Spiros H. Anastasiadis, Professor of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Crete and Director of the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), has been elected the Mary Shepard B. Upson Visiting Professor in Engineering at Cornell University for the 2018-2019 Academic Year. Prof. Anastasiadis was elected by the School of Engineering after being nominated by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and approved by the Board of Trustees of the University.

The Mary Shepard B. Upson Visiting Professorship was established in 1966 through the bequest of the widow of the late Maxwell M. Upson. Maxwell Upson graduated from Cornell University with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1899 and was a member of the Board of Trustees for thirty-five years. At the time the Upson chair was established, James A. Perkins, then president of the university, said that the endowment would help to assure Cornell’s “continued leadership in engineering education, particularly in the area of graduate teaching and research”. Various distinguished scientists have been previously elected as Upson Visiting Professors like Sir Richard Friend form the Department of Physics of University of Cambridge, Feliciano Giustino form the Department of Material Science of Oxford University, Anthony J. Ryan from the Department of Chemistry of University of Sheffield, Amy Herr from the Department of Bioengineering of University of California at Berkeley, and others.

Cornell University was established in 1865 and belongs to the Ivy League Universities with approximately 15.000 students.It is one of the most important Universities worldwide, ranked number 19 among all Universities in the World (and number 14 among the US Universities) in the Times Higher Education ranking. It is ranked number 9 among the US Universities in the US News and World Report in the Engineering Education. More than forty Nobel Laureates are associated with Cornell University as either Professors/Researchers or Alumni.

Prof. Anastasiadis holds a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1983) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University (1988), also an Ivy League University. He was awarded the John H. Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society in 1998 and was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2000. He has been the President of the Hellenic Polymer Society since 2012 and he is the President of the European Polymer Federation (European Polymer Federation, EPF) for the period 2018-2019. He serves as a Memberof the Quality Assurance Committee, a Member of the Committee on New Technologies and a Vice Chair of the Committee on Research Integrity and Ethicsof the University of Crete whereas he has been a Vice Chair of the Technical Council of the University.

The election of Prof. Anastasiadis as Mary Shepard B. Upson Visiting Professor at Cornell University confirms, once more, the leading role of the research accomplishments of FORTH and the University of Crete as well as, of the international recognition of the worthy Greek researchers at European and world level. Such distinctions are especially important nowadays, since science and innovation, going hand in hand with excellence, can and should be are critical factors for the development of the Country.