Thanos is one of the best professors that I’ve ever had. The project that I did for his digital agriculture class grew to become a large part my thesis project. While on my committee, he helped me to think through, design, and evaluate different types of statistical and AI-based predictive models that were a core part of my thesis. After I finished my masters, he encouraged me to attend multiple conferences and introduced me to some of the top scientists in my field. I received several top PhD program opportunities directly because of this. Thanos’s mentorship and friendship has helped me to grow throughout my academic career. He goes above and beyond the norm to help his students, colleagues and friends, and any institution would be lucky to have him.