The next generation of supercomputers must be capable of a billion billion calculations per second. These are referred to as Exascale computersand with this ability to undertake such volume of calculations, they will transform our understanding of the world through advanced simulation and problem solving.

Big Data is one of the key assets of the future. However, the cost and efforts required for introducing Big Data technology in a value chain is significant. Mastering the creation of value from Big Data will enhance European competitiveness will result in economic growth and jobs and will deliver societal benefit.

The ceremony of the Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching dedicated to the memory of Vassilis XANTHOPOULOS and Stephanos PNEVMATIKOS" will take place at the main Hall of the Old Parliament in Athens on December 4, 2015, at 19.00.

Anastasios Alexandridis, PhD Candidate at the University of Crete and member of the Signal Processing Laboratory of the Institute of Computer Science (ICS), Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), received the Best Student Paper Award at the 23rd European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO 2015, Nice, France 31st August - 4th September 2015), as the first author of the paper entitled "Addressing the data-association problem for multiple sound source localization using DOA estimates."

The paper entitled “A Flexible Framework for Understanding the Dynamics of Evolving RDF Datasets”, presented by Yannis Roussakis, received the Best Student Research Paper Award at the 14th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2015, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania October 11-15, 2015).

The new EU project “LISTEN” is working on creating a robust, hands-free speech control interface for home systems. The partners from Germany, Italy and Greece will develop a smart-home-specific natural voice interface to web services. Moreover, they want to bridge the gap between microphone systems, signal processing and speech recognition.

With very great success the "EUROPEAN RESEARCHERS’ NIGHT 2015" was held on Friday, September 25 at the Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH) in Heraklion, Crete.

Malaria is one of the most deadly diseases in the world, with several hundred million cases mostly in the poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. Every year about half a million people die of the disease with children and pregnant women most at risk.

The symposium is dedicated to the memory of Savvas Georgiou, former Research Director at IESL‐FORTH, a good friend and an excellent colleague. This half day special event will highlight Savvas’ scientific contributions and present memories from his everyday interaction with students and colleagues. The scientific session will feature lectures from international experts on recent advances of laser surface photochemistry and related fields. This will be followed by a session portraying Savvas as a researcher, teacher and friend, with stories and anecdotes drawn through the memories of fellow researchers and students. The symposium will conclude with the inauguration of a new laboratory on advanced materials laser nano‐processing within the premises of IESL‐FORTH, named after Savvas Georgiou.

The group of Prof. John Vontas at IMBB-FORTH won an important large grant, within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 Programme. Notably, the research proposal ranked first within its thematic area, after rigorous and highly competitive evaluation. The project titled «Automated diagnostic platform, data management system and innovative communication tool, for improving the impact of malaria vector control interventions» (DMC-MALVEC), has a duration of 4 years and has been awarded a substantial sum of 3.1 M Euro.