Four young Greek scientists who have won international acclaim are recognised for their outstanding performance
Bodossaki Foundation’s Distinguished Young Scientist Awards for 2023 bring to the forefront the work of four young Greek scientists who are leading world-class pioneering research and whose outstanding performance has already led to significant contributions to the advancement of science.
Awarded every two years, the Distinguished Young Scientist Awards acknowledge the work of Greek –by nationality or gender– scientists up to the age of 40, who are distinguishing themselves for their extraordinary contribution in the fields of Science, Life Sciences, Applied Science/Technology, and Social Sciences. The award presentation ceremony of the Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Awards 2023 will be held on 16 June at Zappeion Megaron.
Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Awards 2023
In the field of Life Sciences: Biomedical Sciences, the Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Award 2023 is presented to Edward Chouchani, Associate Professor of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Associate Professor of Cellular Biology at Harvard Medical School. An acclaimed scientist in the field of metabolism, Edward Chouchani focuses on developing technologies to understand how metabolic mechanisms regulate physiological processes. The goal of his research is to leverage these new-found mechanisms to develop new therapies for metabolic, inflammatory, and metastatic diseases. He has published over 60 papers in leading journals on his discoveries and has co-founded three biotechnology companies that raised over $100 million in funding. His research achievements have won him several awards, such as the Pew Scholarship, the Heidi Helmholtz Diabetes Award, the Biochemical Society Early Career Investigator Award, the Armen H. Tashjian Award for Excellence in Endocrine Research, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award, and the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.
In the field of Science: Chemistry, the Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Award 2023 is presented to Konstantinos Vogiatzis, Associate Professor of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The research work of Konstantinos Vogiatzis focuses on the development of new computational methods based on quantum chemistry and artificial intelligence to describe chemical processes that promote clean technologies for the protection of the environment. His overall research objectives are to elucidate the fundamental physical principles underlying the sorption and catalytic properties of molecules and materials. He has been honoured with the Ffrancon Williams Endowed Faculty Award in Chemistry (2020 and 2022), the OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award of the American Chemical Association (2021), and the CAREER Award of the National Science Foundation of the United States (2022).
In the field of Social Sciences: Economics, Political Science, Law, the Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Award 2023 is presented to Philipp Strack, Professor of Economics at Yale University. Philipp Strack’s pioneering and wide-ranging work lies in the field of microeconomic theory and focuses on how people make decisions and interact in dynamic environments. His research draws on economic theory and behavioural economics and his work spans a wide range of topics with direct importance to society, such as the consequences of overconfidence and other misunderstandings for decision making, the psychological mechanisms behind prejudice, the design of auctions and organ exchanges, the dynamic pricing of goods, the optimal structuring of lockdowns in a pandemic, the design of cryptocurrencies, optimal taxes to reduce carbon emissions without hurting the poor. His has over 30 publications in distinguished scientific journals in the field of economics and is a member of the Econometric Society since 2023.
In the field of Applied Science/Technology: Applications of Artificial Intelligence Methods and Technologies in Engineering Disciplines, the 2023 Scientific Prize is presented to Vasileios Syrgkanis, Assistant Professor of Management Science and Technology at Stanford University, Department of Management Science and Technology, Department of Computer Science (by courtesy), James and Anna Marie Spilker Faculty Fellow. The research interests of Vasileios Syrgkanis lie in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning, game theory and theory of algorithms, ultimately aiming at developing novel techniques for optimal data-driven decision making. His work makes several contributions to a broad set of fields such as machine learning, econometrics, statistics, learning theory, and game theory / mechanism design. Mr Syrgkanis and his research group work on topics in artificial intelligence and machine learning, focusing on the development of novel causal inference and large data driven decision making techniques, with primary applications in biomedical science, business administration and online platforms. He has received “Best Paper” awards at leading conferences in his field of expertise: EC, COLT and NeurIPS.
“With the Distinguished Young Scientist Awards, Bodossaki Foundation showcases the Greek creative spirit that distinguishes itself in the international scientific arena and honours the scientific achievements of young scientists,” said the President of Bodossaki Foundation, Athina Dessypri, going on to add: “The distinctions earned by young scientists can inspire and expand the horizons of scientific development and excellence, to whose support Bodossaki Foundation remains firmly committed over time.”
Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Awards
The Distinguished Young Scientist Awards are part of Bodossaki Foundation’s public benefit goals of promoting education and showcasing scientific excellence. The criteria used for selecting the recipients of the Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Awards are the candidates’ outstanding performance in their field of scientific expertise and the comprehensive nature of their research, as well as their contribution, through their work and ethics, to our country’s cultural, scientific and economic development and to Greece’s global visibility. Since 1992, the Distinguished Young Scientist Awards have acknowledged the work of 61 Greek scientists who are leading scientific research worldwide.
The Prize Committee, responsible for submitting to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees the final recommendation on the candidates to be presented with an Award in each scientific field, consists of the following members:
- Ioannis Aifantis, Professor of Pathology, NYU School of Medicine.
- Theodora Varvarigou, Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens.
- Nikos Vettas, Professor at the Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business, and Director General of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOVE).
- George Kollias, Member of the Academy of Athens, Professor/Director of the Physiology Laboratory at the Medical School of the University of Athens, and Associate Researcher at the “Alexander Fleming” Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences.
- Nancy Makri, Professor of Chemistry and Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Costas Meghir, Professor at the Department of Economics, Yale University.
- Michalis Triantafyllou, Professor of Marine Technology at MIT, Visiting Researcher at the US Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Director of the Center for Ocean Engineering and Director of the Testing Tank Facility and the Propeller Tunnel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
- Athanassios Fokas, Professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge
The Prize Committee also includes the following members, representing Bodossaki Foundation:
- Athina Dessypri, President of Bodossaki Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
- Theodoros Theodorou, Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, Vice President of Bodossaki Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
