Danilo Mainardi
Danilo Mainardi (25 November 1933 – 8 March 2017) was an Italian ethologist, scholar, and writer. Life. Born in Milan, the son of Enzo Mainardi, he graduated in 1956 in biology in Parma. From 1967 to 1992 he taught zoology, and then biology and ethology at the University of Parma, in the Science and Medicine faculties. From 1973 he directed the School of Ethology of the Scientific cultural center Ettore Majorana in Erice. He taught Ethology of Behaviour at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice. He was national president of LIPU (Lega italiana protezione uccelli, Italian League for the  defence of birds, founded in 1965 and Italian partner of Birdlife International), and later became its honorary president. Mainardi studied the social and sexual behaviour of animals, and its evolution, starting from the relationships between parents and offspring (particularly the importance of the "imprinting"). His studies demonstrate that also the animals can transmit - to a certain extent - the capacity to transfer solution to problems from one individual to another: the process of innovation according to Mainardi's results is not exclusive of mankind. He directed the "Italian Journal of Zoology", organ of the Italian Zoological association (Unione Zoologica italiana). Besides  his researches and teachings, he was most popular in Italy as a regular and appreciated guest at various scientific TV programs, such as "Dalla parte degli animali" (On the animals' side), and the scientific series "Quark", the first show of the kind in Italy aimed at a general public, created in 1981 by Italian journalist Piero Angela. Since the beginnings, Mainardi was a regular contributor to "Quark", cooperating with Piero Angela to spread the interest for the scientific matters, making a point in using the simplest possible language even for complex subjects, to reach every spectator. He was an atheist , and president of Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics. Mainardi also contributed to several Italian major newspaper, such as the "Corriere della Sera", and has written more than 200 publications and books. Bibliography. Among his publications in English: