Greek Professor Constantinos Fountas has been elected President of the Council of CERN, for a biennium tenure, beginning January 2025. Based in Switzerland and founded seventy years ago, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, (known as CERN, thanks to its old French acronym) is a prime example of international scientific cooperation with a mission to perform world-class research in fundamental physics. Over the decades, CERN has delivered some of humanity’s most pioneering scientific results and knowledge, bringing us one step closer to comprehending the creation of the universe. Today, CERN counts twenty-four members and as an intergovernmental organization fostering innovation and peaceful collaboration among nations, it is in close cooperation with the United Nations.
The newly elected President of CERN, Dr. Fountas is an esteemed Physics Professor at the University of Ioannina in Greece. He obtained his Master’s degree from the University of Columbia in 1989. He joined CERN in 2016 as the head of the Greek scientific delegation and in 2022, he was appointed Vice President of the Council. It is the first time for a Greek scientist to be elected President of this prestigious institution, even though Greece was one of the founding members in 1954. Prof. Fountas’s election constitutes an important acknowledgement of the achievements of the small, yet highly active Greek scientific community worldwide.
Greece celebrates 70 years of CERN
On October 1st, Europe’s leading scientists and diplomats gathered in Geneva Switzerland to celebrate the 70th anniversary of CERN. Operating the largest particle physics laboratory in the world, CERN has never stopped to advance the frontiers of technology.
Greek Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos and Deputy Zoe Rapti joined the celebrations which were attended by thirty-eight national delegations, including Heads of State and Government. Addressing the event, the Minister congratulated Prof. Fountas upon his election, while stressed that, as a founding member of CERN, Greece values the strategic importance of the work of CERN for European research and development and vowed to provide every possible assistance and support in order for CERN to maintain its leading role.
Hellenic Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos (2nd from left) together with Deputy Development Minister Zoe Rapti (5th) and R&D Secretary General Tasos Ghaitanis (2nd from right) are being guided through CERN’s facilities.
Development Minister T. Theodorikakos with Professor C. Fountas and the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations Office at Geneva, I. Ghikas.