Excellence of IA

The Institute of Astrophysics follows the long tradition of research excellence, which has established FORTH as the best research organisation in Greece and one of the better institutes in Europe, normalized for its size. We ensure that we recruit very high quality personnel at all positions and foster an environment which supports bottom up initiatives and academic freedom. As a result, the 2022 evaluation of all research institutes in Greece organised by GSRI ranked the Institute of Astrophysics in the first place. Some of metrics which supported this conclusion follow

Refereed Publications
In terms of publications of scientific results, IA has the most productive permanent members in Greece. The yearly average metrics of the current 10 tenured ΙΑ members is 7 refereed papers and 700 citations. Moreover, since the foundation of the institute in 2018 the members of IA have published ~450 refereed papers, including several in high impact prestigious journals such as: Nature (2 papers), Nature Astronomy (3 papers), Nature Communications (1 paper), Science (2 papers), Annual Review of Astronomy & Astrophysics (1 review). 

Research Funding
The research excellence of IA is also recognized and supported by funding agencies both in Greece and abroad. From 2018 until the end of 2024, the members of IA have secured  ~15,1 MEuros of competitive funding, 90% of which were from research programs of the European Commission and ESA. These include 6 highly competitive European Research Council Grants, of the 7 that have been awarded in the area of Universe Sciences (PE9) in Greece. These are:

Research Infrastructure
The Institute of Astrophysics manages Skinakas Observatory, a common research infrastructure of the Univ. of Crete and FORTH, which became a reality thanks to a donation of land on the homonymous mountaintop of Psiloritis by the historic town of Anogeia. The Οbservatory currently hosts three optical telescopes: a 1.3m, a 0.6m and a 0.3m. Data from these telescopes have contributed to 280 refereed papers which received 8700 citations. Moreover by the end of 2025 two more new optical telescopes, a 1.0m and 1.2m will be installed on the observatory, along with TURBO (=Total-Coverage Ultra-Fast Response to Binary Mergers Observatory), an array of 16 small robotic telescopes each with a 25cm diameter mirror. These new telescopes and associated instrumentation, along with "Astroschool" a new multipurpose building with an 85seat hall and a 5.3m dome currently under construction, the improvements on the access road and the new connections of the Observatory to the fibre optic and electric grid of the island of Crete, will more than double the value of the infrastructure at Skinakas Observatory, which will reach 10.5MEuros.  

In addition, a new radio infrastructure, called ARGOS, is funded with 3MEuros by the European Commission and it is currently under development on the FORTH campus. Its goal is to provide by the end of 2025 a novel low cost exploration of the transient radio sky combining five radio dishes 6m in diameter, which will enable large field of view high angular resolution and extremely high cadence.

Academic Recognition
The members of the Institute of Astrophysics have received a number of awards, prizes, and recognitions for their academic contributions and leadership. Some of these include:

Mentoring Students and Postdocs
The members of the Institute of Astrophysics have mentored many PhD students and postdocs who moved on to prestigious fellowships as well as received a number of awards. Some highlights of these are:

Overall, since 2005 the current members of IA-FORTH have mentored 16 PhD students and 26 postdocs. Of those 16(=3+13) have already obtained permanent researcher positions, 2 in Greece and 14 abroad.