Dr. George Stamou is a Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), serving as Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Learning Systems Laboratory (AILS). His expertise spans knowledge representation, machine learning, neural networks, and semantic technologies. He leads interdisciplinary initiatives such as the postgraduate program 'Data Science and Machine Learning' (2018–2022). Research Interests: Focuses on knowledge graphs, interpretable AI, semantic web applications, and multimodal learning. His work integrates formal logic systems (e.g., description logics) with modern deep learning techniques, addressing challenges in explainability, bias detection, and ethical AI applications. Publications: Over 150 articles in AI journals/conferences with an h-index of 34 (Google Scholar). Notable contributions include datasets like CHORDONOMICON (music analysis), GOSt-MT (gender bias in MT), and methodologies for counterfactual explanations in machine learning. Awards & Committees: Active in W3C and RuleML standardization bodies. Co-organized major AI conferences. Recognized for contributions to semantic interoperability and knowledge-based systems. Labs & Teams: Directs AILS-NTUA lab and collaborates with CISRI (Computer & Information Systems Research Institute). Engages in EU projects like CultureLabs (cultural heritage digitalization) andsmarty4covid (health data analysis).
Amalia Foka is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science Applications for the Arts at the Department of Fine Arts & Art Sciences , School of Fine Arts , University of Ioannina , Greece. She has held academic positions at the University of Patras (2005-2013), University of Ioannina (2005-2008), and Computer Technology Institute & Press "Diophantus" (2014-2015). Her research bridges Artificial Intelligence with Digital Art , focusing on Generative AI , Social Media Mining , and Human-Computer Interaction within artistic contexts. Education: BEng in Computer Systems Engineering (1998) from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST) , UK MSc in Advanced Control (1999) from UMIST PhD in Robotics (2005) from the Department of Computer Science , University of Crete Her artistic research includes projects like Bushwalking (StyleGAN2 landscape generation), Breaking the Silence (NLP analysis of taboo topics), and The Invisible Structures of the Artworld (social media-driven network visualization). She leads the Multimedia Lab at the University of Ioannina, focusing on AI in Creative Processes and Digital Interaction methodologies.
Full Professor at the School of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece. Previously served as Associate Professor (2015-2020), Assistant Professor (2008-2015), and Lecturer (2002-2008) at the same institution. Also worked as an Informatics Teacher in Greek Secondary Education from 1989-2002. His research focuses on Learning Technologies with emphasis on Conversational Agents in Education, Learning Analytics, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Computational Thinking, Teaching Machine Learning at School, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). His recent work heavily investigates the application of AI, particularly conversational agents and large language models, in educational contexts. His publications show a strong trend toward AI applications in education, particularly focusing on conversational agents, learning analytics, and automated grading systems. The research spans multiple educational contexts from K-12 to higher education, with particular attention to student self-regulation, collaborative learning, and ethical considerations in AI implementation. 3 Best paper awards at international conferences Interview by Educational Technology Magazine (2013) Cubes Coding project - Winners of Open Education Challenge 2014 Cubes Coding project - Winners of NUMA Competition 2014 Has supervised 5 completed PhD theses, 4 ongoing PhD theses, over 60 Master's theses, and over 120 undergraduate theses. Led the colMOOC project (2018-2020), a €999,000 EU-funded project on integrating conversational agents and Learning Analytics in MOOCs. Also coordinated the T4E project (2020-2022) on Teachers' Fast-paced Distance Training on Tele-education and a MOOC in Greek on Introduction to Programming with Python. Previously served as Director of the Software and Interactive Technologies Laboratory (SWITCH Lab) until 2020, Member of AUTH Educational Policy Committee until 2020, and Chair of the Scientific Supervisory Board of the 2nd Experimental Junior High School in Thessaloniki until 2020.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Sarah E. Chasins is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) department at the University of California, Berkeley, with research spanning programming languages and human-computer interaction. She leads the PLAIT Lab (Programming Languages for Approachable and Inclusive Tools) and serves as a faculty affiliate at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS). Her work bridges computer science with social sciences, climate reporting, legal systems, and biological research through extensive collaborations. Dr. Chasins' research focuses on democratizing programming for non-traditional programmers including scientists, social scientists, journalists, and data scientists. Her work emphasizes creating approachable programming tools that help practitioners reach correct programs while understanding, extending, and trusting those programs. She specifically investigates program synthesis, programming tools for scientific domains, and human-centered programming language design. Her research mission aims to make programming a path to a more informed and evidence-driven society rather than just a way to get wrong answers faster. Her recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward making programming more accessible and understandable. The work spans code search techniques, program synthesis approaches, refactoring tools, and studies of how domain experts interact with programming languages. A consistent theme across her research is placing human needs at the center of programming language design and implementation. Dr. Chasins actively mentors PhD students including Justin Lubin, Eric Rawn, Parker Ziegler, Sarah "Slim" Lim, Hellina Hailu Nigatu, David Minh-Duy Cao, and Marlena Preigh. She has previously advised numerous master's and undergraduate students who have gone on to work in both academia and industry. Her teaching includes core courses like CS164 (Programming Languages and Compilers) and specialized courses like CS294-184 (Building User-Centered Programming Tools) and CS39-001 (Technology, Society, and Power). She maintains an active service record in the programming languages community, having served on program committees for major conferences including PLDI, POPL, OOPSLA, and SPLASH. Notably, she co-chaired the Student Research Competition at PLDI 2020 and 2021 and has been involved in organizing workshops focused on programming languages and human-computer interaction.
Maria Virvou serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Informatics at the University of Piraeus, where she also directs the Graduate Program in Informatics and leads the Research Laboratory 'Software Technology'. She holds significant institutional leadership roles including membership in the University Senate and has chaired the Department of Informatics for multiple terms. As Editor-in-Chief of Springer book series 'Learning and Analytics in Intelligent Systems' and 'Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Software and Systems Engineering', she maintains substantial academic influence across international scholarly platforms. Dr. Virvou earned her PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from the University of Sussex with a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation, a Master of Science in Computer Science from University College London, and her undergraduate degree from the Department of Mathematics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her educational background in both mathematics and computer science has provided a strong foundation for her interdisciplinary research approach. Professor Virvou's research spans Software Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Educational Software and Games, User Modeling, and Human-Computer Interaction. She has pioneered work in personalized interactive software systems, applying fuzzy logic and machine learning techniques to create adaptive educational environments. Her recent work demonstrates a strategic expansion into AI applications for healthcare, with significant contributions to medical diagnostics using large language models and multimodal AI systems. She has also made notable advances in smart tourism applications through personalization techniques. With over 400 publications to her name, Professor Virvou's scholarly output shows a clear progression from foundational work in user modeling toward increasingly sophisticated AI applications across multiple domains. Her publication trends reveal a strategic focus on explainable AI, multimodal systems, and practical implementations that bridge theoretical advances with real-world applications, particularly in healthcare and education sectors. Ranked #1 worldwide in 'User Modelling' publications (147,450 total publications) according to Scopus Ranked #1 worldwide in 'Educational Software' publications according to both Scopus and Microsoft Academic Search Recognized among the top 2% of most influential Artificial Intelligence scientists worldwide by Stanford University General Co-Chair at the 14th IISA Conference 2023 Invited Keynote Speaker at the 35th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T 2023) As Director of the Research Laboratory 'Software Technology', Professor Virvou has built a robust research team focused on AI applications across multiple domains. She co-founded and co-chairs the IEEE Intelligent Information Systems and Applications international conference series, creating a significant platform for scholarly exchange. Her leadership extends to editorial roles with major academic publishers and active participation in international research collaborations that have secured substantial funding for innovative projects in AI and software engineering.
Professor Gregoris Mentzas is a faculty member at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he directs the Division of Industrial Electric Devices and Decision Systems. His research focuses on AI-enabled decision systems, knowledge management, and semantic technologies applied to digital enterprises and e-government. With over 350 publications, he ranks among the top 2% most cited scientists globally. Research Interests: Artificial intelligence for decision augmentation, big data analytics in personalized health and smart mobility, semantic web technologies, and industrial internet of things. Current projects investigate trustworthy AI frameworks and hybrid intelligence systems for Industry 5.0. Teaching: Leads courses in Digital Enterprise Management, Strategic Information Systems, and Project Management at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, incorporating industry case studies and experiential learning approaches. Awards & Leadership: Top 2% Highly Cited Scientist (PLOS Biology 2021) 5 Best Paper Awards in international conferences Director of Information Management Unit (1997-present) Board Member of Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (2006-2009) Projects & Funding: Secured over €18 million in research grants through 60+ European projects with industry partners including SAP, IBM, and Siemens. Research outcomes led to three technology spin-offs.
Nikitas Karanikolas serves as Professor in the Department of Informatics and Computer Engineering at the University of West Attica since March 2018, following a distinguished career progression from Assistant Professor (2004) to Associate Professor (2010) and Professor (2014) at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens. His professional trajectory includes significant roles as Systems Head of TEI Athens Library (1996-1997) and Chief of Informatics at Aretaieio University Hospital (1997-2004), alongside leadership positions in the Greek Computer Society as Board Member (2004-2006) and Secretary General (2006-2008). His academic foundation includes: Bachelor's in Statistics and Informatics from Athens University of Economics and Business (1988) PhD in Applied Informatics from Athens University of Economics and Business (1994) with thesis "Technological and Linguistic approaches in Natural Language Understanding" Dr. Karanikolas maintains an exceptionally broad research portfolio spanning Natural Language Processing , Computational Linguistics , Medical Informatics , and Green Energy systems. His work consistently bridges theoretical computational frameworks with practical healthcare applications, particularly evident in recent dementia care technologies and Greek language processing systems. The interdisciplinary nature of his research connects computational phonology with medical diagnostics and e-government applications. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals a pronounced shift toward AI-driven healthcare solutions (particularly dementia patient monitoring), multilingual NLP systems (Greek and Polish), and urban safety applications . His work demonstrates consistent methodology development in ontological representations and multimodal fusion techniques, with increasing emphasis on real-world clinical and governmental implementations since 2023. No scientific awards were documented in the source materials. With 16 journal papers, 68 conference publications, and six authoritative Greek university textbooks, Dr. Karanikolas maintains an active research trajectory. His advising capacity is evidenced through extensive publication mentorship, particularly in medical informatics and NLP projects. While specific grant details are unavailable, his hospital information system implementations and textbook authorship suggest successful research funding acquisition. Current research activities focus on multimodal aggression prediction systems for dementia care, Greek language ontological frameworks, and urban navigation safety applications, primarily conducted through the University of West Attica's informatics infrastructure.
Angeliki Gazi is an Associate Professor at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Athens) and Visiting Professor at the University of Athens. She specializes in Media Psychology and Technology, focusing on identity, emotions, and mediated communication through digital platforms. Her academic journey includes roles at Cyprus University of Technology (2009–2018) and teaching at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She holds a PhD from the latter in Media Psychology (identity and radio studies), an MA in Communication, and a Psychology degree from the University of Ioannina. Her clinical training in group analysis was completed at CIRFIP and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Research interests span hybrid media environments, social media, mobile technology impacts, and mediated identities. She is a founding member of the Media Psychology and Technology Division at the Hellenic Psychological Association and contributed to the Scientific Board of the Social Computing Research Center (Cyprus). Her work involves EU/National research projects, publications in international journals, and three authored books. Key research trends in her articles include digital mediation of cultural trauma, participatory web radio, audiovisual resistance in Greece, and sensory urban studies. She explores how technology reshapes human interaction, identity, and emotional expression across media platforms. Her contributions address both theoretical frameworks and practical applications in hybrid environments, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches. Professional service includes editorial roles at Journal of Radio and Audio Media and Radio Journal , and leadership roles in international academic associations like ECREA. Her teaching focuses on research methods and mediated communication practices.
Stavros Demetriadis is a Full Professor at the School of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His research focuses on Learning Technologies, including Conversational Agents in Education, Learning Analytics, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), Computational Thinking, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). He has led EU-funded projects like colMOOC and developed educational tools such as 'pytolearn' for Python instruction and 'Cubes Coding' (winner of Open Education Challenge 2014 and NUMA Competition 2014). He has supervised 5 completed PhD theses, 4 ongoing PhDs, and over 60 Master’s theses. Academic Appointments: Full Professor (2020–present), Associate Professor (2015–2020), Assistant Professor (2012–2015), Lecturer (2002–2008), Informatics Teacher (1989–2002) Education: PhD in Multimedia Technology in Education (2000), MSc in Electronic Physics (1986), BSc in Physics (1983) His work bridges AI and education, with over 161 publications and an h-index of 27. Recent research explores ChatGPT integration, ethics in Learning Analytics, and AI-driven assessment tools. He has delivered invited talks at institutions like the University of Valladolid (2024) and coordinates the 'Teachers' Fast-paced Distance Training on Tele-education' project. Awards include three international best paper awards and recognition for his 'Cubes Coding' project. Key Research Contributions: Developed frameworks for Conversational Agents in CSCL Innovated Computational Thinking pedagogy through robotics Explored ethics and culture in Learning Analytics adoption Created Python-based MOOCs for non-programmers He has taught courses like Human-Computer Interaction and Learning Analytics, and led short programs on Conversational AI. His collaborations span institutions in Spain, Denmark, and Greece. ORCID: 0000-0002-1561-6372; Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, and Scopus profiles list his extensive output.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Stavrakakis Ioannis is a Professor at the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, School of Science, University of Athens, where he has served since 2002. He previously held academic positions at Northeastern University (1994-1999) and University of Vermont (1988-1994). Ph.D., Electrical Engineering (1988), University of Virginia Diploma, Electrical Engineering (1983), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki His research focuses on network resource allocation algorithms , cooperative content dissemination , mobile ad hoc networks , and privacy-aware protocols . He leads the Advanced Networking Research (ANR) Group. Recent publications highlight trends in AI-driven network optimization , edge computing for VR , drone-assisted sensor networks , and privacy in vehicular systems . Key themes include game theory applications, energy-efficient protocols, and distributed learning frameworks. Contact: ioannis@di.uoa.gr
Georgios Lappas is a Professor of Information Technology with emphases on Social and Political Informatics at the Department of Communication and Digital Media, University of Western Macedonia. He serves as Head of the Department, Director of the Digital Media and Strategic Communication Laboratory, and Vice-Director of the MSc Programs "Public Discourse and Digital Media" and "Digital Games and Multimedia Development". He is also a member of the Regional Council for Research and Innovation of the Region of Western Macedonia. Professor Lappas holds a PhD in Computer Science and an MSc in Applied Artificial Intelligence. His academic career spans numerous research contributions and leadership roles within the university and research community. His primary research interests focus on Social Informatics, E-Government, E-Democracy, Online Politics, Human-Computer Interaction, Digital Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Web Mining, Opinion Mining, Artificial Intelligence, Web Intelligence, and Social Network Analysis. His work bridges computer science with social and political sciences, particularly examining how digital technologies impact governance, political communication, and social interactions. Professor Lappas has published extensively, with over 100 papers in international journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters. His recent work examines social media campaigns in political contexts, citizen engagement with digital government services, and the application of emerging technologies like augmented reality in various sectors. His publications appear in prestigious journals such as New Media and Society, Journal of Information Technology and Politics, Local Government Studies, and International Journal of Electronic Governance. He has served as Program Committee member in more than 130 international conferences and on editorial boards of journals including Journal of Information Technology and Politics, International Journal of Entertainment Technology and Management, and Journal of E-Government. Professor Lappas has chaired or co-chaired four international conferences, served on organizing committees for seven conferences, acted as publicity chair for two conferences, and chaired sessions at over 20 international conferences. Professor Lappas has participated in numerous national and EU-funded projects. Currently, he coordinates the "Wine Live Label Innovative Augmented Reality Applications in Wine Product Labeling" project under the "Research-Create-Innovate" program, and leads work package 5 of the "AGRO-TOUR" project focused on mixed reality applications for promoting mountain trails in Western Macedonia. He teaches courses including Human-Machine Communication, Digital Marketing and Online Entrepreneurship, Online Reputational Management, E-Government, E-Democracy and Political Campaigns on the Internet, Special Issues on Social Informatics, and Big Data and Web Intelligence.
Elias Economou is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the Psychology Department, University of Crete. He received his bachelor's degree from the same department and earned a PhD from Rutgers University. Since 2004, he has held various roles including Adjunct Professor and Lecturer before becoming Associate Professor in 2015. Education: Bachelor's in Psychology (University of Crete), PhD (Rutgers University) His research focuses on understanding how human cognitive systems process environmental stimuli to perceive objects and their qualities, with dual emphasis on decoding human visual perception and simulating it in machine systems. Key areas include visual perception, attention mechanisms, and human-machine interaction. Recent publications analyze grouping factors in contrast illusions and lightness perception theories, reflecting interests in perceptual organization, environmental stimuli processing, and computational modeling of vision. He currently participates in the funded EMBRACE HE project. Teaching responsibilities include courses on perception, attention, memory, problem-solving, and experimental aesthetics at both undergraduate and graduate levels. His current affiliation with the University of Crete has been continuous since 2004.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Alvin Cheung is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Division at UC Berkeley's EECS department. He is affiliated with the Data Systems and Foundations group, Programming Systems group, Sky Lab, and SLICE Lab, and serves as a faculty affiliate at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science. He advises the Data Science Discovery Program and provides technical guidance to industry partners. His research spans data management, programming languages, and scalable software systems, with emphasis on helping users process large datasets efficiently. Key innovations include verified lifting (applying formal methods and ML to infer program properties) and systems for optimizing database-backed applications and geospatial analytics. Recent work explores LLM-driven code optimization and transpilation techniques. His publications (2023-2025) show strong trends in ML-enhanced systems, verified compilation, and data management tools. Articles frequently integrate formal methods, program synthesis, and hardware-aware optimizations across domains like databases, distributed computing, and HCI. Scientific Awards: ACSIC Rock Star Award (2025) Dahl-Nygaard Junior Prize (2024) VLDB Early Career Research Contribution Award (2023) IEEE TCDE Rising Star Award (2020) Sloan Fellowship (2019) NSF CAREER Award (2017) 20+ additional honors Advising & Grants: He mentors PhD/MS students (e.g., Lily Liu at OpenAI, Chenglong Wang at Microsoft Research). Research is funded by: NSF DOE ONR ARO Intel Notable grants include ONR Young Investigator Award and ARO Early Career Program Award. Labs & Teams: Leads projects in Berkeley's Data Systems/Programming Systems groups and collaborates with Sky Lab/SLICE Lab. Manages labs focused on verified compilation (e.g., Tenspiler) and data infrastructure (e.g., Spatialyze).
Panayiotis Tsaparas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Ioannina, Greece. He is also a Collaborating Senior Researcher at the Archimedes Research Center since 2023. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, postdoctoral work at the University of Rome (La Sapienza) and the University of Helsinki, and research experience at Microsoft Research, Search Labs. Education: B.Sc., University of Crete, Greece Ph.D., University of Toronto, Canada, supervised by Allan Borodin His research focuses on algorithmic fairness, social network and media analysis, and data mining . He investigates how opinions form and spread in networks, how bias manifests in algorithms like PageRank, and how to design fair recommendation systems. His work bridges theoretical algorithm development with practical applications in social computing. His recent publications, appearing in top venues like WWW, KDD, WSDM, and SDM, reveal strong trends in fairness-aware algorithms, opinion dynamics, polarization modeling, and temporal network analysis . He has pioneered work on fairness in PageRank and link recommendations, and on measuring and moderating polarization in online communities. Scientific Awards: Best paper award at ACM SIGMOD Workshop on Data Bases and Social Networks (DBSocial), 2013 Best paper award runner-up at ACM KDD, 2006 He leads a research group and has advised students on topics including internet review analysis and election prediction using Twitter. He has secured significant funding, notably a Marie Curie Reintegration Grant (JMUGCS) , which supported research on jointly mining user-generated content across reviews, social networks, and behavioral data. His teaching includes undergraduate and graduate courses such as Data Mining and Online Social Networks and Media . He collaborates extensively with researchers like Evaggelia Pitoura, Nikos Mamoulis, Aristides Gionis, and others, forming a strong network in the data mining and social network analysis community.
Christos Ouzounis is a Professor of Bioinformatics at the Department of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , with a career spanning institutions including the European Bioinformatics Institute , King's College London , and University of Toronto . His work bridges Computational Biology , Digital Biology , and Metagenomics , focusing on large-scale data analysis, machine learning applications, and functional annotation of proteins. Education : BSc in Biological Sciences (1986), MSc in Biological Computation (1987), and DPhil in Computational Chemistry (1993) Key Roles : Director of the Bioinformatics Centre at King's College London (2007-2010), Research Director at IDEP-EKETA (2014-2020) His research interests include low-complexity protein sequences , Covid-19 seasonality patterns linked to UV radiation, and metagenomic analysis of urban microbiomes in cultural heritage sites. Current projects involve machine learning models for microbial coexistence networks, ontological classification of biomedical literature, and bioinformatics tool development . Publications highlight trends in archaeal genomics , functional dark matter in metagenomics, and epidemiological modelling . Notable collaborations include work on BioTextQuest v2.0 for concept discovery and MjCyc for metabolic pathway analysis.
