The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Thessaly will honour internationally renowned scientist Professor Athanasios S. Fokas with an Honorary Doctorate. The distinction recognises his outstanding contributions to mathematics, physics, medicine, and artificial intelligence.
The honorary degree conferral ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 18 November 2026, at 19:00. The venue is the Hippocrates Amphitheatre at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, in Larissa, Greece.
Professor Athanasios Fokas is the inaugural holder of the Chair in Nonlinear Mathematical Science at the University of Cambridge. He also serves as Vice President of the Academy of Athens. Throughout his distinguished career, his pioneering interdisciplinary research has earned international recognition across multiple scientific fields.
Honouring Scientific Excellence
The ceremony will begin with an address by Professor Charalambos D. Billinis, Rector of the University of Thessaly, who will welcome the distinguished honouree.
Following the opening address, Professor Konstantinos N. Fountas, Professor of Neurosurgery at the Faculty of Medicine, will deliver the formal tribute.
Professor Aristidis Ch. Zibis, Head of the Faculty of Medicine, will then read the official resolution. He will also confer the honorary degree and insignia.
The ceremony will conclude with a lecture by Professor Fokas entitled: “The Interdisciplinary Nature of Medicine: From Microbiology to Artificial Intelligence.”
A Distinguished Career Across Scientific Disciplines
Professor Fokas has pursued an exceptional academic career spanning engineering, mathematics, and medicine. He graduated at the top of his class in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London. Subsequently, he earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He also completed medical studies at the University of Miami before returning to mathematics. In 2002, he became the inaugural holder of the newly established Chair in Nonlinear Mathematical Science at the University of Cambridge.
His research spans applied mathematics, differential equations, physics, medical imaging, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. In particular, his scientific contributions include the development of mathematical and computational methods for PET and SPECT imaging. His work also extends to electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography. Furthermore, his research has explored applications involving chronic myeloid leukaemia, protein folding, and epidemic modelling.
Over the years, his achievements have received numerous prestigious international distinctions. These include the Naylor Prize, the Pascal Medal of the European Academy of Sciences, the SIAM Kruskal Prize, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Caltech. A full member of the Academy of Athens since 2004, Professor Fokas was elected Vice President in 2026.
Advancing Interdisciplinary Medical Science
The conferral of an Honorary Doctorate upon Professor Athanasios Fokas reflects the University of Thessaly’s commitment to recognising scientific excellence. Moreover, this distinction highlights the growing importance of interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary medicine. His pioneering work demonstrates how mathematics, physics, computational science, and artificial intelligence can advance medical research and diagnostics.
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