What I learnt from Emmanuele DiBenedetto

Emmanuele was neither my Master thesis supervisor, nor my PhD advisor, but, nevertheless, it was a turning point in my life, both scientifically and personally. The first time I heard of him, was when I was a ricercatore (the corresponding position of Assistant Professor in US) at the Second University of Rome in Tor Vergata. I was quite young and I was trying to define my own line of scientific research. In the meanwhile, Emmanuele, a recognized Math superstar was coming from the US to teach in my same university: the occasion was as propitious as possible. Then things did not turn out that way: his arrival in Tor Vergata was slowed down by academic fights (in Italy we use the expression baronial fights) and, in the meantime, I was hired as Associate Professor at the University of Milan. Nevertheless, the decision to be his student had been made and, after few months, I ended up being a visiting Professor for a year at Northwestern University in Evanston (where at that time Emmanuele had the main academic position). And now, it is 30 years that I have been working on his research arguments.