Franco Malerba

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Franco Malerba

Italian biophysicist and astronaut

Also known as: Franco Egidio Malerba

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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In full:: Franco Egidio Malerba

Born:: Oct. 10, 1946, Genoa, Italy (age 78)

Political Affiliation:: European People’s Party

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Franco Malerba (born Oct. 10, 1946, Genoa, Italy) is an Italian biophysicist, astronaut, and member of the European Parliament, the first Italian to travel into space. Malerba received a B.S. in engineering (with a specialization in telecommunications) from the University of Genoa in 1970. After doing research at the Italian National Research Council’s Cybernetics and Biophysics Laboratory in Genoa and at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., he earned a doctorate in physics (with a specialization in biophysics) from the University of Genoa in 1974. He served in the Italian navy between 1974 and 1975. In 1977 ...(100 of 296 words)

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