Mourning in the academic world of the city of Bari: Professor Umberto Ruggiero, one of the founders of the Polytechnic of Bari (an institution he presided over as rector between 1994 and 1997) and a pioneer of mechanical engineering in Puglia, has died at the age of 96.
From Knight of the Italian Republic (1969) awarded by the then President, Giuseppe Saragat to Commander of the Republic (2023), awarded by the President in office, Sergio Mattarella. Professor Umberto Ruggiero, Poliba explains in a note, “was a true monument and pioneer of mechanical engineering in Puglia, and, above all, creator and promoter of the Polytechnic of Bari”.
The rector, Francesco Cupertino, expressed his condolences for the passing of the illustrious academic: “We participate in the family’s mourning – he says – with
great affection and profound gratitude towards the extraordinary man, the enlightened teacher and the wise guidance that Professor Ruggiero gave
always represented for all of us, in his long and honored career.”
The municipal administration of Bari, “having learned of the passing of Professor Umberto Ruggiero, expresses to his family the condolences of the city of Bari for the loss of a pioneer of mechanical engineering in Puglia, one of the architects of an ambitious and far-sighted project which changed the history of higher education in southern Italy: the birth of the Polytechnic of Bari, the third in Italy and the first in central-south”. The funeral chapel will be set up on May 17th, from 10.30 am, in the ‘Sedes Sapientiae’ chapel on the University Campus. The funeral rite will be celebrated at 4pm in the Aula Magna ‘Attilio Alto’.
