30/06/2005

Four distinguished Greek scientists were honoured with the Science Awards of the Bodossaki Foundation, which were presented for the eighth time on June 15, 2005 during a special event at the grand Ceremony Hall of the University of Athens. The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, and the former President of the Republic, Mr. Konstantinos Stefanopoulos, attended the ceremony. The Awards were presented by the Assistant Dean of the University of Athens, Professor Christos Kittas.

The aim of the Science Awards, which are presented every two years, is to support the creative work of young Greek scientists (up to 40 years old) who contribute to the promotion of science and of the Greek spirit, both in Greece and abroad, through outstanding achievements in their field.

The 2005 Science Awards of the Bodossaki Foundation, worth 20,500 Euro each, were awarded to the following scientists:

a) Paschalis V. Alexandridis, Professor of the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the State University of New York, Buffalo, in the field of Applied Exact Sciences (branch: Micro- and Nano-Science and Technology)

Dr Alexandridis' research work focuses on the field of molecular engineering and nanotechnology, specifically in understanding the mechanisms of self-assembly and directed assembly of molecules and nanoparticles. His methodology is mostly experimental, but he also develops models which aid the understanding of such experiments, as well as the design of new experiments.

Molecular self-assembly is expected to contribute to the design and development of products at a molecular level, with applications that will improve the quality of life, protect the environment, and conserve energy. For example, the results of Dr Alexandridis' research have led to: drug solutions which increase the drugs? effectiveness, environmentally friendly organic solvent-free varnishes, and nanomaterial synthesis methods at room temperature, with zero energy consumption.

Dr Alexandridis has been recognised with many awards and distinctions for his scientific work, such as the Institute Lecturer Award from the Japanese Institute of Materials Science, and the Faculty Early Career Development Award by the US National Science Foundation. Dr Alexandridis has published more than 100 papers and 3,000 reports, and he owns six patents.

http://www.cbe.buffalo.edu/alexandridis.htm

b) Pavlos Z. Eleftheriadis, Lecturer at the Law School of the University of Oxford, in the field of Social Sciences (branch: Legal Science)

Dr Eleftheriadis is a Lecturer at the Law School of the University of Oxford, the most important centre of Legal Philosophy in the world, and a Fellow in Law at Mansfield College. He has also been a Lecturer at the London School of Economics and a Visiting Professor at the Columbia University of New York. His published work deals with legal philosophy, constitutional law and European Community Law. In the field of legal philosophy, he has worked on the concept of rights, and its applications in the concept of property. In the field of constitutional law, he has studied the philosophical preconditions for constitutionalism and the state of justice.

In the field of European Community Law, he has worked on constitutional issues regarding Community lawful order, such as the doctrine of supremacy, the doctrine of direct effect, individual rights in the EU, etc. In a series of published articles, he has proposed the theory that the European Union does not possess constitutional law in the sense of a state's constitution, but in the sense of international law without sovereignty - using the concept of "cosmopolitan law", first proposed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant.

He has published papers in eminent scientific journals in England, Germany and the United States. He has also published the book "Constitutionalism and Political Values" in Greece (Sakkoulas Publishers, Athens, 1999).

http://denning.law.ox.ac.uk/members/profile.phtml?lecturer_code=eleftheriadisp

c) Nektarios N. Tavernarakis, Researcher at the Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology of Crete, in the field of Biomedical Sciences (branch: Neuroscience)

Dr Tavernarakis' research work at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology focuses on two primary themes. The first concerns the study of the mechanisms through which the nervous system perceives and processes environmental stimuli through the senses, and the second involves the elucidation of the processes responsible for degeneration and death of neuronal cells, for example in cases of neurodegenerative diseases or ageing.

The group's research efforts have lead to the identification and characterisation of the genes required for correct perception and storage, by the nervous system, of a series of sensory stimuli, such as mechanical, chemical and thermal stimuli. The identification of these genes is expected to help us understand fundamental nervous mechanisms, such as those responsible for the tactile, equilibrium and auditory senses, as well as for the memory functions.

Recently, Dr Tavernarakis and his co-workers uncovered one of the central mechanisms in neuronal cell degeneration and destruction. Specifically, using the microscopic nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as an experimental system for the first time in Greece, they managed to isolate and characterise two groups of genes, which play an important role in cell apoptosis. The discovery of this mechanism is extremely important, since it allows the direct development of preventive and therapeutic methods in order to treat neurodegenerative diseases and episodes.

http://www.imbb.forth.gr/worms

d) Dimitrios S. Psaltis, Assistant Professor at the Physics Department of the University of Arizona, in the field of Exact Sciences (branch: Astrophysics)

Dr Psaltis' research work focuses on High-Energy Astrophysics, and specifically in the study of the properties of neutron stars and black holes- the astrophysical bodies with the greatest gravitational force in the Universe.

Over the last few years, Dr Psaltis and his research group have been implementing a pioneering project in order to verify Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, using innovative techniques made possible only by recent technological advances.

In this way they are able to process theoretical models of neutron stars and black holes - using supercomputers and parallel computing on a massive scale - and compare their results with observational data from the new NASA and ESA X-ray satellites.

The most significant discovery from their research is that General Relativity accurately describes the astrophysical bodies with the greatest gravitational force as well. This result also confirms that the current theory about the evolution of the Universe is correct, at least back to the time when the Universe was one millionth of a second old.

As Dr Psaltis explains: "We have managed to prove that Einstein's theory of General Relativity describes the events that occur around black holes and neutron stars, to a level of accuracy trillions of times greater than was possible until now. This means that we have not yet reached our goal, which is to discover phenomena that are not predicted by the theory. However, our results confirm the accuracy of the calculations regarding the first stages of the evolution of the Universe".

http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~dpsaltis/

Source: Bodossaki Foundation

Editor: Margaritis Proedrou