Elections for new scientists for 2023 were held yesterday National Engineering Academy (NAE).

Among scientists and Professor Kostas Synolakiswhose election was in recognition of his work in the development of computational techniques and tsunami early warning systems, as well as his advisory work to governments and crisis management agencies.

The election of a scientist to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineers (NAE), or the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) is the highest honor for natural scientists of all disciplines in America.

According to the Academy’s announcement, its members are selected American and international leaders in business, academia and the public sector who have distinguished themselves by technical excellence and pioneering contributions to their fields. NAE members volunteer in initiatives that help guide the development of federal laws and regulations, improve the effectiveness of government programs, set the direction of research in various fields, and promote public awareness and dialogue on critical issues.

The electoral process lasts more than a year, is completely secret, without the knowledge of the candidate about his candidacy. Of the carefully selected candidates put forward by scientists from all fields of natural sciences, less than one in ten are elected to the three national academies. With a reduction to the total number of potential candidates among scientists, researchers and specialists, approximately one in 1000 is elected.

OUR Kostas Synolakis graduated from Athens College in 1975. He continued his studies at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he received a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Engineering and Applied Sciences, a Master of Science (M. Sc.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in the same subject in 1986.

In 2016, he was elected a full member of the Academy of Athens and is the secretary of the Academy’s Positive Science Class. Since 1985, he has been a professor of civil, environmental, and aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering, and in 1996 he founded the first Tsunami Research Center. He was President of the Hellenic Center for Marine Research and Professor of Natural Disasters and Environmental Fluid Mechanics at the Technical University of Crete. In 2019, he was elected non-paid chairman of the Ad Hoc Scientific Committee to Combat Climate Change in Greece. He is also a board member of the Hellenic Space Center. As of 2020, he has taken over as Principal/President of the College of Athens.