Konstantinos Drakos is a Professor at the Department of Accounting and Finance, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB). Previously, he served as Assistant Professor at AUEB (2009–2012), Assistant Professor at the University of Patras (2003–2008), and Lecturer at the University of Essex (2001–2002). He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Essex, preceded by an MSc and undergraduate studies in Economics at the University of Athens. His research focuses on Applied Financial Economics and the Economics of Security, with recent work analyzing hedge fund leverage, geopolitical risk impacts, cryptocurrency markets, and green banking. Teaching responsibilities include Macroeconomic Theory, Finance for Banking, and Risk Management at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Drakos' publications span over two decades, addressing topics such as terrorism's economic effects, bank lending behavior, and investment under uncertainty. His recent articles (2022–2025) emphasize cryptocurrency dynamics, geopolitical risk interactions, and financial stability in green banking. Notable themes include market volatility, capital allocation under uncertainty, and policy responses to systemic risks. No scientific awards are listed in the provided materials. His research has explored structural shifts in financial risk, macroeconomic sentiment, and cross-market linkages following major global events like 9/11 and the 2008 crisis. Drakos has advised on policy-related topics related to financial markets and regulatory frameworks, though specific grants or lab affiliations are not detailed here.
Professor Markos Zachariadis is the Chair in Financial Technology (FinTech) and Information Systems at Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), University of Manchester. He holds roles in the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Resilient Financial Systems and is a FinTech Research Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Digital Innovation. His research focuses on the economics of digital innovation, payment systems (e.g., SWIFT), and Open Banking. Zachariadis has authored/co-authored influential works such as The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and contributes to policy discussions globally. Education: PhD in Management (Economics of Payment Systems), London School of Economics (2011) MSc in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems, London School of Economics (2004) Bachelor of Economics, University of Patras (2003) Research Interests: Financial Technology, Payment Networks, Digital Innovation, Data Standards, Blockchain, and Regulatory Impact. His work bridges academia and industry, addressing challenges in financial infrastructure and digital transformation. Awards: Recipient of prestigious awards including the NET Institute Award and SWIFT Institute Award for contributions to payment systems and Open Banking research. Grants & Advisory Roles: Leads projects on FinTech regulation and financial crime, collaborating with institutions like the Hellenic Competition Commission. His advisory roles span global organizations including the Bank of England and European Commission. Labs/Teams: Founding Director of the Centre for Financial Technology Studies (CFTS) at Manchester Business School, fostering interdisciplinary research in FinTech.
John Psarras is a Professor at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, specifically within the Division of Industrial Electric Devices and Decision Systems. He serves as the Director of the Decision Support Systems Laboratory (DSSlab) and the University Research Institute of Communication and Computer Systems. He holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (1982) and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1989), both from NTUA. His research specializes in decision support systems with applications in energy management, environmental analysis, and information systems. Key areas include: Multi-criteria analysis for energy policy and renewable integration AI-driven optimization of smart grids and building efficiency Sustainable finance mechanisms for green projects Blockchain applications in education and data security His recent publications (2023–2025) demonstrate a strong focus on AI-enhanced decision tools for energy transitions, smart infrastructure, healthcare diagnostics, and cross-border renewable cooperation, reflecting interdisciplinary innovation. He has supervised 22 PhD theses and coordinates EU-funded projects in energy policy, clean technology, and capacity building. No scientific awards are listed in available sources. He leads the Decision Support Systems Laboratory (DSSlab), advancing research in energy analytics, and directs the University Research Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, facilitating large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Mohsen Lesani is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz's Baskin School of Engineering. His research focuses on reliability and security of software systems, particularly concurrent and distributed systems, with recent emphasis on secure replicated systems and distributed machine learning. Dr. Lesani received his PhD from UCLA, MS in artificial intelligence from Sharif University of Technology, and BS in software engineering from University of Tehran. He was previously a postdoc at MIT. His educational background provides a strong foundation for his interdisciplinary research spanning programming languages, distributed systems, and security. His research interests center on creating reliable and secure distributed systems. Current projects include resilient and secure distributed systems, heterogeneous and reconfigurable secure distributed systems, automatic analysis and synthesis of replicated objects, verification of distributed systems, data analytics, secure exchange across blockchains, machine learning for performance models, domain-specific languages and type systems, and automatic fence insertion for concurrent systems. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementations to address real-world challenges in distributed computing. Lesani's research has been recognized with several prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER award in 2020 and DARPA YFA award in 2022. His work has also received the SIGPLAN Research Highlight in 2019, a distinguished paper award at OOPSLA 2018, and a best paper award at ISSRE 2015. These accolades reflect the impact and quality of his contributions to the field. He actively mentors PhD students in the Safe and Secure Software (S3) lab, including Xiao Li, Eric Chan, Javad Saber-Latibari, and Tejas Mane. His research has been supported by multiple NSF grants, demonstrating sustained funding for his innovative work. Lesani serves on program committees for major conferences including POPL, PLDI, OOPSLA, and DISC, contributing to the academic community. Lesani leads the Safe and Secure Software (S3) lab at UC Santa Cruz, where his team works on cutting-edge research in distributed systems, programming languages, and security. The lab fosters a collaborative environment where theoretical insights are translated into practical systems that address real-world challenges in reliability and security of distributed applications.
Ioannis Panageas is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at UC Irvine's Donald Bren School, directing the GOALLab. His research develops theory for learning in multi-agent systems, game dynamics, and optimization. Funded by NSF and NRF, he focuses on last-iterate convergence guarantees in games, efficient equilibrium computation, and multi-agent reinforcement learning. Recent Work: Provides first exponential lower bounds for fictitious play in potential games (NeurIPS 2023), efficient Nash equilibrium computation methods (ICLR 2023), and semi-bandit learning dynamics with no-regret guarantees (ICML 2023). Teaching: Offers courses in Algorithmic Game Theory and Optimization for Machine Learning. Currently advising 3 PhD students and 2 MS students.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Timothy M. Jones is a Professor of Computer Architecture and Compilation at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, where he leads research in systems-level computing. He is also a Fellow at Gonville and Caius College, contributing to academic leadership and student mentorship within the collegiate system. His primary affiliation with the Computer Laboratory positions him at the forefront of systems research within the university. Dr. Jones's research focuses on extracting various forms of parallelism (thread-level, data-level, memory-level) to enhance computational performance while addressing energy efficiency and reliability challenges. His work spans compiler design, binary translation, and microarchitecture optimization, with specific interest areas including: Compiler technologies for functional and parallel programming Hardware reliability and fault tolerance mechanisms Binary analysis and instrumentation frameworks Memory system optimization and virtual memory management Security enhancements through binary modification Runtime systems for heterogeneous architectures Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong emphasis on systems-level innovation, particularly in fault tolerance techniques, binary analysis tools, memory optimization, and parallel execution frameworks. His work consistently bridges theoretical computer science with practical hardware implementation challenges. Dr. Jones maintains active participation in the academic community through conference leadership roles, including serving as Program Co-Chair for CGO 2026 and committee positions at premier venues including ISMM, CGO, and ECOOP. He contributes to open-source academic resources through GitHub and maintains professional engagement via Twitter.
Theodora Varvarigou is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). She holds a B.Eng. from NTUA and M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. Her career includes research at AT&T Bell Labs and roles at the Technical University of Crete. From 2008-2012, she served as director of NTUA's 'Technoeconomic Systems' postgraduate program. Her research focuses on Cloud Computing, Multimedia Content Processing, Social Networking Technologies, and emerging areas like blockchain, edge computing, and cybersecurity. She has published over 200 papers and led numerous European research projects, emphasizing scalable systems, data management, and smart infrastructure applications. Her work spans technical innovations such as intrusion detection systems, edge resource optimization, and blockchain-based solutions for IoT, healthcare, and smart cities. Recent publications highlight advancements in AI-driven resource allocation, privacy-preserving blockchain designs, and predictive analytics for edge computing environments. Professor Varvarigou has contributed to interdisciplinary initiatives, including cohort data harmonization in biomedical research and social media analytics for urban planning. Her teaching includes courses on digital systems, network programming, and fault-tolerant systems.
Dimitris Mitropoulos is an Assistant Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in the Department of Business Administration, where he teaches courses on Distributed Ledger Technologies, Data Security and Privacy, Algorithms and Business Analytics, and Introduction to Programming. He also serves as Head of the Reliability Engineering Directorate at the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET), Greece's national research and education network organization. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University. Dr. Mitropoulos received his Ph.D. degree in Secure Software Development Technologies from the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) in 2014. His doctoral research was supported by the Heracleitus II Scholarship, co-financed by the European Union and Greek national funds. He is a member of prestigious professional organizations including ACM, IEEE, and USENIX. Dr. Mitropoulos conducts pioneering research at the intersection of software engineering and cybersecurity, with particular expertise in secure software development, vulnerability analysis, and blockchain security. His work spans multiple dimensions of software security including code injection attacks, infrastructure as code security, smart contract analysis, and dependency management in software ecosystems. His research methodology combines static and dynamic analysis techniques with empirical studies of real-world software systems, particularly focusing on Java, Python, and Solidity ecosystems. His recent work has made significant contributions to understanding security vulnerabilities in modern software development practices and infrastructure management. Dr. Mitropoulos has received numerous prestigious awards for his research contributions, including the Research Excellence Award from NKUA (2025), Distinguished Paper and Artifact Awards at PLDI '22, Best Data Showcase Award at MSR 2018, and multiple postdoctoral research funding scholarships. His work on "Finding typing compiler bugs" was recognized with both Distinguished Paper and Artifact Awards at PLDI '22, highlighting the significance and reproducibility of his research. He has also received recognition for his service to the academic community, including a Certificate of Appreciation from ESEC/FSE '21 for his contributions to conference organization. Dr. Mitropoulos has been actively involved in securing research funding and leading significant research projects. He currently serves as Principal Investigator for the SecOPERA project (2023-Today), funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe. Previously, he contributed to several major EU and US-funded projects including eSSIF-Lab (2019-2022), FASTEN (2019-2022), PRIViLEDGE (2018-2021), CERTCOOP (2017-2020), PANORAMIX (2016-2019), and TREDISEC (2016-2018). His research has been supported by diverse funding sources including the European Commission's Horizon 2020 program, the National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Dr. Mitropoulos plays an active role in the international research community through various leadership positions. He serves on program committees for top-tier conferences including OOPSLA (2026), ICSE (2026), ESEC/FSE (2025), and ISSTA (2025). He has previously served as Workshop Co-Chair for ISSTA 2025 and Student Volunteer Chair for ESEC/FSE 2021. His contributions to mentoring the next generation of researchers include serving as a mentor for the ICSE Student Mentoring Workshop (2022) and supervising Google Summer of Code projects (2017).
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Manos Kapritsos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. He leads the GLaDOS research group focusing on reliability of distributed systems through formal verification and fault-tolerant replication techniques. His research spans: Formal verification of concurrent and distributed systems Fault-tolerant replication protocols beyond client-server models Automation of verification processes for complex systems Performance verification including latency properties Reliable cryptographic code implementation Analysis of his publications reveals strong emphasis on: developing automated verification tools (Armada, Vale, IronFleet), creating novel replication protocols (Aegean), verifying performance characteristics (Performal), and improving specification reliability (IronSpec). His work consistently bridges theoretical formal methods with practical systems implementation. Awards and honors include: Jay Lepreau Best Paper Award at OSDI 2025 Jon R. and Beverly S. Holt Award for Excellence in Teaching (2022) NSF CAREER Award (2021) Distinguished Paper Award at PLDI 2020 Google Faculty Award (2017) Distinguished Paper Award at USENIX Security 2017 Grant support includes NSF FMitF grants (2020, 2023), NSF Large grant (2021), DARPA grant (2020), and Google Faculty Award (2017). He advises PhD students through the GLaDOS group, focusing on distributed systems verification. He directs the GLaDOS lab at University of Michigan, developing verification frameworks and reliable distributed systems. Current projects include automated proof generation (Basilisk) and efficient communication protocols (Scrooge).
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Pavel Panchekha is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computing at the University of Utah, where he holds the Warnock Chair for Junior Faculty. His research spans programming languages, web browsers, and numerical analysis, with a focus on developing programming language techniques to address challenges across computer science. Dr. Panchekha received his educational training at prestigious institutions: PhD in Computer Science from the Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, advised by Michael D. Ernst and Zachary Tatlock BS in Mathematics from MIT Panchekha's research program has two major thrusts. First, he works on web browser internals , with projects including fuzzing layout invalidation, multi-tenant garbage collection, and optimizing 2D graphics. He is also authoring a textbook on web browsers that informs much of this research. Second, he focuses on automatic numerical analysis , with projects such as automatic accuracy improvement, synthesis via term rewriting, scalable static accuracy analysis, and math library implementation. He leads the FPBench and Herbie projects, which are major deployments of his research. His scholarly output demonstrates consistent contributions across programming languages, verification, and numerical methods. Recent work shows a growing emphasis on bidirectional typing systems, layout invalidation in browsers, and robust floating-point error analysis. His publications reveal a trajectory from foundational work on floating-point accuracy (notably the Herbie tool that won a Distinguished Paper Award at PLDI 2015) toward more comprehensive systems for program synthesis, verification, and browser optimization. Panchekha has received significant recognition for his research contributions: NSF Fellowship ARCS Foundation Fellowship Adobe Research Fellowship Wissner-Slivka Foundation Fellowship 2015 PLDI Distinguished Paper Award for work on the Herbie numerical analysis and repair tool As an advisor, Panchekha mentors a substantial group of students across multiple levels. He currently advises six students: Marisa Kirisame (PhD), Bhargav Kulkarni (PhD), Yumeng He (PhD), Artem Yadrov (MS), Jesus Ponce (BS), and Jonas Regehr (BS). Previously, he has advised over twenty students including PhD candidates like Ian Briggs and numerous MS and BS students. His advising spans theoretical topics in programming languages and practical applications in web browsers and numerical computing. Panchekha leads research groups focused on programming languages applications to web browsers and numerical analysis. His work on the Herbie tool for floating-point accuracy improvement has become influential in the programming languages community, and his more recent work on browser internals is shaping how researchers understand and optimize modern web rendering engines. He is currently developing a textbook on web browsers that aims to synthesize knowledge about browser architecture and implementation.
Emmanouel (Manos) Varvarigos is a Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), where he leads the High Speed Communication Networks Laboratory. He holds a Diploma from NTUA (1988) and an M.S./Ph.D. from MIT (1990/1992). Prior roles include Professorships at UC Santa Barbara (1992-1998) and Delft University (1998-1999), and leadership at the University of Patras (1999-2015). He has coordinated over 30 EU research projects, including H2020 initiatives like ORCHESTRA and FLEXGRID. His research focuses on optical networking, cloud computing, smart energy grids, and high-speed network protocols. He has published over 450 papers and serves on numerous conference committees. Awards include the NSF Research Initiation Award. His lab employs 5 postdocs and 10+ PhD students, addressing challenges in networking, data centers, and grid computing. Education: Ph.D., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, 1992 M.S., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, 1990 Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering, NTUA, 1988 Research Interests: Optical networking, high-speed network protocols, data center architectures, cloud computing, smart energy grids, wireless networks, and distributed systems. Grants & Projects: Coordinated 7 EU projects (e.g., FLEXGRID, ORCHESTRA) and participated in 35+ others. National projects include roles as Scientific Director of the Greek School Network and CTI’s Network Technologies Division. Labs & Teams: Directs the High Speed Communication Networks Lab (HSCNL), collaborating with global institutions on optical networks, edge cloud, and smart grids. The lab’s work includes EU-funded projects on 5G, data centers, and renewable energy integration.
Dr. Ioanna Kantzavelou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, University of West Attica. She leads the INSSec Research Group, focusing on Information, Networks, and Systems Security. Her expertise spans Cybersecurity, Game Theoretic approaches in Intrusion Detection, and Critical Infrastructure Protection. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of the Aegean (2011), an M.Sc. from University College Dublin (1994), and a B.Sc. from the Technological Educational Institution of Athens (1991). Education: Ph.D. in Intrusion Detection with Game Theoretic Approaches – University of the Aegean (2011) M.Sc. in Computer Security – University College Dublin (1994) B.Sc. in Informatics – TEI of Athens (1991) Research Interests: Intrusion Detection in IoT/Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and Cyber-Physical Systems Cyber Ranges for Education and Research Cybersecurity for Merchant Shipping and Critical Infrastructures Hybrid Threats, Cyberterrorism, and Cyberwarfare Digital Forensics and Blockchain-Based Authentication Systems Her work includes over 30 peer-reviewed publications, three books, and contributions to R&D projects funded by the Greek government, EU, and Irish government. She actively reviews for IEEE, Elsevier, and Springer journals, and is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer Society, and the Greek Computer Society. Grants & Collaborations: EU-funded projects on Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Greek government grants for Cyber Ranges and IoT Security Labs/Teams: Head of the INSSec Research Group, collaborating with industry partners on Cybersecurity solutions for maritime and industrial sectors.
Christos Makris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics at the University of Patras, Greece. His academic career spans over two decades with significant contributions to computer science, particularly in data structures, algorithms, and information systems. He maintains active research collaborations and supervises graduate students in his areas of expertise. Dr. Makris's research spans several key areas in computer science with a strong focus on efficient data organization and processing. His work encompasses Data Structures , Information Retrieval , Data Mining , String Management and Processing Algorithms , Computational Geometry , Internet Technologies , Bioinformatics , and Multimedia Databases . His interdisciplinary approach bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications across various domains including web technologies, bioinformatics, and emergency response systems. Analysis of Dr. Makris's publication record reveals a consistent research trajectory focused on efficient algorithms for information management. His work demonstrates evolution from foundational data structure research in the 1990s to more applied work in web technologies, social media analysis, and machine learning applications in recent years. A notable pattern is his ability to adapt core algorithmic techniques to emerging application domains while maintaining theoretical rigor. Dr. Makris maintains an impressive scholarly record with over 3,000 citations, an h-index of 29, and an i10-index of 71 according to Google Scholar metrics. These indicators reflect the significant impact of his research within the computer science community. As an active faculty member, Dr. Makris maintains regular office hours on Tuesdays from 18:00-20:00 and Thursdays from 12:00-14:00. He is accessible via email at makri@ceid.upatras.gr or makri@upatras.gr for academic inquiries and student supervision.
Pavlos S. Georgilakis is a Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), specializing in modern techniques for power system analysis, optimization, and renewable energy integration. He holds a Diploma (1990) and PhD (2000) in Electrical Engineering from NTUA. His career includes roles as Lecturer (2009) and Associate Professor (2018–2023) at NTUA, and Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Crete (2004–2009). Research focuses on power transmission/distribution systems, transformer design, and applying AI/optimization for grid efficiency. He led 10 research projects, including Horizon 2020 initiatives SHAR-Q, WiseGRID, and NobelGrid. He authored 3 books and over 230 publications (SCOPUS citations: >5,500). Editor of IET Smart Grid, Energies, and Electricity journals; senior IEEE member. He supervised 4 doctoral, 9 master’s, and 76 diploma theses. Awards include the 2013 Best Reviewer Award from Electric Power Systems Research. Active in energy storage, smart grids, and decentralized energy resource integration.
Aris T. Pagourtzis is a Professor of Computer Science at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), where he also serves as the Head of the Computer Science Division. He is additionally a Lead Researcher at the Archimedes Research Center, Athena RC. His academic career includes positions at the University of Ioannina, the University of Liverpool, the ETH Zuerich, the University of Athens, and the Athens University of Economics and Business. Education: Diploma in Electrical Engineering (1989) and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1999), both from the National Technical University of Athens Professor Pagourtzis's research spans multiple areas of theoretical computer science, with particular emphasis on computational complexity, graph algorithms, distributed algorithms, approximation algorithms, network algorithms, cryptography, and counting complexity. His work often bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in network design, security protocols, and optimization problems. He has developed novel algorithms for problems ranging from community detection in networks to Byzantine fault-tolerant protocols and privacy-preserving voting systems. His recent publications show a continued focus on fundamental algorithmic problems while expanding into newer areas like temporal graph analysis, blockchain applications, and privacy-preserving technologies. There's a clear trend toward addressing real-world challenges through rigorous theoretical frameworks, particularly in distributed systems, secure computation, and optimization under constraints. Professor Pagourtzis has served on program and organizing committees for numerous theoretical computer science and cryptography conferences, co-chairing CIAC 2017 and FCT 2021. His research has received funding from diverse sources including US, UK, French, EU, and Greek national resources. He is actively involved in teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses at NTUA, including Algorithms and Complexity, Foundations of Computer Science, Computational Cryptography, and Network Algorithms and Complexity. He leads the Computation and Reasoning Laboratory (corelab) at NTUA, which focuses on theoretical computer science research.
