Themistoklis Sapsis

Themistoklis Sapsis succeeded in harnessing the elements of nature. Upon receiving the Onassis Foundation Scholarship, he moved to the USA, where he completed his PhD at MIT in the field of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics. His research focuses on systems where extreme phenomena occur, such as weather and climate events.

His work has particularly emphasized the formulation of mathematical methods for prediction, statistical quantification, and the optimization of complex engineering and physical systems with extreme transient features, such as turbulent fluid flows in engineering and geophysical settings, nonlinear waves, and extreme ship motions. “An important issue is probabilities. That is, how often these situations occur. We need this both for planning and for avoiding it,” he explains.

One of his most outstanding achievements has been the extreme event prediction algorithm. Governments across the globe use findings from his research to stay informed and take adequate measures to protect citizens from natural disasters. He further notes: “We have developed algorithms that allow accurate calculation of extreme events at low computational cost, which are used by civil protection for policy making. For example, the extreme rainfall event in Thessaly last year is of great interest.”

Themistoklis Sapsis is currently the William I. Koch Professor of Mechanical and Ocean Engineering at MIT, as well as the institute’s Director of the Center for Ocean Engineering.