The American Ambassador Mrs. Kathleen Doherty visited The Cyprus Institute’s premises in Athalassa Campus on Wednesday, 11 April 2016. The purpose of the visit was to brief the Ambassador on the scientific activities of The Cyprus Institute.

During the meeting the President of the Institute, Prof. Costas N. Papanicolas presented the vision, accomplishments and ongoing research activity at CyI and briefed the Ambassador about the progress on its strategic development plan. Particular emphasis was given to the significant achievements in the areas of Solar Energy and Desalination, Climate Change, Computational Science and preservation of Cultural Heritage. These scientific areas highlight the regional nature of the Institute and establish it as a leading research institution in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Particular reference was also made on the existing collaborations between The Cyprus Institute and US universities and research centers. The Institute has formed strategic partnerships with leading US universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Illinois. Agreements with other US academic institutions have also been formed, facilitating collaborative research and training programs, conferences and seminars and exchanges of students and academic staff.

The two parties discussed the prospects of strengthening the existing cooperation between The Cyprus Institute and US universities and research institutions in scientific areas of regional interest. Through effective and close scientific cooperation, joint actions can be developed to combat a variety of problems. Mrs. Kathleen Doherty stressed that given the geopolitical position of Cyprus, CyI can be a regional research and innovation leader and can have a key role to play as a research and technology gateway between Europe, the west and eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East.

The Ambassador visited a number of laboratories of the Institute, the Linear Fresnel Solar Energy System for Built Environment, the Unmanned Systems Research Laboratory & Chemistry, the Visualization Laboratory, and the Cy-Tera Facility, where CyI staff presented some of its main research activities.