I graduated from the National Technical University of Athens with a Diploma in Civil Engineering in 1970.

I established professional and personal relationships with a number of colleagues, and most of those relationships have been maintained to this day!

Most importantly, however, I acquired a deep and high-quality understanding of the science and art of civil engineering, having had the good fortune to study under exceptional professors who became true role models for my professional life.
I will mention only one: Professor Theodosios Tassios, who possessed the rare gift of being simultaneously an outstanding teacher and a distinguished researcher. I learned so much from him!

Indeed, it was he who encouraged me to pursue wind engineering in my postgraduate studies and introduced me to another international expert, Professor Alan Davenport, who became my supervisor throughout my entire postgraduate programme.
Professor Tassios inspired me throughout my career. I will never forget the amusing incident when he came to give a lecture in Montreal. I arrived slightly late due to another commitment, and when I entered the room he interrupted his lecture, ran to embrace me, and introduced to the audience who I was, what I had achieved in my career, and how proud he was of me. It was rather embarrassing for me!!!

Of course, I still keep in contact with many other professors — both senior and more recent ones — from NTUA, with some of whom I have developed an excellent scientific and technical collaboration.

I would also like to recount a special story that holds particular value for me. In 2013, I received and accepted an invitation from the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA) to chair an external evaluation committee for NTUA’s School of Civil Engineering. It was a moving experience to evaluate the curriculum that I myself had completed as a student many years earlier. Studying the documentation and conducting interviews with faculty members, staff, students, and alumni of the programme was a particularly rewarding process. Most importantly, however, the programme passed the evaluation with the highest marks, demonstrating — once again — the high standards of education and research that NTUA has set, upholds, and continues to embrace.

In summary, I feel genuinely proud to have studied at NTUA, one of the most distinguished academic institutions in the world!