Tributes

Panayotis Assimakopoulos

Greece, Europe

My husband, Panayotis Assimakopoulos '61, a Wien Scholar from 1959 to ’61, would surely have written this tribute himself had his life not been cut short by cancer last year.

The two years he spent at Brandeis, thanks to Lawrence Wien, instilled values in him that would become the foundation for a lifelong involvement in service to others on every level -- from the personal to the communal, national and international -- that has become emblematic of Lawrence Wien and the students whose education he so generously financed.

A nuclear physicist and member of the Greek Atomic Energy Commission, Panayotis was a full professor at the University of Ioannina in Greece, a prominent researcher in his field, and the author of many books and papers in scientific journals. He held many high-level university posts through the years, among them chairman of the Physics Department, director of the Nuclear Physics Laboratory, and director of the University Hospital. He also chaired and served as an advisory member and evaluator on scores of European and Greek government committees, such as the National Council for Research and Technology and the European Economic Community Selection Board for Nuclear Reactor Safety Officers.

He was always grateful for his Wien education, and had the opportunity to express his gratitude at both the 25th Wien celebration at Brandeis in 1983, where he was among those decorated, and again in 1988 at the 30th celebration, where he gave a talk on the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

In 1979, Lawrence and Mae Wien stopped in Greece for several days while on a Mediterranean cruise, and we had the honor and the pleasure of taking them to dinner at a fine Athenian restaurant. At the end of the evening, impressed by their informed and knowledgeable conversation, and emboldened by their easy-going, unassuming manner, we thanked them effusively not only for Panayotis’ education, but also, as I remember, for giving us the chance to meet, and eventually to marry and create an international family (we have two daughters, Anna, born in 1967, and Daphne, born in 1972). So Lawrence Wien’s influence was in fact four-fold.

Much has been said by former Wien students of the benefits of their Wien education. I must add and stress that the benefits of this remarkable program were not only for the Wien students, but for all the students at Brandeis. The international atmosphere on campus was a rare learning opportunity for us Americans, too, and the friendships we made there broadened our own horizons, both during and after Brandeis. If everyone in America were lucky enough to have the education we had, and share the values of people like Lawrence Wien, our country would surely be in a position of much higher esteem worldwide than it is at present. So let the Wien legacy go forth, through us and our children and for generations to come!