Costas Christou Kounnas, one of the most important physicists born in Cyprus, passed away last Friday, January 21, 2022. The funeral procession will be sung tomorrow Saturday, January 29, 2022, from the Church of Agios Nikolaos Lefos at 12:00 in Lukas. noon (in compliance with all health provisions and provisions for the new coronavirus pandemic).
Who was Costas Chr. Κουννάς
Born in Famagusta on January 23, 1952, he had the good fortune to experience the evolution of Famagusta and its transformation from a small town to the most cosmopolitan resort in the Eastern Mediterranean. A graduate of the Greek High School for Boys in Famagusta in 1969, he is pursuing higher studies at the School of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Athens, from where he graduates with honors. With a scholarship from the French government he went to Paris in 1975 for postgraduate studies at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. During his studies in Paris, he married his chosen one Kakias, the family of Leontiadis and Alexandros from Famagusta, and they had their son Christian. He is awarded the title of Doctor of Theoretical Physics with distinction (PH.D).
He has been a Research Fellow at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva from 1982 to 1984. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley from 1984 to 1987. He has lectured at Harvard, Stanford and UCLA. America. In 1987 he returned to his headquarters in Paris, at the Ecole Normale Supérieure of the National Center for Scientific Research of France, as Director of Research at that Center.
From 1992 to 1999 he was proclaimed a member of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN - staff member) in Geneva, representing France. During his rich and award-winning research project, he is a member of Evaluation Committees of Scientific Institutions where works of other scientists / researchers are evaluated, for selection of permanent and / or visiting professors and researchers as well as the Electors of the University of Cyprus. He was a member of KISATS, SEKAP as well as of the Evaluation Committee for the transformation of the colleges of Cyprus into Universities.
His multiple, rich, pioneering and innovative research work is distinguished internationally, as it is the basis for many experimental and theoretical studies in the field of High Energy Physics. For his achievements he was internationally recognized and received multiple honors, medals and prestigious awards from European and American countries such as:
- The French Prize in Theoretical Physics Paul Langevin, 1995
- The European Prix Special Award, in 2002
- The German Humboldt Preis Award, 2013.
His studies continue to be the basis for further research and experiments by collaborators, professors and researchers.
