We are the ones we have been waiting for. The day the Mandra floods occurred in Greece, I was sitting in the comfort of my History of Social Sciences class. As the ideas of Plato, Schopenhauer, and Kant filled our morning, our teacher stopped abruptly to inform us of the news. One of my country’s poorest communities, one that has been chronically struggling with societal inequalities, was now left with almost nothing. That same afternoon, we assembled a small...

Harmony. The harmony that dominates our existence has been one of the wonders which have fascinated me from a very young age. Life is characterized by it in each and every aspect; all cells, all tissues, all organs working in an absolute harmony inside each individual, creating the euphony of existence. This is exactly what drew me to science, the way the entirety of the universe seems to be drawn into parallel with all of its aspects. The complexity of...

New York University Abu Dhabi, to me, is a form of liberation truly unique. It offers me the academic freedom to pursue whatever ignites my curiosity from Bioelectronics, to Middle Eastern Politics, to Applied Psycholinguistics. As a FinTech entrepreneur who spends her afternoons building quantum algorithms and her weekends chairing Model UN committees on legal issues, I have always found it difficult to fit into a single, cookie-cutter form of a student. At NYUAD, I will not have to compromise...

Diving into the world of quantum mechanics and scientific self-discovery Michael A. Nielsen and Isaac L. Chuang, "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information" Martin Laforest, PhD, "The Mathematics of Quantum Mechanics" Theodore A. Jacobson and Renaud Parentani, "An Echo of Black Holes" George Musser, "The Quantum Physics of Free Will" Hans C. Ohanian and Remo Ruffini, "Black-Hole Thermodynamics; The Hawking Process" from Gravitation and Spacetime John Stachel, "The Rigidity Rotating Disk as the 'Missing Link' in the History of 'General Relativity'"...

I aspire to study engineering because I believe it to be an excellent way for me to harness my curiosity for the world around me and my passion for sustainability and global justice. Going into engineering, I am excited to utilize scientific knowledge to create tailored biotechnology solutions for developing countries. There truly is no better way for me to do so than Duke's Engineering World Health program. At Duke, engineering takes its most 'outrageously ambitious' form. With research areas...

The switch is flipped, and I watch my teammates’ eyes glisten as they wait for the screen to display the results. I count down silently: 3, 2, 1. Suddenly, the VDU lights up with our data, which took 3 months to be developed. During those three months, my robotics teammates and I took up the challenge of the World Robot Olympiad to develop a robot that could detect household energy use and suggest more sustainable habits to the house owners. We spent our afternoons...

Scientific pursuit with purpose has always been my foremost priority in my education. As a summer scholar at Perimeter Institute's ISSYP program, I spent my summer exploring quantum technologies, finding myself baffled by the opportunities that quantum computing could prospectively offer to LEDC development. Similarly, as a Biomedical Engineering major at Northwestern University, I could pursue this 'spark' through the Center for Quantum Devices in tandem with community outreach through ISEN. An aspect of a Northwestern Education particularly appealing to...

My journey in Engineering began with the F1 in Schools Engineering challenge, where I designed an F1 model using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis, and Computer Aided Design tools. As my team’s Design Engineer and Research Manager, I also engaged in a research project at the National Technical University of Athens developing new models of hydrodynamic testing and new systems of correlation for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) - lab water tunnel testing. One of the most perspective shifting...

My ‘ability to do’ flourishes through ‘eureka’ moments- finishing that final mathematics proof that perfectly knits together my research, a new resolution for an MUN resolution, or simply receiving a ‘thank you’ note from one of my mentees. It is the moments that define my work as significant and impactful, at the smallest level, that constitutes the moving force of my academic career. Living in a country defined by the problems it faces, my ‘ability to do’ bloomed under the...

In the midst of an extensive economic and humanitarian crisis, political corruption in Greece is raging on at alarming rates. Hundreds of global corporations are withdrawing from the country, shocked by the cronyism and political immorality that dominates the public sector, while thousands of corruption cases are being brought forward in courts. During the three years that I have been serving as Secretary-General of the World Justice Project, I have become very well acquainted with the mechanics of corruption in...

Busy. Buzzing with the energetic diversity of the city, filled the tranquility of scientific exploration. A community unapologetically original, yielding from every corner of the world. A place where a difference of opinion is celebrated, not condemned, and intellectuality of thought is welcomed with open arms. Where friends are the ones you spent your breakfasts with, daydreaming about your spring study abroad semester over homework, but also the ones who show up in your dorm at 3 am with popcorn and...

Michael A. Nielsen and Isaac L. Chuang, "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information" Martin Laforest, PhD, "The Mathematics of Quantum Mechanics" Theodore A. Jacobson and Renaud Parentani, "An Echo of Black Holes" George Musser, "The Quantum Physics of Free Will" Hans C. Ohanian and Remo Ruffini, "Black-Hole Thermodynamics; The Hawking Process" from Gravitation and Spacetime John Stachel, "The Rigidity Rotating Disk as the 'Missing Link' in the History of 'General Relativity'" Kenneth N. Waltz, "Structural Realism after the Cold War" Robert...

Khaled Hosseini, "The Kite Runner" Amy Poehler, "Yes Please" B.J. Novak, "One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories" Paul Beatty, "The Sellout" Don DeLillo, "Great Jones Street" Alice Walker, "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens" Alice Walker, "We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting for: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness" Samantha Power, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide" Georgios Dertilis, "Seven Wars, Four Civil Wars, Seven Bankruptcies: 1821-2016" Robert P. Crease and...

Scientific American, Discover, Popular Science, Vox, Foreign Policy, Bloomberg Business & Politics, Vol.1 Brooklyn, World Economic Forum, Periplus: A Notebook for The Letters and Arts, New Yorker, Backchannel, The Believer, The IEEE Spectrum, n+1, Asymptote, Economist's 1843, Inside the Perimeter, Catapult, 3:AM Magazine, Nea Estia

Rob Spekkens, Perimeter Insitute for Theoretical Physics, "Can Quantum Correlations be Explained Casually?" Neil Turok, Perimeter Insitute for Theoretical Physics, "Discussion with Neil Turok" 7th Astronomy Festival, "The Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud" Museum of Cycladic Art, "The Forms of Beginning" Avanti Dario at Irodio Theatre Moonlight (2016) Under the Sun (2015) The Lives of Others (2006) The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

I am fond of Columbia's openness to different ways of thinking. An interesting way I realized the diversity of the Columbia community was by looking into the profiles of the faculty that comprise it, and discovering the idiosyncratic, joyful HTML websites unique to each professor. It truly reflected what I later discovered the concept behind Columbia to be- unique individuals improving the Columbia community by bringing in the unique pieces of their personality into it. The Columbia Experience is exciting...