“Deep silence fell” on Greek song, as the great composer Mimis Plessas passed away, leaving behind a huge work but also a great void.
His loss became the occasion to take a trip back, specifically to 2010 when Mimis Plessas was honored by the University of Patras and awarded an honorary doctorate of the Department of Chemistry, while an honorable event was held in his honor.
As George Anastasopoulos wrote in the “Peloponnisos” newspaper: “The award following a presentation by Yannis Matsoukas to the Department of Chemistry was based not only on his contribution to music and culture, but also on his scientific education as a Chemist of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, but also a PhD in chemistry from the leading Cornell University in the USA.
Yannis Matsoukas, Mimis Plessas, James Watson (at the 12th Medicinal Chemistry Conference in Patras
The well-known professor G. Matsoukas remembers: “He surprised me at our first meeting in 2007 at the Apollo Theater and from his CV I learned that his PhD thesis research was in an extremely interesting area of brain peptide molecules, pioneering for that time ( 1950-3). He could have had a brilliant university career, but music won him over. With great joy and enthusiasm he accepted every time my invitation to attend Medicinal Chemistry Conferences, where leading scientists from all over the world were invited. Mimis Plessas was present at six Conferences of the Postgraduate Program “Medicinal Chemistry”, where the invited Nobel laureates Jean Marie Lehn (2008), Andrew Schally (2010), James Watson (2011), Ada Yonath (2013), Harald zur Hausen were honored. (2014), James Watson (2016). All the Conferences, with his wonderful music, were top cultural events for the region.”
* Abundant anecdotal historical photographic material from the presence of Mimi Plessas at the Chemistry Conferences in Patras with the Nobel laureates will be granted for exhibition at the New Theater Museum that will be created in Elliniko.
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