Vinod Kumar Sharma, a Fellow with ICTP's Programme for Training and Research in Italian Laboratories (TRIL), now on assignment with the Italian Commission for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA) at a research centre in Trisaia, in southern Italy, was awarded two gold medals for a pair of research papers he presented at the 7th International Energy Conference (ENERGEX'98). The three-day conference, sponsored by Bahrain's Ministry of Oil and Industry, was attended by more than 300 people. Sharma's papers examined methods for anaerobic digestion and seawater desalination.