Vassilis Papazachos ( el, Βασίλης Παπαζάχος; 30 September 1929 – 10 November 2022)Eminent Seismologist and Geophysics Professor Vassilis Papazachos Dies, aged 92
/ref> was a Greek

seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

and author of ''Earthquakes of Greece''. Born on 30 September 1929 in the village of ''Smokovo'' in Karditsa regional unit, Vassilis Papazachos studied physics in the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

, Greece. He received a M.Sc. in geophysics from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

(1963) and a doctorate in Seismology from the University of Athens (1961). He first became involved in

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

as an assistant of professor Angelos Galanopoulos (1955–1956) and then moved to the Geodynamic Institute of the

National Observatory of Athens The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; el, Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece, as it was the first scientific resea ...

(1956–1977). Later in his career he became Professor of Seismology in the Aristotle University (1977–1998), where he was still active as an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. Papazachos always attracted publicity in his country Greece, which is highly seismogenic and has been tormented by many earthquakes both in historic and prehistoric times. He was an ardent opposer of

Panayotis Varotsos Panayiotis Varotsos ( el, Παναγιώτης Βαρώτσος; born November 28, 1947 in Patras) is a Greek physicist and former professor in the Department of Physics of the University of Athens, notable for his VAN method to predict earthquak ...

and the

VAN method A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...

for earthquake prediction, which he called ''"the greatest science joke of the century"''. Vassilis Papazachos was also involved in Greek politics for long time. A supporter of the left, he was asked by the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...

to lead their ticket and run for mayor of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, but he refused, saying that such active involvement would distract him from his scientific work. However, he eventually ran for mayor in his birthplace with the support of the

Synaspismos The Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology ( el, Συνασπισμός της Αριστεράς των Κινημάτων και της Οικολογίας, ''Synaspismós tīs Aristerás tōn Kinīmátōn kai tīs Oikologías''), com ...

party of the radical left. He was also a candidate state MP in the

2000 Greek legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 9 April 2000.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p830 The ruling PASOK of Prime Minister Costas Simitis was narrowly re-elected, defeating the conservative ...

, again for Synaspismos.

References

1929 births 2022 deaths Academic staff of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greek seismologists Coalition of Left, of Movements and Ecology politicians Saint Louis University physicists People from Karditsa (regional unit) 20th-century Greek scientists 20th-century earth scientists 21st-century Greek scientists 21st-century earth scientists 20th-century physicists 21st-century physicists 20th-century Greek politicians {{Greece-scientist-stub