Despina Hatzidimitriou

Despina Hatzidimitriou is a faculty member at the Department of Physics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) since 2009. Previously, she held a faculty position at the Department of Physics of the University of Crete from 1993 to 2008. She is also an adjunct researcher at the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing at the National Observatory of Athens. Her academic career spans over three decades, with early fellowships at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy.

• B.Sc. in Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1984)
• Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of Edinburgh (1989)

Her research focuses on stellar physics and the kinematics, dynamics, and evolution of Local Group galaxies, including the Milky Way. She has contributed significantly to galactic astrophysics through over 100 peer-reviewed publications cited more than 13,000 times, with an h-index of 36. She has participated in international telescope allocation committees and served as President of Division VII of the International Astronomical Union.

As a member of the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium, she plays a key role in the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. She is actively involved in professional societies, including the Hellenic Astronomical Society (Hel.A.S.), European Astronomical Society (EAS), American Astronomical Society (AAS), and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). She also contributes to the National Committee for Astronomy of Greece.