I was fortunate to study at the School of Chemical Engineering of NTUA from 1976 to 1981. The knowledge and experiences I gained as a student there were decisive for my subsequent academic career.

I remember the rigorous, well-structured curriculum at the historic campus on Patission Street. Every day we attended lectures, tutorial sessions, and laboratory classes from 8:45 until 18:00. For me, NTUA became a second home, where I grew accustomed to working with intensity and consistency. The faculty had high expectations of us. They gave us personal attention, guided us, reprimanded us when necessary, and encouraged us even in our smallest achievements — something that always spurred us on to keep going.

We had outstanding teachers who cultivated our critical thinking and creativity. In Mathematics, I. Chainis initiated us into rigorous logical reasoning through his lectures and beautifully written textbooks. In Physics, E. Kyriakopoulos introduced us to the formulation of mathematical models for real-world problems. The extensive laboratory experience provided by G. Parissakis and his collaborators, the dense and enthusiastic lectures of K. Sandris, and the guidance of O. Markopoulou gave us a solid foundation in Chemistry. I was particularly inspired by the rigorous underpinnings and the wide range of applications in Thermodynamics, as taught to me by N. Koumoutsos and A. Papaioannou — knowledge that proved invaluable in my later research work. Equally outstanding was the Chemical Process Techniques course taught by G. Saravakos, with whom I completed my diploma thesis, combining experimental measurements with computational modelling. G. Stefanopoulos, who had just returned from the United States at the time, assigned us a substantial chemical-process design project that sharpened our synthetic skills, while E. Kampouris conveyed the principles of product design in his Polymers course.

I owe a great deal to my fellow students in the School of Chemical Engineering: some sixty young people with impressive academic performance and achievements — and not only academic; the School ranked among the top choices of incoming students at the time, and each of them was exceptional. A spirit of healthy competition developed among us, and strong friendships were forged that endure to this day. We had high expectations of ourselves. We habitually consulted the international literature and delved deeply into what we were learning at the School, and this greatly enhanced our skills. The high academic performance of our cohort was accompanied by social awareness — it was the period immediately after the restoration of democracy, and there was a vigorous exchange of ideas.

The preparation I received at NTUA proved invaluable in the highly demanding environment I encountered as a doctoral student at MIT. Many of my professors at NTUA served as role models throughout my subsequent academic career at the University of California, Berkeley, and in Greece.

With deep emotion I returned to NTUA in 2002 to teach. The development of the institution over all those years has been remarkable. In a social environment that changes ever more rapidly and in frequently unpredictable ways, the commitment to preparing high-quality engineers — problem-solvers — remains unwavering. As I approach retirement as a faculty member, I hope I have managed to repay the institution even a small part of the benefits I received from it.