This book includes stories of protagonists from research laboratories and behind laboratory benches, written as I heard them and as they were published from time to time in periodicals and newspapers under my name or a pseudonym.

Stories about everyday people whom we do not even realize are around us and work for our good and happiness, yet whom we subconsciously thank the universe for their existence. Calm individuals who exude strength, who overturn laws and rules, who fuel hope and do not allow it to fade away. "Illuminated" minds that every day advance humanity one step further.

The common element that the "protagonists" of this book share is that in their lives they did not seek fame or recognition. They simply served their science and, during their personal journeys, encountered success. Most of them have a captivating personal history, which required me to travel to several locations in Europe just to meet them at their bases (Geneva, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Sicily, Copenhagen, Athens, Rome, etc.).

In this book, I included established scientists in their fields as well as young researchers, who either achieved a top accomplishment worldwide, or were pioneers and innovators in a field, or distinguished themselves for their overall work, or continue to quietly work on their subjects.

The documentation begins in 2005 and continues to this day, but it never ends. Countless researchers shape the conditions of modern scientific reality and, unfortunately, they are missing from my pages. This in no way means that I do not know them, do not recognize them, and do not honor them. I hope to do so practically in the future.

PREFACE

11

AUTHOR'S NOTE

13

1. STYLIANOS ANTONARAKIS

19 Professor of Medical Genetics

2. FABIOLA GIANOTTI

27 Physicist, Director-General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

3. STAMATIS KRIMIZIS

37 Professor of Astrophysics

4. GEORGE PAXINOS

45 Professor of Psychology

5. SVANTE PÄÄBO

55 Professor of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology

6. CHRISTOS ZEREFOS

67 Professor of Atmospheric Physics

7. AXENTIOS KALAGKOS

79 Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery

8. DIMITRIOS MATSAKIS

87 Physicist-Astronomer

9. ARNO VILLRINGER

97 Professor of Neurology

10. STEN GRILLNER

107 Professor of Neurophysiology

11. NIKOS LOGOTHETIS

115 Professor of Neuroscience

12. KARL DEISSEROTH

123 Professor of Bioengineering, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Sciences

13. JOSEPH COUGHLIN

131 Professor of Strategic Planning, Management, and Public Policy

14. NEKTARIOS TAVERNAKIS

139 Professor of Molecular Systems Biology

15. MANOLIS TSESMELIS

153 Professor of Particle and Accelerator Physics

16. NIKOLAOS ROMPAKIS

161 Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry

17. ANDREAS JAKIS

171 Professor of Transplant Surgery

18. NIK CHRISTAKIS

183 Professor of Social and Natural Sciences

19. KATERINA CHARVATI

193 Professor of Paleoanthropology

20. CHRISTOS GIAPITZAKIS

201 Assistant Professor of Neurogenetics

21. VASILIS FTHENAKIS

209 Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology and Anthropology

22. CONSTANTINOS POURNARAS

219 Professor of Ophthalmology

23. GEORGE KOLLIAS

225 Professor of Physiology

24. ATHANASIOS KONSTANTOPOULOS

239 Professor of New, Advanced, and Clean Combustion Technologies

25. GEORGE VASILEIOU

247 Hematologist

26. GEORGE CHROUSOS

253 Professor of Pediatrics

27. PETROS THEMELIS

263 Emeritus Professor of Classical Archaeology

28. CONSTANTINOS DEMETZOS

271 Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology

29. PANAGIOTIS BAMIDIS

279 Assistant Professor of Informatics and Medical Education

30. LAMBI TASAKOS

287 Physicist-Entrepreneur

31. MICHAEL CHALIASOS

295 Professor of Macroeconomics and Finance

32. CONSTANTINOS NIKOLAKOPOULOS

301 Professor of Biblical Theology

33. ANASTASIOS SPYLIOTOPOULOS

307 Professor of Thoracic Surgery

34. CONSTANTINOS GALIOTIS

315 Professor of Materials Science

35. FOTEINI AGRAPHIOTI

325 Electrical Engineer-Entrepreneur

36. STEFANOS FASOULAS

333 Professor of Space Technology

37. YSHTHATIOS GONOS

343 Director of Research at IIE

38. ELISAVETA MATSOUKA

349 Biologist-Doctor of Chemistry

39. SOFIA RIZOPOULOU

355 Associate Professor of Plant Eco-Physiology

40. IOANNIS IOANNIDIS

363 Professor of Pathology, Research, Health Policy, and Statistics