Andreas Charalambous Vikis

Andreas Charalambous Vikis (born July 8, 1942) is a physical chemist, academician, and researcher.

Early Life

Vikis was born in Moni, Limassol, Cyprus, to Anneta Charalambous and Charalambos Panayiotou. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Kansas State University, Manhattan, and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the College of Emporia.

Career

Vikis has more than 55 years of experience performing and managing R&D at both the fundamental and applied levels. He has written more than 100 publications and reports, including two patents. He served at the National Research Council of Canada (1975-1979) and the University of Toronto (1968-1975). In 1979, he joined Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) at its Whiteshell Laboratories in Manitoba a few days following the Three Mile Island 2 nuclear accident. Hence, his early work at AECL was to develop a method to remove radioactive iodine from the air in an accident environment. He was successful in developing and patenting a method for doing so using light.

In 1984, he was appointed Manager of the Research Chemistry Branch (RCB), an elite group of chemistry researchers working on underlying nuclear reactor safety and waste management. His AECL work drew the attention of the international community, which sponsored research at AECL to develop further a chemistry model for the behavior of radioactive iodine in an accident. His AECL leadership role in this area is documented in the proceedings of a major international symposium held in Toronto in 1989, sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and AECL, and chaired by Vikis.

In 1990, he was appointed Director of the newly formed Chemistry Division in AECL. He was later appointed Director of the AECL Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (1994-1997) and the AECL Health (Physics) Chemistry and Environment (1997-2001).

He retired from AECL in 2001 and is currently serving as a consultant on technical and scientific issues. Vikis is a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (FCIC) and a member of the American Chemical Society. He has also served (2004-2014, 2018-2022) as the President of The Parnassos Hellenic Cultural Society of Ottawa, an organization dedicated to advancing the Hellenic culture and civilization.

Since retirement in 2001, Vikis began serving as a science and technology consultant mainly for the CANDU Owners Group (COG) of Canadian nuclear utilities, AECL (R&D needs and strategic planning), and Natural Resources Canada (photovoltaics, renewables, energy-storage technologies).

Research

His research interests and expertise include photochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, environmental sciences, nuclear science and technology, and energy technologies, as well as management and strategic planning. His major contributions were in understanding the chemical dynamics of energy transfer processes from atoms and molecules excited electronically with light to ground state molecules leading to electronic, vibrational, and rotational excitation, and in some cases, chemical reaction. This research was performed during his tenure (1964-1979) at Kansas State University, the University of Toronto, and the National Research Council of Canada. He also applied his basic research experience to practical applications, such as the successful separation of isotopes of carbon and oxygen by selective electronic excitation of carbon monoxide (CO) with 123.58 nm light, as well as the photochemical method removing radioactive iodine from the air in a reactor accident.

Publications

Vikis is the author of more than 100 publications and reports, including two patents.

• AC Vikis, R MacFarlane; (1985); Reaction of iodine with ozone in the gas phase; The Journal of Physical Chemistry 89 (5), 812-815 52.
• AC Vikis, G Torrie, DJL Roy; (1972); Spin–Orbit Relaxation of Hg(63P1) by Various Gases; Canadian Journal of Chemistry 50 (2), 176-183 34.
• AC Vikis, HC Moser; (1970); Investigation of the Quenching of Excited Mercury Atoms by the Alkanes; The Journal of Chemical Physics 53 (6), 2333-2342 21.
• AC Vikis, DJ Le Roy; (1973); Sensitized fluorescence of diatomic free radicals by Hg (63P0) metastables; Chemical Physics Letters 21 (1), 103-108 20,
• AC Vikis, DJL Roy; (1973); The Mechanism of the HgH A2 2Π3/2 → X2Σ+ Emission in the Hg(63P0) Photosensitization of Hydrogen and the Alkanes; Canadian Journal of Chemistry 51 (8), 1207-1214 20.
• AC Vikis; (1978); Sensitized fluorescence (A 1Π− X 1Σ+ and b 3Σ+− a 3Π) of 12C16O, 13C16O, and 12C18O by Kr (3P1) and Kr (1P1); Chemical Physics Letters 57 (4), 522-525 17.
• AC Vikis, DJ Le Roy; (1973); Sensitization of the CN (B2Σ+→ X2Σ+) emission by Hg (63P0) metastables; Chemical Physics Letters 22 (3), 587-589 15.
• AC Vikis, K DJ Wren; (1982) Vapour pressure of CH3I in the temperature range 176 to 227; The Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics 14 (5), 435-437 13.
• S Sunder, JC Wren, AC Vikis; (1985); Raman spectra of I4O9 formed by the reaction of iodine with ozone; Journal of Raman spectroscopy 16 (6), 424-426 11.
• AC Vikis; (1978); Monochromatic excitation of the A1Π–X1Σ+ (13,0) band of 13C16O and 12C18O; 10.
• AC Vikis; Energy transfer in monochromatically excited 13C16O and 12C18O (A1Πv′=13) molecules; The Journal of Chemical Physics 69 (2), 703-709
• AC Vikis; The OH (A2Σ+) internal energy distribution produced by the Kr(3P1) sensitized composition of H2O; The Journal of Chemical Physics 69 (9), 4314-4316
• AC Vikis; Carbon-13 isotope enrichment in the photolysis of CO with the 123.58nm Kr resonance radiation; Chemical Physics Letters 53 (3), 565-567
• A.C. Vikis, Photochemical Separation of Isotopes, National Research Council of Canada, U.S. Patent, 4,374,010; Canadian Patent 1,122,567.
• A.C. Vikis and R. MacFarlane; (1985); The Reaction of Iodine with Ozone in the Gas Phase; J. Phys. Chem. 89, 812.
• A.C. Vikis; (1984); Iodine Removal from a Gas Phase; Canadian Patent No.1,172,828; UK Patent GB2098974B.
• Edited by A.C. Vikis; (1988); Proceedings of the Second CSNI Workshop on Iodine Chemistry in Reactor Safety; AECL-9923 / CSNI-149, Toronto, CANADA.
• A.C. Vikis, F. Garisto, H.C. Card, K.C. Kao and R.D. McLeod; (1987); Critical Review of Photovoltaic Research and Development, Renewable Energy Branch, Energy Mines and Resources Canada.
• Y. Poissant and A.C. Vikis; (2013); Overview of Photovoltaic Solar Cell R&D Capability in Canada, ed. 4, CETC Varennes; Natural Resources Canada.
• A.C. Vikis; (2005); Use of Wind Energy to Produce Hydrogen; Natural Resources Canada.
• A.C. Vikis, F. Garisto, H.C. Card, K.C. Kao and R.D. McLeod; (1987); Critical Review of Photovoltaic Research and Development, Renewable Energy Branch, Energy Mines and Resources Canada.

Recognition

• The Chemical Institute of Canada "Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada", 1987
• The Canadian Society for Chemistry "Certificate of Recognition" for Significant Contributions, 1994
• The College of Emporia Alumni Association "Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016
• The Cyprus Canada Chamber of Commerce in recognition of valuable contributions to Canada, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Canada, 2017

Personal Life

Vikis is married to Augousta (Ava) Vikis and has two children, Haris G. Vikis and Elena Vikis.