Kostas Papafitsoros

Kostas Papafitsoros is a Lecturer in Mathematical Data Science at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, and Lead for Communication and Public Engagement. He previously held a postdoctoral position at the Weierstrass Institute in Berlin and was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at Humboldt University (2015–2017). His PhD (2014) and early postdoctoral work were at the University of Cambridge, where he contributed to the Cambridge Image Analysis group.

His research focuses on mathematical imaging, inverse problems, and variational methods, with a strong emphasis on combining classical techniques with deep learning. He also leads projects in environmental conservation, particularly sea turtle photo-identification and citizen science initiatives like the Zakynthos Turtles platform, which engages tourists in conservation efforts. His work bridges academia and public engagement, leveraging AI to enhance wildlife monitoring.

Recent research highlights include developing adaptive regularization methods for imaging and applying machine learning to quantitative MRI. He has published extensively in top journals and conferences, including SIAM and IEEE venues, and received grants such as the QMUL Impact Acceleration Fund and British Chelonia Group Conservation Grant.

He supervises PhD students in mathematical data science and collaborates with NGOs like ARCHELON and MEDASSET. His interdisciplinary approach addresses global challenges in imaging science and biodiversity conservation.