Simos Meintanis with his life companion Myrto Tselou

Simos Meintanis, who passed away on February 14, 2025, was a Professor of Statistics & Econometrics in the Department of Economic Sciences of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.

Simos was born on January 1, 1959, in Athens, Greece. He studied Mathematics and Statistics in Greece (Athens University of Economics & Business) and Canada (Concordia University). He earned his PhD in Statistics from Patras University in Greece, where he started his academic career in 1996. He was elected as a tenured Associate Professor at the Department of Economic Sciences of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in 2003. He also held visiting professorships at Northwest University, South Africa, Department of Statistics (Visiting Extraordinary Professor of Statistics, since 2012) and University of California Santa Barbara, USA, Department of Statistics and Applied Probability (Visiting Professor, summer 2017). Simos held memberships in 12 scientific associations, including the International Statistical Institute, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the American Statistical Association. He was an elected member of the ISI, and a Fellow of the South African Statistical Association; he also received three international awards from South Africa. He reviewed for more than 20 scientific journals and he was an editorial board member of eight journals. He successfully supervised five PhD students.

Simos was distinguished by his dedication to science (he has more than 145 publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals). He also had more than 20 research collaborations and invitations from universities around the world, including Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, and USA.

I remember him buried in tons of paper (he enjoyed writing by hand!), in his office. Our discussions mainly revolved around statistical problems, but also around current social and political issues. Even though immersed in Statistical research, the social problems in our country and the world were also part of his interests. His favorite pastime was reading, mainly statistics books.

His contribution to the Department was also significant. He collaborated and helped the younger faculty members in their career development. He was approachable, humble and cooperative. In his courses, he offered advanced knowledge of statistical methods to aspiring Economists.

For the last 22 years, Simos had built a loving family with his life companion, Myrto, her children (Lilian, Sofia, Anastasis) and their grandson (Panagiotis-Georgios). Simos was a lifetime sports lover, often going for runs, swimming and playing soccer. He enjoyed spending his summers in their summerhouse in Rafina, teaching soccer to little Panagiotis. One of his greatest joys was listening to rock music, being particularly fond of The Doors.

The sense of loss, for all of us who knew him and worked with him, is profound.

Written by Yiannis Bassiakos, National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece,
with extra notes from Olga-Myrto P. Tselou