Leyteris Papagiannakis

Lefteris Papagiannakis (1944-2008) was born in Kalamata, with roots from Kissamos in the Chania region. He studied chemistry at the University of Athens and pursued postgraduate studies in France in the fields of energy and industrial economics (1974-1981). He completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Grenoble, focusing on the industrialization of the Greek economy. He also worked as a senior executive in the Greek industry and research organizations (METEK). Subsequently, he was elected assistant, associate, and full professor of industrial economics at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and served for two decades as the director of the Laboratory of Industrial and Energy Economics at the NTUA's School of Chemical Engineering. He was Vice-Rector for Economic Planning and Development at NTUA from 1997 to 2000 and also served as the scientific director of the NTUA Career Office and the "Technology and Entrepreneurship" program. As part of his academic contributions, he established the systematic study of the career prospects of NTUA graduates and engineers more broadly. Recently, he was a member of the organizing committee for the Technical Chamber of Greece's conference on the Greek industry, "Towards the Knowledge Economy." Papagiannakis developed extensive research and studies on topics related to industrial and regional development, energy system analysis, the introduction of natural gas, renewable energy sources, energy conservation, the impacts of climate change, research and technological collaborations, the engineering labor market, and the integration of innovation with entrepreneurship, among others. He published approximately 200 papers in scientific journals, collective volumes, and conference proceedings, either alone or in collaboration. His most significant books were on Greek railways (1880-1910), Greek industry in the European Community, Greek management, and the development of Thrace. Beyond his purely scientific contributions, he actively participated in public discourse. In this context, he collaborated with many newspapers ("Avgi," "Eleftherotypia," "Kathimerini," etc.) and magazines ("Politis," "Contemporary Issues," "Economic Courier," etc.). He made a notable contribution to the dialogue on the evolution and prospects of Greek universities, co-founding the Initiative of Academics for the Upgrade of Public Universities and the Research and Dialogue Observatory of the Greek University. He was also a founding member of the Reflection Group "The Left Today" ("AR.SI"). In 2006, he prepared and formulated an alternative proposal for the organization and operation of higher education and research in Greece, which was widely discussed and contributed to public dialogue. From a young age, he was involved in the leftist movement and was a member of the Youth of EDA. In 1964, he was elected to the Central Council of EFEE. In 1969, although he received a scholarship from the French Government with a recommendation letter from the internationally renowned professor Zervas, the dictatorial regime refused to issue him a passport. After the restoration of democracy, he became active in the Renewing Left and was a member of the Central Committee of EAR and SYN. In 1982, the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank published his original work: "The Greek Railways (1882-1910): Geopolitical, Economic, and Social Dimensions," with a reissue in 1990. In 1995, together with Yiannis Skoulas, Titos Patrikios, and Christoforos Sakellaropoulos, he published the book "Trains and Horizons: Photographic Collections" with Themelio Publications. He was married to pharmacist Fotoula Togia and was the father of two children, Katerina and George. He passed away prematurely in Athens, in the early hours of Tuesday, December 16, 2008, after a brief battle with cancer.