Farewell: Prof. Dr. Anthimos Georgiadis - The far-sighted physicist

2023-01-18 In the 1990s, Anthimos Georgiadis was one of the pioneers of eye laser technology. Later he had a decisive influence on engineering sciences at Leuphana, for example by facilitating cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre Hereon. With the "robot factory" he made future technologies tangible for everyone. Now the professor of measurement technology and intelligent systems is retiring.

Prof. Dr. Anthimos Georgiadis ©Leuphana/Marie Meyer
"For both students and employees of regional companies, the Robonatives Initiative offers the opportunity to interactively experience the topic of robotics and to develop and expand competence in this area," says the professor.

Lasers have become indispensable in ophthalmology. Short-sightedness and long-sightedness can be corrected in certain cases. In the 1990s, Prof. Dr. Anthimos Georgiadis was one of the pioneers who treated short-sightedness with the help of a high-precision laser, the so-called excimer laser. "To this day, our publication on this is the most cited of my scientific career," says the physicist. At that time, he was still researching at the University of Crete and founded the Institute for Medical Laser Technologies in Ophthalmic Surgery (VEIC), Crete, together with the ophthalmologist Dr. Loannis G. Pallikaris. To this day, eye surgeries are performed there using lasers. "Our research was also funded by the FDA at the time," explains Anthimos Georgiadis. The Federal Drug Administration monitors drug approvals in the USA.

The physicist also conducted research on laser technology at Leuphana: together with the Lüneburg-based company LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen, the Institute of Production Technology and Systems at Leuphana is working on improving cancer therapy with laser technology. The aim is to ensure the highest possible safety in imaging and patient marking for the precise application of radiation sources in tumour therapy. "This problem has occupied medicine for a long time; me since I was a PhD student. It is still not properly solved," explains Anthimos Georgiadis.

In the course of his scientific career, the researcher has often worked with companies such as the internationally active fire protection company Wagner from Hanover: "The development of new sensors has been very interesting for me scientifically. With special polymer strips, the very first products of a smouldering fire can be detected in the air," explains the physicist. The fire protection technology is used, for example, in server rooms or on container ships. The system is now so sensitive that it can even distinguish between cigarette brands. "These are intelligent systems," says the researcher.

More and more intelligent systems are also being used in production to ensure or increase quality. Anthimos Georgiadis has developed intelligent systems for zero defect manufacturing or for machining difficult-to-machine materials as part of European and national projects. Such systems are now being used for automatic monitoring and further optimisation using machine learning. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are also applied to develop so-called predictive maintenance systems in manufacturing, such as ball-bearing-based rotating systems.

In 2015, Anthimos Georgiadis initiated the cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre Hereon in Geesthacht. "Through the cooperation, we have access to large-scale research facilities with lasers and electron microscopes. For Leuphana, the cooperation is an excellent addition to the research infrastructure," he says. Conversely, the Helmholtz Centre Hereon also benefits from the university connection, for example through three new professorships.

Just two years ago, Anthimos Georgiadis opened the "robot factory" at Leuphana, which is part of the "Robonatives Initiative Northeast Lower Saxony". "For both students and employees of regional companies, the Robonatives Initiative offers the opportunity to interactively experience the topic of robotics and to develop and expand competence in this area," says the professor. For example, autonomous vehicles for production or production logistics are being developed in ongoing projects together with industrial companies.

Anthimos Georgiadis is not saying goodbye to research and teaching quite yet. In the coming months, he will continue to supervise doctoral students at the 3D Campus in Bergedorf, the DESY research centre, the Fraunhofer Institute and at Bosch, among others.

Anthimos Georgiades graduated in physics from RWTH Aachen University and the University of Cologne in 1980. In 1985 he was awarded a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.). Until 1992 he taught as a visiting professor of physics at the University of Crete. From 1992 to 1995 he was a visiting professor at the University of Thessalia. As co-founder of the Institute for Medical Laser Technologies in Ophthalmic Surgery (VEIC) at the University of Crete, he was its executive director until 1995. In 1996, Anthimos Georgiades became Professor of "Measurement and Electronics" at the Department of Automation Technology of the University of Applied Sciences of NON, then in 2002 Professor of "Measurement and Intelligent Systems" at the Department of Automation Technology of the University of Applied Sciences of NON. In 2003, he was appointed Visiting Professor at the Democritus University of Thraki, Greece. In 2005 Anthimos Georgiadis became Professor for "Measurement Technology and Intelligent Systems" at Leuphana University Lüneburg.

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