Professor Dionysis Simopoulos passed away at the age of 79. The astrophysicist and honorary director of the Eugenides Planetarium was battling cancer.

Dionysis Simopoulos passed away “quietly, surrounded by his family”, the Eugenides Foundation said in a statement.

“The man who for more than 50 years was at the helm of the Eugenides Planetarium, as its Director and later as Honorary Director, is no longer with us. Dionysis Simopoulos left us today, quietly, surrounded by his family. Our beloved Dionysis Simopoulos Goodbye,” the post reads.

Dionysis Simopoulos had spoken publicly and bravely about the health problem he was facing. “I am an Epicurean. Epicurus said that death is where it is. As long as they are far from us, we don’t care. If death comes, we still don’t care, because we will be gone. There is no problem with such a philosophy”, he had said.

Who was Dionysis Simopoulos?

He was born in Ioannina on March 8, 1943 but grew up in Patras. He studied Political Communication at the University of Louisiana (USA). During the same period, he was awarded various awards and honors in the fields of communication.

He began work in January 1968 and served as Curator (Jan.-Sep. 1968), Assistant Director of Education (Sep. 1968-Sep. 1969), and Planetarium Director (Sep. 1969-Mar. 1973) at the Arts and Sciences Center of Louisiana (Louisiana Art & Science Museum) as well as Special Advisor for Science Education to the School Board (1970-1973).

In October 1972 he was invited to Athens by the Eugenides Foundation where he worked as Director of the Eugenides Planetarium (Apr. 1973-Apr. 2014). He had taught in dozens of training seminars for university graduates and business executives as a lecturer on communication, decision-making and problem solving issues, he had actively attended numerous Conferences and Seminars where he presented his work, and he had published hundreds of his articles and studies in Greek and foreign magazines and newspapers.

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He served as president of the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE – European Association for Astronomy Education) (1994-2002), member of the Board of Directors of the International Planetarium Society (1978-2008), Secretary General of the Union of European and Mediterranean Planetariums (1976-2008) ), Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of England (since 1978) and the International Planetary Society (since 1980), and regular member of many other international scientific organizations.

In 1996 he received the highest honor (IPS Service Award) of the International Planetary Society for his contribution to international astronomical education, while in 2006 he was honored with the “Academic Palm” (Palmes Academiques) of the Ministry of Education of France.

On October 17, 2012, the Union of Hellenic Physicists (UEF) honored him for his contribution to the popularization of science in a special event.

At the established annual session of the Academy of Athens on December 22, 2015, the country’s highest intellectual institution awarded him “for his overall contribution to the popularization and dissemination of Astronomy and the exemplary operation of the Eugenides Planetarium”.