Georgios P. Karatzas

Georgios P. Karatzas is a Professor at the Department of Environmental Hydraulics, Coastal Engineering and Geoenvironmental Engineering (IV) within the Technical University of Crete. His research focuses on Water Resources Management, Groundwater Flow and Pollutant Transport, and Geoenvironmental Engineering. He leads the Laboratory of Geoenvironmental Engineering and has developed innovative methodologies like the 'Outer Approximation Method' Optimization adopted by major US agencies.

His academic credentials include a Ph.D. (1992), M.Sc. (1987), and B.Sc. (1985) from Rutgers University, with prior education in Forestry from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1982). He has received international recognition, including adoption of his optimization methods by the Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable (2003-present) and EPA (1999).

His research integrates Groundwater Simulation Models with Optimization Methods for sustainable aquifer management, addressing challenges like Coastal Aquifer Salinization, Karst Aquifer Dynamics, and Flood Risk Assessment. Recent projects include InTheMED (€220,000) and Sustain–COAST (€290,000) focused on Mediterranean groundwater sustainability.

Notable scientific awards include the 2014 Outstanding Teaching Award at Technical University of Crete and multiple grants from PRIMA, Interreg, and LIFE+ programs. His work combines advanced computational methods with practical environmental risk mitigation strategies.