Hunting for great Greek science
Looking for the best Greek scientists out there
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🔬 Hunting for great Greek science
I recently went treasure hunting.
Discovering great science is like going on a hunt for some legendary pirate’s booty.
I am particularly interested in scientific research done by Greeks around the world.
Here are some interesting examples I found that I believe are worth sharing:
Building next generation humanoid robots
Konstantinos Mitsopoulos is part of a group of researchers at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) building an agile robot with advanced AI capabilities. Meant for exploring environments built by humans for humans, Nadia has an extreme range of motion, high speed, and significant power.
The robot is named Nadia after the famed gymnast Nadia Comăneci.
Reducing industrial carbon emissions at scale
The talented scientists at Skretas Lab have discovered CA-KR1, a novel enzyme that excels in carbon capture at extreme conditions. Integrating CA-KR1 into large scale manufacturing settings could elevate carbon-capture capacity, paving the way for effective decarbonization on an industrial level.
If this works at scale, it could be a game changer for global manufacturing emissions, especially in China.
Stem cell therapy helping people with bone fractures
Ioannis Papantoniou (Head of the Tissue Engineering Lab at KU Leuven) together with Niki Loverdou (research engineer at KU Leuven) do cutting edge work on nextgen biofabrication technologies. Recently, work led by Loverdou is investigating how stem cell therapies can help people with bone defects to heal.
This could lead to a revolution on how we treat bone fractures going forward. If you’ve broken a hand climbing trees or a leg playing sports when younger, you might feel a bit extra pumped.
(Thanks Paris Kasidiaris for the suggestion.)
Making nanoparticles great again
The Particle Technology Laboratory (PTL) at ETH Zurich led by Prof. Sotiris Pratsinis is the top research lab for the study of nanoparticles in the world. During more than two decades, teams led by Pratsinis have investigated almost every single facet of the known nanoparticles universe developing key processes and devices around them. I counted more than 30 different current/older research areas in the Lab’s page.
Nanoparticles are everywhere. Finding new ways of operationalizing them, but also understanding their (often significant) health impact, is extremely important.
Hunting for great Greek scientific treasures
These examples are great, but they only represent 0.01% of the awesome research performed by Greek scientists today.
I am compiling a larger list of the greatest Greek contemporary science in the world.
I have a few ideas to make these contributions shine even brighter. :)
What’s the coolest research by a Greek scientist that you are aware of?
Let me know by replying to this post.
🏭 Economy & Business
Moody’s and DBRS raise rating outlook from Stable to Positive
5-year GGB yield fell below French one (first time in history)
Unemployment figures reach 12-year record numbers in Q2 2024
GDP growth rate (1.1%) was second highest in Europe in Q2 2024
Bonds and mutual funds preferred by Greeks due to low deposits rates
Deposits keep rising steadily for both businesses and individuals
Greek banks as EU’s sleeping giant ready to be digitally disrupted?
🤖 Tech & Startups
Syft Analytics (accounting tech) acquired for $70M by Xero
Connectly (conversational AI commerce) raised a $20M Series B
Simpler (1-click checkout) raised €9M in pre Series A funding
Lambda rebrands as Delian Alliance, CollegeLink becomes linq
SciFY is a non-profit company developing innovation solutions for all
Kryoneri Observatory to become the largest space hub in SE Europe
NBG runs its 15th innovation & tech competition (apply by Oct 9)
🙌 Celebrating Greek wins
Eleni Geroulanou wins the “Marilena Laskaridi” Award for 2023
Makrini Alexiadi is the most famous dermatologist in NYC
Maria Hatziioannou spearheading disability awareness via social media
📌 Spotlight: Greek philosophy as a graphic novel
If you love philosophy and/or enjoy comics, you will appreciate this.
Aristotle: a graphic biography is a graphic novel about the life and works of Aristotle. Tassos Apostolidis and Alecos Papadatos (the graphic artist behind award-winning Logicomix) have created a masterpiece about the great Greek philosopher. I don’t usually recommend specific products, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for this kind of special craftsmanship.
We all need a little bit more philosophy in our daily lives. What better way than to absorb it from a comic book?
That’s it for this week. I always love hearing from you. Make sure to hit that reply button.
Until next time!