To celebrate the 40th anniversary of ICTP, Highlights will periodically include a description of a seminal event in the Centre's history.
3-5 April 1963 -- Sigvard Eklund, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), convenes a panel of experts in Vienna to prepare a framework for the Centre-to-be, whose creation awaits 18 months of additional negotiations. The panel discusses the possible goals, location and operational procedures of the future institution. The group, later fondly referred to as the "three wise men," is composed of Robert E. Marshak (Rochester University, USA), Jaime Tiomno (Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Leon van Hove (CERN, Geneva, Switzerland). In their report, they state that this initiative deserves "the greatest and most enthusiastic support."