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I) Education:

I completed my secondary studies at Lycée Léonin, a French secondary education institution in Athens, Greece (graduated in 1969).
Subsequently, I pursued further education in Switzerland:
A) I successfully passed the Swiss National Examination for admission to Swiss Universities (Fribourg) in April 1970.
B) I studied at the University of Neuchâtel, majoring in Chemical Engineering (Diplôme d’ Ingénieur Chimiste) and graduated in June 1975.
C) In February 1976, I enrolled as a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the University of Zurich under the supervision of Professors Hans Schmid (deceased in 1977) and Manfred Hesse. In November 1979, I was awarded the PhD in Organic Chemistry.
D) Concurrently with my doctoral studies, I joined the Graduate Program of Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva (spring semester 1979). I earned the “Certificat de Chimie Analytique de l'Environnement” (equivalent to a Master's Degree in Environmental Analytical Chemistry) in May 1980.
Languages: My mother tongue is Greek, and I am fluent (both in writing and speaking) in English, French, and German.

 

II) Post-doctoral activities:

March 1980 - May 1981 and May 1985 - September 1985: Research Associate and Guest Researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute for Water Resources and Water Pollution Control (EAWAG) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich)

June 1981 – July 1982 and January 1984 – May 1985: “Maître Assistant” (equivalent to Lecturer) and “Chargé des Cours et de Recherche” at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Geneva

July 1982 - January 1984: Senior Research Associate at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University (CA, USA)

 

III) Professional Experience:

i) Academic track:

April 1984: Founding Faculty Member of the new Department of Chemistry of the University of Crete: Elected Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry. I officially joined the University of Crete in November 1985 and started my term in January 1986

1986-1989: Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry

1989-1993: Tenured Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry.

1993-2016: Professor of Environmental Chemistry

November 2016: Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete 

October 2015-December 2019: Professor of Environmental Chemistry, The Cyprus Institute, Cyprus

 

ii) Academic, research and administrative activities at the University of Crete:

1989-1994: Chairman of the Chemistry Department of the University of Crete.

1996-2002: Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Crete.

1992-2011: Founder and Director of the Research Atmospheric Measurement Station of Finokalia (https://finokalia.chemistry.uoc.gr/)

1996-2016: Founder and Director of the Environmental Chemical Processes LaboratoryDepartment of Chemistry, University of Crete.

1998-2016: Founder and Director of Post-Graduate Programmes “Environmental Sciences and Engineering” and “Environmental Protection Technologies”.

1998-1999: Acting ChairDepartment of Mathematics of the University of Crete.

1999-2003: Chair of the Technical Council of the University of Crete.

September 2011 - August 2015: Rector (President) of the University of Crete

October - December 2012: Acting ChairDepartment of Philology of the University of Crete.

iii) Appointments in other Higher Education and Research Institutions:

October 1988 - June 1989: Visiting Associate ProfessorDepartment of Chemistry, University of Geneva, Switzerland (Sabbatical leave). 

June 1994 - February 1995: Visiting Professor at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland (Sabbatical leave). 

February 2009 – July 2009: Visiting ProfessorDept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, USA (Sabbatical leave).

September 2015-December 2019: Vice President for Research at The Cyprus Institute, Cyprus. Initiator and Director of the Master Programme in Environmental Sciences.

 

IV) Services to the international Scientific Community:

A) Editor. 2009-2012“Environmental Science and Pollution Research”, SPRINGER VERLAG.

B) Associate Editor. 2002-2004“Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association”.

C) Reviewer, and Scientific Evaluation Panel Member for proposals from the European Commission, National Science Foundation (NSF, USA), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation), and Research Promotion Foundation (Cyprus). Reviewed for Scientific Journals including Environmental Science and Technology (ACS), Journal of Geophysical Research and Geophysical Research Letters (AGU), Geophysical Research Letters, Atmospheric Environment, Journal of Chromatography A, Marine Chemistry, Nature, Science, and others. Served on Scientific Panels for the Ministry of Higher Education and Research of Slovenia, French Research Funding Agency ("Laboratories of excellence-LABEX"), and Academy of Sciences of Finland. 

D) Member of Scientific Committees for the European Commission and UNEP

 

V) Teaching and Graduate Student Advising:

University of Crete (1986-2016):

Undergraduate Courses: 1) Environmental Chemistry, 2) Elucidation of Organic Molecules with spectroscopic methods: NMR and MS.

Graduate Courses: 1) Environmental Organic Chemistry, 2) Environmental Analytical Chemistry: Chromatographic Techniques and Mass Spectrometry, 3) Chemistry of Disinfection of Drinking Water, 4) Applications of Mass Spectrometry in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Advising and mentoring:

*Thirteen (13) PhD and sixty-three (63) MSc theses were awarded under my supervision at the Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, from 1986-2016.

*External Referee and Examiner for PhD theses in Foreign Universities: Université Paris VI - P. & M. Curie (Paris, France), ETH Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland), University of Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia), Lancaster University (Lancaster, UK); Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic).

*External Referee and Examiner for PhD theses in Greek Universities: University of Crete and Universities of Ioannina, Patras, Technical University of Crete and National Technical University of Athens.

The Cyprus Institute (2016-2019):

Graduate Courses: 1) Principles of Atmospheric Chemistry, and 2) Environmental Analytical Methods in the Master Programme Environmental Sciences

Advising and mentoring: One PhD student (Thesis on going).

University of Crete (since 2017, as Professor Emeritus):

Undergraduate Courses: Environmental Chemistry

Graduate Courses: Environmental Analytical Chemistry

 

VI) Research:

A) Research interests

  • Biogeochemical Cycles of Legacy and Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs);
  • Study of Atmospheric Aerosols by Physicochemical, Chemical and Biochemical Methods;
  • Environmental Analytical Chemistry of Toxic Organic Compounds (DBPs, endocrine disruptors, POPs) in surface, ground and drinking water and Application of Mass Spectrometry
  • Human Exposure Studies of Emerging Toxic Organic Contaminants and Endocrine Disruptors.

B) Research & Bibliometrics

See in "Publications" the list of papers I have authored and co-authored in leading international scientific journals (e.g. Nature, Science, Environmental Science and Technology, Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Chromatography A, Microbial Ecology, Environmental Health Perspectives, Cell Plant, Lancet etc.). For the citations and h-index, see: http://scholar.google.gr/citations?user=F1OsDfoAAAAJ&hl=en. I have also authored articles in refereed proceedings and 4 chapters in books (by invitation), and presented my research results in international conferences (see Publications). 

I have been invited to present the research work of my group by different academic and research institutions such as Stanford University (CA, USA), Harvard University (USA), University of North Carolina (Chapelhill, USA), Université P. & M. Curie (Paris VI, France), University of Venice (Italy), University of Concepcion (Chile), Technical University Federico Santa Maria (Valparaiso, Chile), National Commission of the Environment of Chile (Santiago, Chile), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland), Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (EAWAG, Zurich, Switzerland), University of Bayreuth (Germany), Northeastern University, (Boston, USA), Michigan State University (East Lansing, USA), University of Kuwait (Kuwait), and Yildiz Technical University (Istanbul, Turkey).

C) Funding ID

Grants, 1992-2016: 2.800.000 € (University of Crete)

Selected competitive European and National research grants (University of Crete)

  • "Atmospheric Input of Natural and Anthropogenic Organic Compounds to the Mediterranean", EU-SCIENCE Programme. Project Coordinator. (CSIC-CID, Barcelona, Spain and Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Marine, Univ. P. & M. Curie, Paris, France). 1992-1994: 170.000 € 
  • “Disinfection of drinking water and of treated domestic waste water by chlorine and chlorine dioxide”, EU-AVICENNE programme, 1994-1996. ProjectCoordinator. (With TECHNION, Haifa, Israel, and General State Laboratory of Cyprus): 353.000 € 
  • “Aerosol formation from biogenic organic carbon”, EU Environment and Climate Programme, 1996-1998:100.000 €.
  • “Monitoring and prediction of the atmospheric transport and deposition of desert dust in the Mediterranean region”E.U. Environment and Climate Programme, 1996-1998: 134.640 €.
  • “Global semi-volatile organic compounds (GLOBAL SOC)”, EU Environment and Climate Programme, 1998-2000: 130.000 € 
  • “Environmental Analysis of Concrete Admixtures (ANACAD)”, EU Environment and Climate Programme, 1997-1999: 110.000 €.
  • “Organic Aerosol Formation” (OSOA), E.U. Environment and Climate Programme, 2000-2002: 70.000 € 
  • “Marine Aerosol Production (MAP)” E.U., Environment and Climate Programme, 2005-2008: 140.000 €.
  • “Health Impacts of Long-term Exposure to Disinfection By-products in Drinking Water”, EU 2007-2010: 280.000 €.
  • “European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects” (ESCAPE), EU 2008-2012: 150.000 €.
  • “Genomics Biomarkers of Environmental Health” (ENVIROGENOMARKERS), EU 2009-2013: 250.000 €.
  • “ARISTEIA” (Excellence) Ministry of Education grant (2012-2015): 200.000 € 

Selected competitive graduate education grants (University of Crete)

  • "Education of young chemists with modern analytical instruments", from the EU Social Found: 1992-1993, 67.200 €.
  • “Environmental Science and Engineering-Post Graduate Studies Programme”, Ministry of Education and European Commission, 1998-2006: 600.000 €.
  • Initiator and coordinator of the proposal “Master Programme of Environmental Sciences” was accredited with the highest score by The Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA) which is the competent authority responsible for ensuring the quality of higher education in Cyprus. I was the first Director and Coordinator of the Programme 2018-2019).

 

VII) Awards and Honours:

Hans Schmid Award” 1979 -1980 for postdoctoral research. 

Ecopolis Price 2006” for Scientific Achievements in Environmental Science.

"First Prize of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology for the best original paper in epidemiology published in 2014": “Air pollution during pregnancy and childhood cognitive and psychomotor development: Six European birth cohorts”, Epidemiology  25 (5), pp. 636-647, 2014. 

Member of the European Research Council (ERC) Panel for the “Sciences of the Earth”, 2007-2015.

Member of the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Panel for "Physical Sciences and Engineering", 2018-2019 & 2021-2022.

Member of the Εxpert  Panel  Severo  Ochoa  &  María  de  Maeztu  2022 for the Evaluation of Research Centres of Spain.