In the late 1990s, ET1 aired an ambitious research documentary series titled “In Search of Berenice”, created by astrophysicist, academician and writer Giorgos Grammaticakis, which took place on a long journey through different countries in thirteen half-hour episodes. , where viewers met with a range of leading scientists trying to answer some of humanity’s oldest questions about the universe and its creation, the subatomic world, or our future on the planet. In one of the episodes of the series, the film crew also visits the Democritus National Research Center for Natural Sciences.

There he films his then director of research, Ion Siotis, and in the three-minute monoplane where he appears, we marvel at his communicative magnetism.

An elegantly dressed man with soft features and a respectable demeanor walks slowly, theatrically against the background of the nuclear reactors of the research center, paying tribute to the memory of the philosophers who formulated the atomistic theory of nature 25 centuries ago. Reminiscent of the famous American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman and his own communicative comfort, Siotis reinforces his clear articulate speech with hand and body movements in such a way that it is impossible to distract attention from him. This charismatic outstanding physicist passed away a few days ago at the age of 80, leaving behind valuable scientific work and starting an impressive and highly influential career.

His biography is an imprint of the work and days of the great international Greek. After receiving a degree in physical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Lausanne, he received his PhD from the Imperial College London in particle physics while he was a visiting researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Fermilab in Chicago and at the German Electron Synchrotron in Hamburg . . From 1972 to 1989 he was Lecturer in Physics at Imperial College and from 1990 to 2011 Director of Research at Demokritos. In addition, he was the first elected Chairman of the Board of Directors. in “Democritos” (1989-1993), as well as in the National Research Foundation (1999-2004).

His old friend and colleague, ECPA physics professor Leonidas Resvanis, remembers him with admiration for his contributions to science policy: “In addition to being an excellent physicist and researcher, he was also an excellent while he was well aware of the bureaucratic procedures of the European Union. He also achieved something unique in Greece: he managed two major research centers, bringing a new spirit to them. He could have had a great career abroad, but he decided to return to his country to “turn his back” and become a pillar of our common efforts. The country needs such people. If we lived in a serious state (any) the government would entrust him with a radical restructuring of research in the country,” says the professor, who was the initiator and leader of the Nestor program to detect neutrinos in underwater waters. area near Pylos, where Ion Siotis was also a pioneer.

In the same program, he was a doctoral student of Leonidas Resvanis and Sophocles Sotiriou, responsible for the last 25 years of the research and development department in the private schools “Greek German Education”.

From his time at Nestor as a research assistant, he remembers Siotis as a “quiet and tireless scientist” who, despite his scientific weight and high level, remained modest and worked on a par with the “simple workers” experiment, as Sotiriou describes himself in the days their research there. “People like Siotis or Prof. Stavros Katsaneva, Director of the European Gravitational Wave Observatory, who also recently left, were doing important work in silence, in the background,” says Sophocles Sotiriou, adding: “During my time at Nestor, I saw a lot of people. opposed to trying to set up this unique experiment in the country, but there were those few who remained faithful to the idea to the end. And Ion Siotis was one of them – both in the research part and in the important part of securing funding for the acquisition of the necessary equipment.”

Christos Markou, head of the Democritos Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics, who was even his graduate student at Imperial College, remembers him as a sociable, versatile, but at the same time modest person. As he told us, “Although the positions he won were in the realm of public life and he did things of decisive influence, he was always cautious. He didn’t like pomp. When he joined Demokritos in 1989, he revolutionized by creating the then pioneering Technology Park and, as the citizen of the world that he was, he inspired a fresh mind and a fresh perspective. In addition, he exclusively managed not only complex bureaucratic procedures, but also human relations, using his rare abilities in negotiations and mediation. Finally, he was very fond of subjects that went beyond physics: he was very interested in archaeometry, archeology and art.

Ion Siotis also participated in the steering committee for the establishment of ApPEC (European Coordination for Particle Astrophysics) and was a committee member of the European Descartes Science Prize (2000-2007). He was awarded honorary titles of the French state for his contribution to the strengthening of Greek-French relations in the scientific field, was an active citizen against the dictatorship of the colonels and an active participant in the Citizens’ Movement for an open society. since 1997. In addition, he has been active in investment matters and has worked as an advisor or board member with, inter alia, Alpha Trust Innovation-Venture Capital Fund SA and Inform Lykos SA. Finally, he contributed to the development of Antiparos and the creation of the Paros-Antiparos Consortium with his vision for the electrification of ferries on the same line, a project that is already at the research level. As Christos Markou noted to us: “The legacy of Ionos Siotis will be in many respects before us for many years to come.”