To celebrate the 40th anniversary of ICTP, Highlights periodically includes a description of a seminal event in the Centre's history:
5 October 1964 ­ Eminent scientists from around the world join a group of public officials, largely from Italy, at the Jolly Hotel in downtown Trieste for the inaugural meeting of ICTP. A seminar on plasma physics serves as the scientific platform from which the Centre is officially launched. Abdus Salam, who had led the effort for the creation of the Centre, hosts the meeting. Marshall N. Rosenbluth, professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego, and a former student of Edward Teller, serves as one of the main organizers for the event. In all, more than 70 scientists attend, hailing from 14 countries in the West, five in the East and 12 from the South.