Can you say a few words about yourself ?
My name is Romanos Foskinis, I grew up in Paros, a small island in the Cyclades of Greece. I obtained a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Crete and an M.Sc. Diploma in Environmental Physics and Meteorology, from the Department of Physics of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. Now, I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the National Technical University of Athens studying the Aerosol-Cloud Interactions using a synergy of in situ and remote sensing techniques.
Did you choose your profession or did it choose you?
It is hard to say, for sure, I was attracted to meteorology and clouds from a very early age. At the same time, I was learning more about Physics and Mathematics, which made me choose to study Physics. Then, those two things matched together in the M.Sc. studies.
What attracted you to join LAPI?
I have been attracted by LAPI’s unique research opportunities, since it consists of a huge variety of scientific topics covering important aspects related to atmospheric physics. Then, it also has the potential to synthesize them together producing highly efficient-research.
Can you speak about the projects you are currently working on and other ones in the past?
Currently, I am studying the Aerosol-Cloud Interactions using a synergy of in situ and remote sensing techniques. More precisely, I am working on the evaluation and improvement of the algorithms that are used for retrieving the cloud microphysics properties using remote sensing.
What have been some of your biggest successes?
I prefer keeping modest and not sorting my early career like this. I would rather prefer to answer the relevant question like “What is the most challenging thing that you did in your career?”. In this question, I would definitely answer: “Participating in the CALISTHO campaign which took place during the winter of 2022 at a high-altitude regime in Helmos mountain in Greece”.
You split your time between teaching and research. How do you view these two roles?
Currently, my time is only in the research field.
What do you enjoy to do, outside of science and research?
My interests outside of science can be separated into activities and pleasures. The activities that I really enjoy are oriented to sea activities, like spending time in the sea, going sailing or diving. Otherwise, I like going for food or coffee.
A free thought for the end? Hard to say. Basically, what I would say is to continue no matter what to keep on doing your best and move forward.