Shedding light on the dark side of biomass burning pollutionResearch by the teams of Prof. Athanasios Nenes and Spyros Pandis of the Center for Studies on Air Quality and Climate Change (C-STACC; http://cstacc.iceht.forth.gr) of the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (ICE-HT/FORTH; http://www.iceht.forth.gr) led to the discovery of a chemical mechanism that rapidly produces air pollution from biomass burning, during the night.

Professor Nektarios Tavernarakis re-elected President of the Foundation for Research and Technology – HellasNektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) and Professor at the Medical School of the University of Crete, was unanimously re-elected Chairman of the Board and Director of the Central Administration of FORTH, by a 7-member Evaluation Committee of distinguished scientists, headed by Dr. George Pavlakis (Head of Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute – NCI). This re-election stands in recognition of the significant developmental initiatives and the fruitful work accomplished, during the short period of his first term as Chairman. Moreover, it is the reward for his continuous contribution to scientific research, which has been internationally recognized through numerous awards and distinctions, such as his recent election as Vice President of the European Research Council and as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Prof. Athanasios Nenes selected as a Highly Cited Researcher by WoSProf. Athanasios Nenes, Affiliated Scientist of FORTH/ICE-HT,Coordinating Member of the Center for the Study of Air Quality and Climate Change (C-STACC) [1] and Professor at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland has been selected as a Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Geosciences (https://publons.com/researcher/4043389/athanasios-nenes/[2]) by Web of Science (WoS). The methodology of this selection is based on the number of his publications and citations, those published and cited during 2009-2019, regarding the population of Researchers in the same field. It is also based on the number of highly cited papers that he has published (Source: Highly Cited Researchers Powered by Web of Science [3]). It is a great honor for Prof. Nenes, as WoS as a widely recognized and reliable platform for the evaluation of scientific work for every Researcher worldwide.

Professor Nektarios Tavernarakis elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceNektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) and Professor at the Medical School of the University of Crete, was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This significant distinction comes as recognition of the scientific quality and the highly competitive research conducted at FORTH and the University of Crete. According to the Constitution of the prestigious AAAS, Fellowship is bestowed to scientists who have scientifically or socially distinguished themselves by efforts on behalf of the advancement of science, or its applications. Nominations for AAAS Fellows are evaluated for election by the Council of the Association. Nektarios Tavernarakis was honored for his distinguished contributions to the fields of ageing, neuroscience, mitochondrial biology, cell death and neurodegeneration.