The winner of the renowned 2018 Rolf Nevanlinna Prize in mathematics, Constantinos (“Costis”) Daskalakis, who is an MIT professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and principal investigator at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), told the Athens News Agency that while receiving the award his mind travelled to his home-country Greece and the victims of the fires.
“Greece came to my mind whose contribution to both mathematics and wider human thought was an inspiration throughout my life. Finally, I remembered the recent tragedy with the fires of Attica and the unjust loss of so many people. All of these thoughts coexisted in my mind when I went to the stage to receive the prize and brought me a lot of emotion.”
“When I learned that my work was recognised with this incredible distinction, I felt great honour and joy. Then I thought of all the people without whom I would not have reached here: my parents and my brother, my grandmother, my girlfriend, my friends, my teachers and my students.”

“I am glad to have been able to contribute to Greek thought. Greece has a lot of talent and I hope the conditions will soon be created to reduce the “brain drain” and our young people can create within Greece without distractions “, he added
The President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopouos and the leader of the opposition party, Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent their congratulations to the scientist for his distinction.