BIOGRAPHY
Elias P. Gyftopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on July 4, 1927. He received his Diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Athens in 1953, and his Science Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1958. Dr. Gyftopoulos has been on the teaching staff of MIT as Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, and Ford Professor of Mechanical Engineering and of Nuclear Engineering. He has received four awards as an outstanding teacher. He is currently Ford Professor Emeritus. Professor Gyftopoulos has served as a member of the Board of directors of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), chairman of the Aerospace Division of ANS, United States delegate to several international conferences on peaceful uses of nuclear energy and electricity generation, trustee of the American Farm School, trustee of Hellenic College, member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Energy Conservation, and has worked on a large number of projects related to Hellenism. He is a member of the Governing Board of the Constantine G. Karamanlis Institute of Democracy, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Foundation of the Hellenic World, and has served on the Boards of many United States private corporations. Dr. Gyftopoulos has been appointed Commander of the Order of Merit by the President of the Republic of Greece, awarded the American Achievement Award by the American Hellenic Institute, Washington D.C., elected Honorary Member of the “Parnassos’ Philological Society of Greece, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published four books and over 150 articles in technical journals, and was editor-in-chief of 17 MIT Industrial Energy Conservation Manuals.
PRESENTATION
“The Scientists’ Role in the Advancement of Society” by Dr. Elias Gyftopoulos, Ford Professor Emeritus, MIT
Professor Gyftopoulos discussed the important role that investments in education may play in the continuing development of a country like Greece. He will also emphasize that such investments both by the Greek Government and by parents cannot be sustained unless teachers and students fully understand their responsibilities and discharge them with the highest ethical standards.