University of Crete
Eleftherios Economou was an employee for whom from 1981 to 1983?
Eleftherios Economou Eleftherios Ν . Economou ( Greek : Ελευθέριος Ν . Οικονόμου ) is a Greek theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the department of physics of the University of Crete . He has contributed to various areas of theoretical condensed matter physics , starting with the study of surface plasmons during his thesis in 1969 . Economou influenced the evolution of theoretical physics in Greece since the late 1970s , as described in detail in a special volume published in 2000 , in Physica B , on the occasion on his 60th birthday . His opinion perspective is still solicited by major science journals , such as Nature Materials , in particular on how to address challenges related to effects of economic crisis in Greece in science and technology . He contributed substantially to shaping the first steps of the University of Crete and led the effort in creating the Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas ( FORTH ) , serving as its first director general from its foundation in 1983 until 2004 . He has been teaching in the department of physics of the University of Crete since 1982 and also wrote 13 textbooks , mostly in topics related to theoretical physics and condensed matter physics . He has published over 250 refereed papers , which have received more than 22,000 citations , according to Google Scholar . Early years . Eleftherios Economou was born in Athens , Greece on February 7 , 1940 . He grew up in a working-class neighbourhood of Kallithea and his early years , along with his parents Nikos and Sophia and his younger brother Vassilis , were influenced by World War II and in particular by the Greek Civil War that followed . In 1952 he was admitted to the selective public Experimental School of the University of Athens , from where he graduated in 1958 . The same year he was admitted in the School of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens . Among his classmates was John Iliopoulos , A theoretical physicist . He graduated with first class honours in 1963 and commenced the compulsory , in Greece , military service , which at the time lasted two and a half years . During this period , he was given the opportunity to attend a number of graduate level physics courses at the Center for Advanced Studies and Philosophy of Science which was organised at the National Centre of Scientific Research Demokritos . In 1965 Economou applied for graduate studies in the U.S . and was admitted to the department of physics of the University of Chicago . Before leaving for the U.S. , in February 1966 , he married Athanasia Paganou and they have a daughter , Sophia Economou , who is professor of physics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University . He arrived in Chicago in 1966 . Two months later he passed the qualifying exams , ranking first among his classmates , which made it easy to be accepted as a PhD student in the group of Morrel H . Cohen . Economou decided to focus on theoretical condensed matter physics . He completed his studies and was awarded a PhD in three years with a dissertation entitled , Surface Plasmons in Thin Films in 1969 . Scientific career . Economou became assistant professor and later professor in the department of physics at the University of Virginia ( 1970–1981 ) . He has been visiting professor at the University of Chicago ( 1994 ) , Université de Lausanne ( 1992 ) , Princeton University ( 1978 ) , Iowa State University ( 1991–1992 ) and an affiliated member of Ames Laboratory since 1992 . He was visiting researcher at the National Centre of Scientific Research Demokritos ( 1997–1998 ) and a Chair Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Athens ( 1978–1981 ) . In 1981 he and P . Lambropoulos were the first elected professors in the newly founded department of physics of the University of Crete ( Greece ) . As the first chairman of the department he established the bases in the Physics curriculum and he was instrumental in hiring high quality faculty at the University of Crete . He was and remains a strong advocate on topics related to the negative influence of political parties and direct involvement of students in the normal operation of the universities . He retired in 2007 , and still serves and teaches in the department of physics as professor emeritus . Economou was the prominent figure of a group of five Greek scientists from abroad , namely Fotis Kafatos , Dionysios ( Dennis ) Tsichritzis , Grigoris Sifakis and Peter ( Panagiotis ) Lambropoulos , who planned the idea and with the help of the Minister of Research and Technology Georgios Lianis , convinced the Greek Government to create the first three Institutes of the Research Center of Crete ( RCC ; Ερευνητικό Κέντρο Κρήτης – ΕΚΕΚ ) in Heraklion . During his leadership as its first director general ( 1983–2004 ) , RCC expanded with the Institute of Mediterranean Studies ( IMS ) in Rethymno and the Institute of Applied Computational Mathematics in Heraklion . In 1986 Skinakas Observatory , jointly supported by RCC , the University of Crete and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics ( Germany ) also commenced its operations . In 1987 with the agreement of George Papatheodorou and Iacovos Vasalos Directors of the Institute of Chemical Engineering & High Temperature Processes - ( ICE/HT ) in Patras , and the Chemical Process Engineering Research Institute ( CPERI ) Thessaloniki , the two Institutes joined RCC and the Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas ( FORTH ) was created . In 2000 CPERI was renamed Centre for Research and Technology Hellas ( CERTH ) becoming independent of FORTH . In 2002 the Biomedical Research Institute ( BRI ) , based in Ioannina was incorporated into FORTH . In parallel , with financial support from the European Union , the construction of the FORTH buildings in Heraklion , Patras , Thessaloniki , and the restoration of the IMS building in Rethymno began . Science and Technology Parks were established connected to the institutes in Heraklion , Patras , and Thessaloniki and respective buildings with European funding were erected . The main FORTH building infrastructure in Heraklion in 2004 had an area of 30,000 square meters . Most of the buildings were designed and supervised by Panos Koulermos , then a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California . FORTH has been established as the premier research organisation in Greece , ranking consistently first in scientific quality and international recognition by a variety of metrics , including evaluations by external Committees as well as attracting funding by European Research Council grants . Achieving this status was not easy , as several times the supervising agencies attempted to introduce political criteria and to intervene . Economou stepped down from the position of director general of FORTH in April 2004 , and he was succeeded by Stelios C . Orphanoudakis . Three years later , in 2007 , he reached the compulsory retirement age of 67 at the university . He was awarded the title of emeritus professor at the University of Crete and he continues to teach and remains active in research at the department of physics . Research areas . Economou worked in a broad range of topics in the area of condensed matter physics . These topics include electronic properties of many different materials and systems , with emphasis on systems with defects ( crystallographic defects ) and disordered systems ( e.g . amorphous semiconductors ) , magnetic and optical properties of different materials , including superconductors and strongly correlated materials , surface plasmons and their interactions in metals and semiconductors , electron-phonon interactions , non-linear systems and properties , acoustic wave and elastic wave propagation in random and periodic media ( e.g . phononic crystals ) , and electromagnetic wave propagation in complex systems , with emphasis on photonic crystals and metamaterials . Since 1990 Economous research is mainly focused on electromagnetic and acoustic/elastic wave propagation in complex systems . He was one of the initiators of the field of phononic crystals ( i.e . acoustic/elastic wave band gap materials ) which led to the more recent and wider field of acoustic metamaterials . His 1992 publication «Elastic and acoustic wave band structure» , was one of the two ( almost simultaneous ) publications discussing for the first time the concept of the acoustic band gap . This paper was followed by many other well-recognized of Economous works in the field of phononic crystals and elastic wave propagation in complex systems ( see ) . In the field of electromagnetic metamaterials , Economous research helped to eliminate some of the first objections of the scientific community on the possibility of the existence of Negative-index metamaterials , revealing the possibility and limitations for the achievement of negative refractive index in the optical spectrum , and demonstrating some of the unique properties and capabilities of metamaterials ( e.g . the possibility for achievement of repulsive Casimir force in chiral metamaterials ) . In his research on metamaterials , Economou works in close collaboration with his long-term colleague Costas Soukoulis , since the period 1979 to 1982 when Soukoulis was a postdoctoral researcher under his supervision at the University of Virginia . The collaborative research on negative index metamaterials led by Economou and Soukoulis , including scientists from Imperial College ( Sir John Pendry ) , Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Bilkent University ( Ekmel Özbay ) , was recognized with the award of the European Union Descartes prize for collaborative research in 2005 . One of the most important scientific contributions by Economou is considered his PhD work on surface plasmons . The relevant 1969 publication Surface plasmons in thin films , among the first of his career , has become a reference work for the modern field of plasmonics . Among Economous earlier research , quite important is considered also the research on Anderson localization in systems with defects ( i.e. , crystallographic defect ) and disordered systems . Many of the novel and important results of this research are summarized in his book “Green’s Functions in Quantum Physics” . Books . Economou has written several physics textbooks in Greek and in English . His book Greens functions in Quantum Physics , originally published in 1979 , has received more than 2500 citations according to Google Scholar . It was included in the electronic Springer Book Archives containing 40 renowned imprints published by Springer between 1842 and 2005 . Books in English . - Greens functions in Quantum Physics , Springer-Verlag , 1979 . Second edition 1983 , third edition 2006 . - A Short Journey from Quarks to the Universe , SpringerBriefs , 2011 . A 2nd enlarged edition appeared in Jan . 2016 entitled From Quarks to the Universe : A short Physics Course , Springer-Verlag , 2016 . - The Physics of Solids . Essentials and Beyond , Springer-Verlag , 2010 . Books in Greek . - Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics , Crete University Press , 1994 , 2nd ed. , 2001 - Science : How its allurement set , Eurasian Publications , Athens 2012 - From Quarks to the Universe : A short journey , Crete University Press , 2012 - Solid State Physics Vol . I : Metals , Semiconductors , Insulators , Crete University Press , 1997 - Solid State Physics . Vol . II : Order , Disorder , Correlations , Crete University Press , 2003 - Solid State Physics : A shortened version , Crete University Press , 2016 - Solids I – General View & Solids I – Metals and Semiconductors , Hellenic Open University , 1999 - Nuclear Weapons and Human Civilization , Crete University Press , 1985 , 2nd ed . 1987 - Contemporary Physics , Volume 1 , Crete University Press , 1989 , 5th ed. , 2010 ( co-author ) - Contemporary Physics , Volume 2 , Crete University Press , 1989 , 1991 , 5th ed. , 2010 ( co-author ) Awards . - Fellow of the American Physical Society ( 1994 ) ...For contributions to the theory of disordered systems including mobility edges and localization of classical waves . - Honorary PhD , Grenoble Institute of Technology , France ( 1994 ) - Honorary PhD , Department of Materials Science & Engineering , University of Ioannina , Greece ( 2004 ) - Outstanding Referee by the American Physics Society ( 2008 ) - Award of the Foundation of the Greek Parliament ( 2010 ) - Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of the Greek Republic ( 2013 ) - Award of Ethical Order of the city of Heraklion ( 2020 ) Selected publications . - E.N . Economou , Surface Plasmons in Thin Films , Phys . Rev . 182 , 539–554 ( 1969 ) - E.N . Economou , M.H . Cohen , Existence of Mobility Edges in Andersons Model for Radom Lattices , Phys . Rev . B . 5 , 2931–2948 ( 1972 ) - E.N . Economou , C.M . Soukoulis , Static Conductance and Scaling Theory of Localization in One Dimension , Phys . Rev . Lett . 46 , 618–621 ( 1981 ) - M . Sigalas , E.N . Economou,Elastic and Acoustic Wave Band Structure , Journal of Sound and Vibrations , 158 ( 2 ) , 377 ( 1992 ) - M . Kafesaki , R . S . Penciu , and E . N . Economou “Air bubbles in water : a strongly multiple scattering medium for acoustic waves” Physical Review Letters 84 ( 26 ) , 6050 ( 2000 ) - S . Foteinopoulou , E.N . Economou , C.M . Soukoulis , Refraction at Media with Negative Refractive Index , Phys . Rev . Lett . 90 , 107402 ( 2003 ) - J . Zhou , Th . Koschny , M . Kafesaki , E.N . Economou , J . Pendry , and C.M . Soukoulis , Saturation of the Magnetic Response of Split-Ring Resonators at Optical Frequencies , Phys . Rev . Lett . 95 ( 22 ) 223902 ( 2005 ) - S . Droulias , I . Katsantonis , M . Kafesaki , C.M . Soukoulis , E.N . Economou “Chiral Metamaterials with PT-Symmetry and Beyond” Physical Review Letters 122 ( 21 ) , 213201 ( 2019 )