ,
Italy.

New telephone numbers  +39 0586 891678,  +39 0586 200045 will be activated in the next ten days. In the interim until the definitive telephone numbers are active in Livorno, please use the following numbers:+39 050 511240 (LT), +39 050 3871656 (GC).

All the current name.name@ifrf.net  email addresses will continue to operate this week and into the future, and the web address (www.ifrf.net ) will remain unchanged. The e-mailaddresses of the new staff are: leo.tognotti@ifrf.net , giovanni.coraggio@ifrf.net,  tracey.biller@ifrf.net

This is my first communication as Director of IFRF. I take this opportunity to thank all IFRF Members and other colleagues, as well as the IFRF’s Velsen team, for their support and encouragement for this new challenging experience. I will do my best to promote and perform applied research on combustion and  to maintain the “Spirit of IJmuiden”.

Leo Tognotti
Director, IFRF