GSO4SCHOOL Summer School 2020
His contribution to the development of Computer Science has been profound and of determinant value, giving him the 2007 ACM A.M Turing Award and making him one of the most important Greek scientists at international level. In 2012 he has received the Leonardo da Vinci Medal.
Professor Joseph Sifakis, Director of the Center for Integrative Research, Grenoble, Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausane (EPFL), Switzerland, founder of the VERIMAG Laboratory, a public research laboratory with a prominent role in embedded systems, and recently elected President of the National Council of Research and Technology of Greece, talks about his research activities, his cooperation with Airbus and the people he is moved by.
By Amalia Drosou,
journalist, science communication at CERTH
Please tell us about your research activities. Where do you focus on?
The topic of my research activity throughout my career is on what we call “critical systems” i.e. systems whose damage or failure of their operation may have devastating effects on the environment as well as on people. I started as a researcher by trying to verify that the software is correct with respect to given specifications, or to find out in which case specifications are violated. The research area Ι investigate changes approximately every decade. My results on verification were applied initially in avionics industry. Today I apply them to much more general systems such as telecommunications systems and all Internet-based applications.
What did your research offer regarding the cooperation with the Airbus industry?
Our partnership with Airbus started in the late ‘ 80s early ‘ 90s. At that time, Airbus wanted to replace the manual control of its aircraft. The idea was to put a computer between the pilot and the electromechanical parts of the aircraft, so that the pilot’s commands could be interpreted by the computer and then have the computer to control the aircraft accordingly. This is a technology called “fly-by-wire” and this was applied on passenger aircrafts for the first time by Airbus. This gave the Airbus company advantages over her competition with Boeing, which used the same technology 6-7 years later. The first aircraft, which came out with this technology was the A320, which is now the most widely used passenger jet.
The use of computers brought also other benefits such as large savings in fuels, because the computer could optimize aircraft dynamics, and many more.
Which is the greatest challenge that computer science is facing nowadays?
A big challenge is the creation of systems more “intelligent”, which will have the ability to control the production processes, the distribution of resources and the management organization. Systems which will be able to use and allocate critical resources (energy- water) in the best possible way. Such “optimization” should not be done at country level but rather at the level of a continent. For example, “Smart networks”, the so-called smart grids, will manage inter-country power distribution. If for example Greece cannot produce enough electricity, the “smart” market should automatically allow it to buy electricity from other countries, which have excess of it and vice versa.
Even regarding the consumption of water — a critical resource for many countries in the world if one considers that the population of the Earth is increasing almost exponentially – could be used intelligently by systems to program irrigation only when necessary.
In which way can Greek research centers and universities remain competitive internationally? How can we improve the interconnection between research and its practical application?
Greece has the duty to exploit its great scientific potential. The State must create the framework, which will allow Greek research and innovation production to connect with the real economy. On the one hand, to motivate researchers and academics and on the other, the Greek enterprises and the Greek industry. Such a framework is missing unfortunately today from Greece.
How does the international public opinion treat Greece today?
Maybe there have been fluctuations. When the first signs of the Greek crisis came up, many began to wonder. Some have adopted a critical attitude towards Greece. Now that the crisis is evident in many other countries of Western Europe, particularly in France, I think the French have a greater understanding of the phenomenon. From France we have an important “capital of sympathy”. We are the people who considered-and rightly so-that we have put the bases of the western – European culture and this is something which is universally recognized.
Your origin is from Izmir and Crete. What images are imprinted in your mind from your childhood days?
My mother’s family lineage is from Izmir and my father’s from Crete. On the one hand, my grandparents from Izmir were from urban families who came as refugees in 1922. What I learned from these people is the love for work and creation. They were hardworking people, creative people, always ready to rebuild their lives from nothing. The second and very important is that the destruction that marked their lives had to a certain extent, an influence on me too. It helped me understand the fate and history of Greece.
On the other hand, my father’s family was from the South of the Prefecture of Heraklion, Crete, a rural family. Passing the summers at my grandfather’s house, I met the rural life. I came very close to nature, the traditions, the Cretan song. My grandfather had studied and had graduated from “scholarcheio”, something very important those days, and had a very large library although he was a cobbler. He was the person who cultivated my inherent curiosity and my thirst for knowledge.
Do you believe in Greece? In what kind of “Greek” person do you believe?
There’s something unique over the Greeks, the “Hellenism” who has survived throughout the centuries in every adversity. I believe that we will overcome the current crisis. Moreover, I think that the crisis has highlighted some very positive characteristics of ourselves, some roots that we have: the Greek is earnest, generous and helps those in need. Sometimes I dare the comparison with other Western European Nations Ι know off, and I find that there people are much more self-centered.
What is your dream about Greece?
The renaissance of Greece. To come back to the scientific issues, say that I’m interested in research-technology-innovation. There is a huge potential of high level – educated people, who can be creative and very successful, something that is proved when Greeks go abroad. So, we have all the conditions to make a start, if there is unity, a common vision and of course the political will to do so.
Which Greek poet inspires you most?
I’m passionate about poetry. A great thinker for me is Giorgos Seferis, whose vision for Greece, profoundly moves me. And another, Odysseus Elytis, who taught me how to understand the world. But what I also admire are some ordinary people that I have met. Someone may be a very “strong mind” in his area but missing humanity. I’ve seen ordinary people, who are really “big”. And this is something which touches my heart.
– The interview was originally held in Greek while it has been also translated in English.
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