1994 – 1999

  • The Foundation, in collaboration with the Technical Museum of Thessaloniki, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the French Institute of Thessaloniki and the Paris Foundation of Lavillette-Cite’ des Sciences et de I’ Industrie co-organized the exhibition on the Environment titled: “Which Earth for our Children?”. The exhibition took place in Thessaloniki from January 12 to February 24, 1994 and it was visited by approximately 30,000 students from schools of Northern Greece. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by Greek and French officials and the Vice President of the Foundation Professor Christos Zerefos, on behalf of the President Mrs. Ekaterini-Nina Mariolopoulos, donated a vertical section of Pausania’s oak to the Technical Museum of Thessaloniki.

    Branch section of the historical oak of 1 meter diameter (on display at the Natural History Museum (Goulandris) and in the lecture hall of the Foundation)

    Announcement of the Exhibition “Which Earth for our Children?”

    This exhibit is currently on display at the Goulandri Natural History Museum in Athens, in the Foundation’s lecture hall and the last one in the then Technical Museum of Thessaloniki (currently known as Intellect [Noesis]). Pausania’s oak, according to Plutarch, was the tree to which Alexander the Great tied his tent before the battle of Chaeronea. The exhibit is a descendant of the historic oak, it was designated as a Preserved Natural Monument (GG (FEK) 589/2.10.1985) which was unfortunately destroyed after a lightning strike in the spring of 1987. In the GG (FEK) in particular it is referred to as “A unique individual oak (QUERCUS AEGILOPS), along with its surrounding area which is biologically and ecologically necessary for its effective protection, known by the name “The Tree”, located in the geographical and plain area of the Anthochorion community in Boeotia, and is of great botanical, ecological and aesthetic value and according to a local tradition it is associated with Alexander the Great’s passing through this place”.

  • The Foundation, in collaboration with the Regional Scout Organization of Thessaloniki, the Technical Museum, the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Postgraduate Program of Environmental Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, participated in the organization of the Exhibition titled “Youth and Environment” which took place in Thessaloniki from February 1 to 28, 1995. The exhibition was visited by 40,000 students.
  • The Foundation awarded cash prizes to the students of the following Secondary Schools that participated in the 1st student competition of Environmental Programs held by Athens College from May 5 to May 6, 1995: the Gymnasium of Athens College, the 49th Athens Gymnasium and the 2nd Gymnasium of Agia Varvara in Athens.
  • The Foundation contributed to the organization of the International Ozone Conference in Chalcidice in May 1995 titled “Ozone in the Lower Stratosphere“ in which 350 scientists from all around the world participated. Among the co-organizers were the European Union, NASA, the Ministry of Environment and Water (YPEKA), the National Ozone Committee and other international organizations. The Conference was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Mr. Constantine Stephanopoulos. The proceedings of the Conference were published in the form of summaries and certain articles in a special edition of the reputable Journal of Geophysical Research (102, D1, p. 1335-1590, 1997).
  • During the ceremony in which the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry winner, Professor P.J. Crutzen was nominated as an Honorary Doctor of the Physics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in May 1996, the Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation for the Environmental Sciences honored the Nobel winner with the Foundation’s Gold Medal of Excellence. Professor P.J. Crutzen was subsequently elected a member of the Foundation’s Board in 1997.
  • The late Academician P. Theocharis presents Professor P.J. Crutzen (Nobel of Chemistry, 1995) with the Foundation’s Gold Medal of Excellence.

    The Foundation participated in the coorganization of activities within the framework of the competitive Research Program «Photochemical Activity and Solar Ultraviolet Radiation (PAUR)» of the European Commission. The Program was funded by the 12th Directorate of the European Union.

  • The Foundation participated in the International Conference of Ancient Greek Technology which was held during the project “Thessaloniki, Cultural Capital”, in August 1997.
  • The Foundation participated in the UNESCO Conference which took place in Thessaloniki in December1997. During the event, the Foundation together with the Balkan Environmental Research and Development Institute (ΒΕRDI), awarded the Gold Medal of Excellence to the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations, Professor G.O.P. Obasi.
  • The Foundation, in collaboration with The Balkan Environmental Research and Development Institute (ΒΕRDI) and the 12th Directorate of the European Union, coorganized an International Conference in Chalcidice, titled “Eastern Europe and Global Change” on the environmental problems and the required actions in the countries of Eastern Europe. 120 scientists from 20 countries participated in the Conference. The 300-page volume of the Conference Proceedings was printed by the Bureau of Official Publications of the European Union in Luxembourg.
  • The Foundation co-sponsored the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Balkan Association of Physicists which was held in Thessaloniki between 10-13 December, 1997.
  • Creation of a special account in the World Meteorological Organization in a Geneva bank titled “WMO Professor Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award” with the aim of funding prizes which are awarded by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations to commemorate Professor Mariolopoulos’ preeminent contribution to modern Meteorology and Climatology, especially in Greece. The Fund has set up a biannual award since 1998 (more info).
  • The Foundation, in collaboration with the Balkan Environmental Research and Development Institute (ΒΕRDI) and the Balkan Association of Physicists, announced the Environmental Balkaniad. The awards were presented by the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization to students from Romania, FYROM, Turkey and Greece in a ceremony that took place at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in October 1998.
  • The awarding ceremony for the prize “WMO Professor Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award”, which is under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was held in the Ceremony Hall of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in October 1998. The prize (commemorative medal and 2,000 US$) was presented by the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Professor G.O.P. Obasi to the study: “Correlations between tropopause height and total ozone: Implications for long-term changes” by Steinbrecht, W., H. Claude and U. Kohler of the Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeisenberg, Germany.
  • Τhe Foundation co-financed the operations and the ceremony for the 70-year anniversary of the establishment of the Physics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where Professor Mariolopoulos served as one of its first professors.

Senators of AUTH, professors and the Vice Rector Mrs. O. Gimba-Tsiambiri with the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization, Professor G.O.P. Obasi with the award winners (October, 1998).

Professors and students of the NATO Advanced Study Institute at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, in Kolymbari, Chania (1999).

WMO Secretary General G.O.P. Obasi presents Dr. Wolfgang Steinbrecht with the “Professor Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award” (October 1998).

  • An honourable mention was given to the studies: “Lyapunov vectors and error growth patterns in a T21L3 quasigeostrophic model” by Vannitsem, St. and C. Nicolis of the Institut Royale Meteorologie de Belgique and “The effects of cloud processes on the tropospheric photochemistry: An improvement of the Eurad model with a coupled gaseous and aqueous chemical mechanism” by Liu X., G. Mauersberger and D. Moller of Brandenburg Technical University, Germany.
  • The Foundation co-financed the Advanced Study Institute (EU Advanced Study Course) titled «Interactions between Chemical compounds, the ozone Layer and UV-B fluxes (ICLU)» of the 12th European Directorate held in Chalkidiki in October 1998.
  • The Foundation participated in co-financing the Research Program «Photochemical Activity and Solar Ultraviolet Radiation Modulation Factors (PAUR II)». The Program was financed mainly by the 12th Directorate of the European Union.
  • The Foundation co-financed the NATO Advanced Study Institute titled «Chemistry and Radiation Changes in the Ozone Layer” which was held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolymbari, Chania in May 1999 and was co-organized by the E.U. and the Foundation.