Announcements

NKUA: Participation of Space Physics Group and Professor Ioannis Daglis in a European research project on Space Safety

NKUA: Participation of Space Physics Group and Professor Ioannis Daglis in a European research project on Space Safety

Last week, the Progress Review of the European research project FARBES (Forecast of Actionable Radiation Belt Scenarios – https://www.farbes.eu/) was conducted successfully. FARBES is funded through Horizon Europe and pertains to space safety. NKUA participates as partner of the consortium implementing the project and is represented by the Space Physics Group (http://www.space.phys.uoa.gr/) and its leader, Prof. Ioannis Daglis.

Near-Earth space is riddled with high energy electrons, which are trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field. It is important to know when those electrons gain energy and how, because they can impact the services and the integrity of satellites. Similarly to how meteorologists have models for how the weather works and use observations to make forecasts, there are models for how ‘space weather’ works but observations are more difficult to come by, because space is big and we can only have spaceships observing tiny parts of it at any one time.

FARBES aims to improve this situation by using readily available measurements from ground observatories to quickly run models with them. In our part of the project, we are looking into how we can measure a particular type of process, the radial diffusion of electrons from ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves. The electrons that are trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field bounce up and down in it between the two poles, but they also drift sideways, orbiting the planet. As they do so they feel the effect of electromagnetic waves that are also moving around there. When the two are in resonance, electrons can be moved closer or further from the Earth, gaining or losing energy in the process. This is a statistical process, since some electrons will gain energy and some will lose it, but on average they will be moving in one of those directions. This gradual movement is called radial diffusion, and we need to know how fast it happens. For this we need the strength of the electric field out in space.

Because the magnetic field lines there are shaped like those of a dipole (unless they’re very far away from the Earth or are on the side that gets swept away by the sun’s constant particle wind), we can tell, to an extent, what’s happening at a point on the Earth’s equatorial plane out in space by looking at that’s happening down at where the dipole’s field line meets the surface of the Earth. With magnetometers there, we can measure changes in the magnetic field and use a set of equations to deduce what the electric field is doing out in space. This is what we did, using two arrays of magnetometers that span Europe from Scandinavia in the north to Greece in the south (EMMA and ENIGMA). We developed a code that reads the magnetometers’ measurements and converts them into a coefficient that models can then use to see how electrons are diffusing at that time.

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Figure: A sketch of the Earth’s magnetic field lines intersecting the Radiation Belts. Electrons bounce up and down along those lines but also drift around the Earth and can be diffused inwards or outwards. We can use magnetometers on Earth to measure changes along the magnetic field lines.

That code will be further refined and tested in future months. We can also use it to investigate some effects when the magnetic field lines are not very much like those of a dipole, and see what kind of corrections we can make in that case.

Boston University President Visits the University of Athens: A 151-Year Legacy of Collaboration

Boston University President Visits the University of Athens: A 151-Year Legacy of Collaboration

Melissa Gilliam, President of Boston University, visited the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where she was warmly received by the Rector, Professor Gerasimos Siasos. Accompanying President Gilliam were Gloria Waters, Provost and Chief Academic Officer; Tuoyang Mu, Director of International Advancement; and Katerina Lykiardopoulos, member of Boston University’s International Advisory Board. From the University […]

The Department of Pharmacy’s English-Taught Programme Is Now a Reality!

The Department of Pharmacy’s English-Taught Programme Is Now a Reality!

2 October 2025 marked a milestone for the Department of Pharmacy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens: the MPharm has officially launched! It was the first day of classes for the Integrated Master’s in Pharmacy, and the new intake of students stepped into the University’s lecture halls! People from five countries abroad started […]

University of Athens—Cyprus Branch Achieves Full Compliance

University of Athens—Cyprus Branch Achieves Full Compliance

The accreditation process for the Cyprus Branch of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has now been fully completed. In its initial phase, the Branch will comprise 4 Schools and 8 Departments, located in two cities: Nicosia and Larnaca. More specifically, the Schools and Departments are as follows: i) School of Health Sciences (Nicosia): […]

Professor Gerassimos D. Pagratis to Deliver Lecture at Princeton University

Professor Gerassimos D. Pagratis to Deliver Lecture at Princeton University

Professor Gerassimos D. Pagratis from the Department of Italian Language and Literature at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens will be giving a lecture at Princeton University on Friday, 3 October 2025, at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time, US), titled ‘The Septinsular Republic (1800–1807): International Relations, Consular Network, and Diplomacy’. https://hellenic.princeton.edu/events/2025/workshop-gerassimos-d-pagratis-septinsular-republic-1800-1807-international-relations

University of Athens Postgraduate Programme ‘Journalism and New Media’ Hosts Euromedia Research Group Meeting

University of Athens Postgraduate Programme ‘Journalism and New Media’ Hosts Euromedia Research Group Meeting

The Postgraduate Programme in Journalism and New Media, with active involvement from its Director, Professor Stelios Papathanassopoulos, hosted the Euromedia Research Group meeting. Founded in 1982, the Euromedia Research Group is considered the oldest network of European media researchers. It was initially set up by prominent members of the academic community at the time, including […]

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens’ School of Law Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Hellenic Diplomatic Academy

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens’ School of Law Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Hellenic Diplomatic Academy

The School of Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the Hellenic Diplomatic Academy (HDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, aiming to strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation. The Dean of the School of Law, Professor Konstantinos Christodoulou, and the Director of HDA, Ambassador Michael Diamessis, formalized […]

University of Athens’ Department of Digital Arts and Cinema Participates in the IMPULSE Pre-Hackathon Workshop in Malta!

University of Athens’ Department of Digital Arts and Cinema Participates in the IMPULSE Pre-Hackathon Workshop in Malta!

The Department of Digital Arts and Cinema at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens actively participated in the Pre-Hackathon Workshop: Artistic Practices, which took place on September 17-18, 2025, in Malta and Gozo within the context of the IMPULSE (HORIZON) Project. Assistant Professor Caterina Antonopoulou and Dr George Anastasakis attended on behalf of the […]

Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis Meets with University of Athens Rector Professor Gerasimos Siasos

Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis Meets with University of Athens Rector Professor Gerasimos Siasos

Announcement by the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Today, Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis met with Professor Gerasimos Siasos, Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), at the Parliament building. During their discussion, Professor Siasos updated Mr Kaklamanis on recent developments at NKUA, including the latest international partnerships with leading […]

University of Athens

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which was inaugurated on May 3, 1837, was initially housed in a renovated Ottoman building on the northeastern side of the Acropolis. This building has since been restored and now functions as the University Museum. Originally named the "Othonian University," after Otto, the first king of Greece, it consisted of four academic departments and 52 students. As the first university of the newly established Greek state, as well as of the broader Balkan and Mediterranean region, it assumed an important socio-historical role, which was pivotal in the development of specific forms of knowledge and culture within the country.

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