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.
Kyprianos Papadimitriou is a Researcher at the Microprocessor and Hardware Laboratory within the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technical University of Crete . He holds a PhD in Electronic and Computer Engineering (2012) and has been involved in teaching laboratory courses such as Logic Design , Computer Architecture , and VLSI/ASIC Circuit Design . Research Areas : His work spans Reconfigurable Systems , Hardware Design , Computer Architecture , RFID Systems , and Real-Time Systems . He has developed innovative approaches in FPGA-based dynamic reconfiguration, MPSoC security, and 3D stereo vision for surveillance. Key Trends : Runtime reconfiguration for FPGAs Security frameworks for NoC-based MPSoCs Low-cost embedded vision systems Optimization of reconfiguration overhead Hardware task scheduling methodologies Genetic algorithm implementations on FPGAs Scientific Contributions : 1 USA patent (2005) Co-author of VLSI-SoC 2013 paper nominated for 1st Prize Active member of scientific committees (FPL, ReConFig) Peer reviewer for IEEE, Elsevier, and Springer journals Session chair at IEEE CNS and HPCC conferences Grants & Projects : Participated in competitive European and national programs, serving as scientific manager, coordinator, and technical coordinator. Developed spin-off company (2003-2005) to commercialize master's thesis research. Laboratory & Teaching : Affiliated with the Microprocessor and Hardware Laboratory , focusing on practical training in digital systems, processor-based systems, and VLSI design.
Stavros Nikolopoulos is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Ioannina, Greece. He serves as Director of the Algorithms Engineering Lab and holds a PhD in Computer Science (1991, University of Ioannina). His research focuses on Algorithmic Graph Theory, Parallel Algorithms, Malware Detection, and Software Watermarking. He has published extensively in top-tier journals and conferences, including Discrete Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. Education: B.Sc. in Mathematics, University of Ioannina (1982) M.Sc. in Computer Science, University of Dundee (1985) Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Ioannina (1991) Research Interests: Design and Analysis of Algorithms Graph Algorithms (e.g., permutation graphs, cographs) Malware Detection via System-call Group Analysis Graph-based Watermarking Systems Discrete Event Simulation Awards & Recognition: Best Student Paper Award (WEBIST'13) Best Paper Award (CompSysTech'13) Labs & Projects: Director, Algorithms Engineering Lab Principal Investigator in EU-funded projects (e.g., HRAKLITOS, PENED-05)
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.
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.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Todd Millstein is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He served as the Computer Science Department Chair from 2022-2025 and is also an Amazon Scholar. His research focuses on making software systems more reliable through programming languages techniques, with significant contributions to network verification and probabilistic programming. Millstein received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington Department of Computer Science, where he was a member of the Cecil group led by Craig Chambers. Prior to that, he completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University under the guidance of Paris Kanellakis and Pascal Van Hentenryck. Millstein's research spans several areas of programming languages and systems with a focus on reliability. He has made significant contributions to network verification, developing the Batfish network configuration analyzer which is now managed by Amazon Web Services and forms the basis of Oracle Cloud's Network Path Analyzer. His work has been recognized with the ACM SIGCOMM Networking Systems Award in 2025. He also works on interactive program verification through lemma synthesis and scalable reasoning methods for probabilistic programming languages. His research bridges programming languages theory with practical systems challenges, as highlighted in his SPLASH/OOPSLA 2024 keynote "Everything is a Program (even if it's not)". Millstein's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on verification and reliability across multiple domains. His work shows a progression from foundational programming language techniques to practical applications in networking and probabilistic systems. Key themes include data-driven approaches to program analysis, synthesis of verification artifacts, and applying programming languages techniques to non-traditional domains like network configuration. Millstein's scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards including an NSF CAREER Award, an ACM SIGPLAN Most Influential PLDI Paper Award, an ACM SIGCOMM Networking Systems Award, IEEE Micro Top Picks selection, best-paper awards from PLDI, OOPSLA, and SIGCOMM, a Microsoft Research Outstanding Collaborator Award, an Okawa Foundation Research Grant, an IBM Faculty Award, and a Facebook Research Award. He has also received both the Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award (for junior faculty) and the Eon Instrumentation Inc. Excellence in Teaching Award (for senior faculty) from UCLA Engineering. Millstein advises several Ph.D. students including Ana Brendel, Poorva Garg (co-advised with Guy Van den Broeck), Rajdeep Mondal (co-advised with George Varghese), and Rathin Singha (co-advised with George Varghese). His research has been supported by various grants including an NSF CAREER Award, Okawa Foundation Research Grant, IBM Faculty Award, and Facebook Research Award. He has also been a Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Intentionet, which was later acquired by Amazon Web Services. Millstein is actively involved in the Batfish project, an open-source network configuration analyzer that has had significant practical impact. Batfish is now managed by AWS, powers Oracle Cloud's Network Path Analyzer, and is used by dozens of companies. His research group continues to work on network reliability, developing techniques for scalable BGP policy verification and behavioral testing of protocol implementations.
National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece
Fei He is an Associate Professor at Tsinghua University's School of Software, where he leads the THUFV research lab focused on formal verification and program analysis. His research spans formal methods, automated reasoning, and program verification, with applications in concurrent systems, networking (P4 programs), and probabilistic systems. Education & Employment: PhD from Tsinghua University (2008) Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University (2010-2011) and Politecnico di Milano (2006-2007) Faculty positions at Tsinghua since 2008 (Assistant Professor 2008-2011, Associate Professor 2011-present) Research: He's developed innovative techniques in SMT solving for concurrency verification, termination analysis, and regression verification. His tools like Deagle have won gold medals at SV-COMP. Current work focuses on probabilistic program verification and network program analysis. Publications: His 80+ publications demonstrate consistent contributions across formal methods (PLDI, OOPSLA, ICSE), networking (NSDI, INFOCOM), and software engineering (TSE, TOSEM), with recent emphasis on data-driven verification and automated invariant inference. Awards: Gold Medals in SV-COMP ConcurrencySafety (2022, 2023, 2025) Best Paper Awards at PPoPP 2022 and SETTA 2022 Advising: Mentors 13 PhD/Master's students in THUFV lab, with graduates joining Huawei, MPI-SP, and research institutions. Secured multiple NSF China grants for trustworthy software research. Service: Associate Editor for Theory of Computing Systems, program committees for PLDI/ICSE/OOPSLA, and former Local Chair for ISSTA 2019.
Foundation for research and technology-hellasGreece
Kostas Magoutis is Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at the University of Crete , and a collaborating researcher at FORTH-ICS . His research focuses on scalable distributed systems, cloud computing, IoT, and quantum-enhanced control. Education and Career: Ph.D. in Computer Science, Harvard University (2003) Research Staff Member, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center (2003-2009) Assistant Professor (2014-2019, tenured 2017) and Associate Professor (2020-2024), University of Crete Professor and Chair, University of Crete (2024-present) Research Interests: His work spans distributed computer systems , cloud computing , scalable data stores and stream-processing engines , Internet of Things , and the emerging area of quantum-enhanced control . Representative projects include the H.F.R.I.-funded QUADS (2025-2028) on quantum-enhanced adaptive systems, STREAMSTORE (2020-2023) on elastic stream processing, SmartCityBus on IoT-driven public transport, and the EU FP7 PaaSage project on model-based cloud lifecycle management. Awards and Honors: Best Paper Awards: USENIX ATC 2002, USENIX BSDCon 2002, IEEE SRDS 2014 (Best Student Paper), IoT 2024 (Runner-up) Grand Challenge Audience Award, ACM DEBS 2022 Best Poster Award, ACM EuroSys 2022 EU Marie Curie IEF Fellow (2009-2011) Alexander S. Onassis Fellow (1994-1995) and J. William Fulbright Scholar (1993-1994) Students and Mentoring: He has supervised or co-supervised more than 30 Ph.D., M.Sc. and undergraduate students, including Antonis Papaioannou (Ph.D. 2021), Efthimios Papageorgiou (current Ph.D.), and numerous M.Sc. graduates now in industry and academia. Labs and Teams: At FORTH-ICS he leads activities within the Distributed Systems and Storage Laboratory, coordinating research on scalable storage, stream processing, and IoT data management. The lab collaborates closely with European and national initiatives, hosting visiting researchers and industry partners.
Ioannis Theodoridis is a Professor at the Department of Informatics, University of Piraeus, and Director of the Data Science Laboratory under the School of Information and Communication Technologies. His research focuses on data science, particularly large-scale data management and analysis, with applications in maritime informatics, spatiotemporal data, and mobility patterns. He holds editorial roles at ACM Computing Surveys and has contributed to numerous international conferences and journals. As a project leader in Horizon 2020 initiatives, he has coordinated research on data-driven solutions for maritime safety and urban mobility. He earned his Diploma (1990) and PhD (1996) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). His work includes developing scalable systems for maritime route forecasting (e.g., GMSA), frameworks for vessel trajectory prediction (e.g., VesselVision), and platforms like i4sea for fisheries monitoring. Contact: ytheod@unipi.gr .
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
Evangelos Papapetrou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Ioannina, Greece. He holds a Diploma (1998) and PhD (2003) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research focuses on wireless and mobile networks, including mobile ad-hoc networks, opportunistic networks, satellite networks, quality of service (QoS), and network coding. He has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed publications and actively participates in EU/nationally funded projects. Research interests include: Wireless/Mobile Network Architectures Opportunistic and Social Mobile Networks Satellite Communication Systems Network Coding Techniques Routing Protocol Design His work emphasizes practical implementations of network protocols, with recent trends focusing on ultra-reliable low-latency communication, energy-efficient broadcasting, and protocol optimizations for 5G/IoT environments. He has developed simulation tools like Adyton for opportunistic networks and contributed to privacy-preserving routing solutions. Teaching responsibilities include courses on Computer Networks I and Wireless Networks (2024/25). He maintains active IEEE/ACM memberships and serves on conference review committees.
Kostas Magoutis is Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at the University of Crete and collaborating researcher with FORTH-ICS. His research focuses on distributed systems, scalable data processing, IoT, and cloud computing, with projects including GreenInCities for urban regeneration and STREAMSTORE for stateful stream processing systems. Research interests include: Distributed computer systems architecture Elastic stream processing platforms Quantum-enhanced computing applications Multi-cloud application lifecycle management Recent publications demonstrate strong focus on federated data systems, quantum computing applications, and IoT-enhanced infrastructure, with consistent output in high-impact conferences and journals. Awards and distinctions: Multiple best paper awards from USENIX conferences Grand Challenge Audience Award at DEBS 2022 Marie Curie Fellowship and IBM Research awards Advises over 20 PhD and MSc students in distributed systems research. Leads multiple EU-funded projects and serves on program committees for top conferences including SOSP, EuroSys, and IEEE BigData. Directs research groups in distributed systems and cloud computing at FORTH-ICS.
Professor Foto N. Afrati is a Distinguished Faculty Member at the National Technical University of Athens, specifically within the School of Electrical and Computing Engineering and the Division of Communication, Electronic and Information Engineering. She has held this position since 1993, following previous academic ranks at the same university as Associate Professor (1989-1993), Assistant Professor (1985-1989), Lecturer (1982-1985), and Research Fellow (1980-1982). She completed her PhD in Electrical Engineering at Imperial College of the University of London in March 1980, with a dissertation focused on Error Correcting Codes by Algorithms. Her academic journey also included a Diploma from Imperial College (March 1980) and an earlier Diploma in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (June 1976). Professor Afrati's research interests span several critical areas in computer science: Parallel and distributed computation Processing of very large data (including MapReduce) Data and web mining Database Systems Information integration Query optimization Computation and complexity of algorithms Approximation algorithms Her most recent publications demonstrate expertise in MapReduce environments, query optimization with views, and data exchange frameworks. These works are published in prestigious venues like EDBT, VLDB, PODS, and ICDT, with specific focus areas including adaptive sampling techniques, data source integrity, and algorithm complexity in database environments. Professor Afrati has received significant recognition in her field, including Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT) 2009 She has advised numerous PhD students throughout her career, including Theodoros Mitakos, Ezz Hattab, Nikos Kiourtis, and Angelos Vasilakopoulos. Her current PhD students include Victor Kyritsis and Nikos Stassinopoulos. Professor Afrati maintains strong professional networks through her various visiting positions at institutions such as Google, Stanford University, IBM Research Center, University of Helsinki, University of Paris, DIMACS, and others. She has served as associate editor and reviewer for major academic journals and conferences including IEEE TKDE, ACM Transactions of Database Systems (TODS), Journal of ACM (JACM), and Theoretical Computer Science (TCS). Her extensive work in research projects spans both national and international initiatives, with funding from sources including the European Union's Thalis project, ESPRIT working groups, HCM networks, and Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology grants.
Labros Bisdounis is a Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of the Peloponnese, Greece. He previously held positions at the Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, including Associate Professor, Full Professor, and Dean of the School of Technological Applications (2016–2018). He has extensive industry experience as a senior research engineer and project manager at Intracom S.A. (2000–2008), focusing on VLSI circuits and telecom applications. His research interests include CMOS circuit timing/power modeling, low-power/high-speed design, MOSFET modeling, and sensor applications. He has authored over 30 papers with 740+ citations and is an IEEE member. Education: Diploma in Electrical Engineering (1992), University of Patras Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1999), University of Patras Research Interests: CMOS circuit timing and power dissipation modeling Deep-submicron/nano-CMOS circuit design MOSFET device modeling Low-power embedded systems and SoC Sensor applications and organic electronics Leadership Roles: Dean of the School of Engineering, University of the Peloponnese (2023–present) Director of Training & Lifelong Learning Centre (2019–2019) Board Member, Hellenic NARIC (2016–2019) Collaborations: Active at the Hellenic Open University as a tutor in Computer Architecture and Digital Systems modules. Co-developed the AETHER framework for pervasive computing and contributed to energy-aware SoC designs for 5 GHz WLANs.
