Distinguished scientists are currently in Greece at the disposal of the Ministry of Education. They are part of the newly established National Council for Research and Technology. The Council had their first meeting at the Ministry. It was chaired by Stamatis Krimizis.
The NCRT operates as an independent advisory and consultative body to the Minister. It is comprised of internationally renowned scientists with many years of experience and activity in research and technological development.
After the meeting Minister Anna Diamantopoulou stated: “The Greece of excellence is in need of the best. We need a National Greek team for Research with a strong presence on an international level…The Prime Minister has placed Research and Technology as the leading elements towards the change of the country’s development model, but also its important intervention on social cohesion issues. The new Research and Technology policy must be predominantly outward-oriented, to bring forces in Greece, but also to disseminate Greece’s forces around the world. In the field of Research, as a country, we have scientists and researchers around the world, who are part of the most distinguished. We selected the most important scientists, with international honors and worldwide acceptance, so as to support this national effort”.
Important to note is the near future amount of around 1 billion EU funds that will be allocated. The Minister stated regarding that the funds not to be: “absorbed quickly, but appropriately”.
NCRT President Krimizis stated: “Research and Technology form the basic web in today’s society. For example 2/3 of GDP growth per year, in almost all advanced countries comes from Research and Technology. Hence, it is the basic field, which must be developed in Greece…The way in which the government, the minister and the prime minister have spoken on meritocracy and transparency is impressive, because that is the only way Research and Technology advance in general. We must give a good example and opportunities to young people, young children, who should take part in the creation of the future, not only as mere spectators in progress being made in the rest of the world.”.
The following are participating – without financial compensation – in the council, as noted by the minister:
– Stamatis Krimizis – President: Honorary Director of the Space Department of the Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins University in the U.S., Chief researcher in various NASA space missions (Voyager 1 and 2, Cassini – Huygens etc.), member of many American associations and repeatedly awarded for his work, member of the Academy of Athens since 2004 (he is the director of the Department of Space Science Research), while since 2006 he is a representative of Greece at the council of the European Space Agency (ESA).
– George Chrousos – Vice-President: Professor and Director of the First Pediatric Clinic of the University of Athens Medical School. He has been a professor at U.S. Georgetown University for a long time.
– Members: Constantinos Dafermos (professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics, Brown University U.S.), Ioannis Iliopoulos (honorary professor of Ecole Normale Superieure of Paris), Doros Theodorou (professor at the field of Science and Engineering of Materials of the NTUA School of Chemical Engineering), Amenteo Ontoni (Professor at the Department of Aeronautics, Austronautics of MIT University U.S.A.), Aristeides Patrinos (president of the American Biotechnology Company, Synthetic Genomics), George Pavlakis (director of the Human Retrovirus Department at the National Cancer Institute, U.S.A.), Artemis Simopoulou (founder and president of the non-profit National Centre for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, U.S.A.), Kevin Featherstone (professor at the London School of Economics and director of the Greek Observatory at LSE), Michalis Haliasos (Macroeconomics and Finance professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt).
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