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Maria Panayiotou was born on June 5, 1982 in Larnaka.
She studied History and Archeology at the University of Cyprus from where she graduated in 2004 with honors. In 2006 she completed her postgraduate studies at the University of Birmingham where she earned an MPhil (B) in Modern East Mediterranean History. In 2017 she was awarded a PhD in Modern and Contemporary History from the University of Cyprus. In January 2024, she had the honor of being appointed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, as Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, handing over the post of Environmental Commissioner of Cyprus which she held since March 2023.
She served as the Head of the Press Office and Spokesperson for the EDEK socialist political party, from March 2016 to February 2023. From 2004 to 2022 she has worked on more than seven excellence research projects, co-financed by the European Development Funds, the University of Cyprus, the Research and Innovation Foundation, and the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation. Her employment as a member of the Scientific Team of the University of Cyprus for the “Cyprus File” project for the period 2007 - 2010, stands out. In the period 2017 - 2022 she has worked as a Specialist Scientist, teaching economic history at the Department of History and Archeology of the University of Cyprus.
Dr Panayiotou's involvement in historical research formed a fundamental pillar in her career, gaining significant experience in archival research and skills in managing European research programs of excellence. In particular, her research into the economic history of Cyprus, the study of Cyprus' agricultural export trade and the analysis of British fiscal policy, strengthened her skills in analyzing quantitative and qualitative data.
Her significant bibliographic contributions to research on Cyprus's ports, port infrastructure, and economic development are significant as they cover an important bibliographic gap. She has published dozens of scientific articles in mixed volumes and international scientific journals (such as the European History Quarterly) on these subjects, and has participated in numerous international scientific conferences, with the most recent being the International Conference of the Modern Greek Studies Association in Toronto, Canada.
Dr Panayiotou hails from Agios Sergios in Ammochostos and currently resides in Larnaka. Her parents are Michalis Panayiotou and Ifigenia Kossifou. She is the mother of a nine-year-old boy, Achilleas Ioannou.

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Nikolaos Papaioannou graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
He then pursued his doctoral thesis, which he defended in 1991, earning an ‘Excellent’ grade. In 1995, he was appointed as a Lecturer in the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy at the same institution. Over the years, he advanced through the academic ranks and became a first-rank professor in 2012.
Since 2013, he has served as the Director of the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy. From September 2017 to August 2019, he was the President of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences.
On June 11, 2019, he was elected Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, assuming office on September 1, 2019. He has held numerous committee positions within the School of Veterinary Medicine and AUTH. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic National Academic Recognition and Information Center (DOATAP) from 2013 to 2017, President of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Accreditation System (ESYD), and President of the Hellenic Veterinary Medical Society from 2015 to 2019. He pursued further education at the Laboratories of Pathological Anatomy at the Schools of Veterinary Medicine in Zurich, Utrecht, and Wisconsin, United States of America. He actively engages in scientific research with colleagues from these institutions.
His educational efforts are focused on Pathological Anatomy, while his research centers on histopathological and immunohistopathological studies of disease lesions, with a particular emphasis on neuropathology and the pathogenesis of cognitive dysfunction.
He is a member of Greek and international scientific societies.
He has supervised seven (7) doctoral theses and served as a member of the advisory committees for eighteen (18) others, as well as participating in thirty-seven (37) doctoral thesis examination committees both in Greece and abroad.
At the postdoctoral level, he has collaborated with and supervised scientists from abroad who visited the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy in Thessaloniki on topics within his specialization.
As of July 2024, he is the Secretary General for Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports.

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Dimitris Papagiannidis was born in 1959, in the highlands of Nafpaktia. He studied Civil Engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace (D.U.Th.). He continued his Postgraduate studies from 1985-86 in France on the subject of "Metal constructions and underground works", while he also earned a Postgraduate Specialization Diploma at the National Technical University of Athens in the INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES 2011-2012 "Environment and Development" with a grade of Excellent.
In Kyriakos Mitsotakis government he was appointed in the position of General Secretariat of Union Resources and Infrastructure, which was re-established at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. Since 2017 he holds the position of the General Manager at the MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT in GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STRATEGIC TRANSPORT PLANNING AND ROAD SAFETY. Under his responsibility were the EU programs of the Ministry; the approval and monitoring of the National Strategic Transport Plan 2019-2037 (ESSM), the ESS, Road Safety 2021-2030, the sectors of “Intelligent Transport Systems-ITS” of Logistics, Air Transport (Waterways etc.), and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans.
For many years he served as Director and Executive in the Special Service for Public Works of Hydraulic Infrastructure Construction. He was mainly involved in the management of Large Public Projects of National/nationwide Level Plumbing and Road Construction with a budget of over 2 billion €. Ιndicatively: the Acheloos Diversion Projects, Athens Water supply from the river Evinos, Water Supply Patras, Thessaloniki and Fyrlia Island of Paxoi, Straw Dam, Irrigation Networks of Amvrakia-Amfilochia, land improvement works in the area of ​​Valtos, Aetoloakarnania, Anti-flooding works in the riparian zone of the Stream of Eschatia, Attica, and the construction of tunnels in Karpenisi, Agios Ilias Aitolo.
He was President of the Association of Civil Engineers of Greece in the period 2004-2009, and General Secretary in 1998-2004. He was President for 3 terms of DKM and is elected in the Central Delegation of Technical Chamber of Greece and in various sections of Engineers from 1990 until today. During the government of Costas Karamanlis, he was in charge of the Special Secretariat for Community Resources and Infrastructure at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in the period 2004-2009.

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Stergios Logothetidis is Professor of Physics, Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Thin Films Technologies, Organic Electronics, Optics and Nanomedicine in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He has extensive R&D experience and leadership as a Coordinator in more than 130 EU and Nationally Funded R&D&I Projects. His research activity and excellence has generated over 1000 papers and review articles in International Journals & Conferences and 400 keynote and invited talks. He is the author of over 395 peer-reviewed papers, 6 books and 9 patents, and has received over 14000 citations holding an h-index=58. He is the Founder and Director of Nanotechnology Lab LTFN (www.ltfn.gr), of the Post-Graduate Program “Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies” (nn.physics.auth.gr) and of the Center of Organic & Printed Electronics Hellas (COPE-H). He is the organizer of the annually NANOTEXNOLOGY multi-event (www.nanotexnology.com) since 2004, and the Founder and Coordinator of the NANONET Research and Innovation Network (www.nano-net.gr) since 2003, with 700 Universities, Research Centers and Companies as members all over the world. Prof. S. Logothetidis is the Founder and President of the Hellenic Organic and Printed Electronics Association (HOPE-A) (www.hope-a.com) with 40 Companies and Organizations and has signed collaboration agreement with 6 other Associations all over the world, and he is the Founder of 2 Start-up Companies 1) Organic Electronic Technologies (OET www.oe-technologies.com) and 2) BL Nanobiomed (www.bl-nanobiomed.com). Prof. Logothetidis coordinated more than 80 european and National projects with more than 150M€, and in 2023 became the Coordinator of 2 new Flagship scientific and industrial Horizon Europe projects of great significance in the field of Energy, Flexible Printed Electronics and Nanotechnologies A) Project Cope-Nano (www.cope-nano.eu), with a total budget of 30 million Euros , will expand the internationally recognized Nanotechnology Lab LTFN into an Autonomous and Sustainable Center of Excellence for Organic, Printed Electronics & Nano-Technologies in Thessaloniki B) Project Flex2Energy (www.flex2energy.eu) with a total budget of 21 million Euros, aim to revolutionize the way we generate and utilize energy developing in Thessaloniki building the 1st sustainable production line for Organic Photovoltaics– Flexible printed organic photovoltaics for integration in Buildings, Greenhouses and even in Automotive.

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Georges Hadziioannou since 2022 is Emeritus Professor of Bordeaux University (Fr). He obtained his doctorate in Physical Sciences at the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg in 1980. Between 1980 and 1982, he was an associate researcher at the Polymer Science and Engineering Department of the University of Massachusetts. In 1982, he became a member of the research staff at the IBM Almaden San Jose California Research Laboratory, where he led the "Surface and Interface Dynamics" group from 1986 to 1989. Between 1985 and 1989, he was concurrently Industrial Research Fellow of the National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST), Washington DC, and consulting professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. In 1989, he became a professor at the University of Groningen (Netherlands), where he directed the Center for Materials Sciences (now Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials) from 1997 to 2000. In 2001, he joined the University Louis-Pasteur of Strasbourg where he was the director of the European School of Chemistry, Polymers and Materials (ECPM) between 2004 and 2009. From 2009 until 2022 Georges Hadziioannou was Professor at the University of Bordeaux at the Chair of “Advanced Functional Materials for Emerging Information, Communication and Energy Technologies”. He led the “Polymer Electronic Materials & Devices” group at the LCPO. He was also holder of the HOMERIC Industrial Chair (ANR/ARKEMA) from 2014 to 2019 and of the SMILE Industrial Chair (ANR/Arkema/ISORG/VALEO/Surys) from 2019 to 2024. He is simultaneously Founder and Director of the EquipEx ELORPrintTec and was Scientific Director of LabEx AMADEus (2011-2021). Since February 2022 he is President of the Scientific Expertise Coordination Committee (CCES) of the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region.
His career is characterized by a strong commitment to fundamental research at different universities and research institutes around the world and a significant industrial tenure at the IBM Almaden Research Laboratory. He pioneered work on nanostructured polymer materials with innovations in flexible and printable organic electronic materials. He has published more than 450 articles (H =71, cited 17,006) and holds 45 patents. He has supervised 65 doctorates and welcomed more than 75 post-docs and visiting professors into his research group. He was co-founder of 2 startups: “Polymer Service Center”, for the scientific advice of small and medium-sized businesses, today POLYVATION, and “Papyron”, for the development of innovative technologies for electronic paper.
His scientific and technical work has been recognized by the following prizes and distinctions. In 2024 was elected member of the European Academy of Science (EurASc). In 2019 he became Doctor Honoris Causa, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Physics. In 2016, he was elected an International Fellow of the United States National Academy of Engineering "For fundamental discoveries and ideas enabling the development of polymers with advanced functionality and performance." He obtained civil recognition in 2015 as “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” and in 2021 as “Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques”. In 2010 he was elected a member of the Academia Europaea. In 2007, he received the Süe Prize from the Société Française de Chimie. In 1998, he received the Humboldt Research Prize. In 1993 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (USA).

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George Malliaras is the Prince Philip Professor of Technology at the University of Cambridge. He received a BS in Physics from the Aristotle University (Greece) in 1991, and a PhD in Mathematics and Physical Sciences, cum laude, from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) in 1995. After postdocs at the University of Groningen and at the IBM Almaden Research Center (California), he joined the faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University (New York) in 1999. From 2006 to 2009 he served as the Lester B. Knight Director of the Cornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility. He moved to the Ecole des Mines de St. Etienne (France) in 2009, where he started the Department of Bioelectronics and served as Department Head. He joined the University of Cambridge in 2017.
Prof. Malliaras' research on organic electronics and bioelectronics has been recognized with awards from the European Academy of Sciences (Blaise Pascal Medal), the Materials Research Society (Mid-Career Researcher Award), the New York Academy of Sciences (Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists), the US National Science Foundation (Faculty Early Career Development Award), and DuPont (Young Professor Award). He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Linköping (Sweden), elected Fellow of the Materials Research Society and of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and is a member of the Academia Europaea and of the European Academy of Sciences. He serves as a Deputy Editor of Science Advances and is the Director of the EPSRC IRC in Targeted Delivery for Hard-to-Treat Cancers.
Prof. Malliaras is a co-author of 300+ publications in peer-reviewed journals that have received over 52,000 citations. His h-index is 123.

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Thomas Anthopoulos is a Professor of Emerging Electronics at the University of Manchester in the UK. Following the award of his BEng and PhD degrees, he spent two years at the University of St. Andrews (UK), where he worked on organic semiconductors for application in light-emitting diodes before joining Philips Research Laboratories in The Netherlands to focus on printable microelectronics. From 2006 to 2017, he held faculty positions at Imperial College London (UK), first as an EPSRC Advanced Fellow and later as a Reader and full Professor of Experimental Physics. From 2017 to 2023, he was a Professor of Material Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

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Thomas Kolbusch is Vice President of Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH, an equipment manufacturing company for coating, printing and laminating solutions located in Dormagen, Germany.
He is member of the board of the OE-A (Organic Electronic Association) in Germany, a global association for printed electronics.
He serves in the advisory board of Fraunhofer ITA institute.
He served as member of the board of COPT.NRW, a local association in Germany, as well as exhibition chair of the LOPEC in Munich for five years.
Thomas is active in the field of fuel cells, batteries, printed electronics, photovoltaics and medical applications. He organizes the international Coatema Coating Symposium for over 19 years and represents Coatema in a number of public funded German and European projects.
Thomas Kolbusch studied Business Economics at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and got his degree as business economist in 1997. He started his career at 3M, Germany. Since 1999 he is working for Coatema Coating Machinery in different positions.

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Elefterios Lidorikis is Professor of Computational Materials Science in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Ioannina Greece. He received his BSc in Physics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece (1993) and his PhD in computational physics from Iowa State University in USA (1999). He held postdoctoral positions in Louisiana State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as an industry position in the MIT spin-off Luminus Devices Inc. His research interests are in Computational Material Science focusing on nanophotonics and nanoplasmonics, organic- and graphene-based optoelectronics, integrated optics for ICT, multiscale modeling of materials, optical spectroscopy and modeling of nanostructured materials and thin films. He has extensive R&D experience in both academia and industry and co-coordinated several European and National projects (FET, NMP, NMBP, ICT, etc). He is author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and received over > 5700 citations holding an h-index=33. He is the holder of 19 US patents and given more than 50 invited talks in international conferences.

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Dimitrios Kollias is an experienced policy expert, serving as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, specializing in Just Transition strategies, focusing on ensuring fair and equitable shifts from carbon-intensive economies to sustainable, green energy systems. Strong background in economic development, environmental justice, and labor market transitions. Passionate about creating policies that protect vulnerable communities while promoting sustainable growth and social inclusion. Up to 2022, have been Business Development Director, advisor and strategic partner laying the foundations and promoting the maturation of large projects with a positive social impact. Experienced in introducing pioneering 'intelligent energy solutions' to buildings and other facilities (public and private), encouraging technological innovation and the 'green transition'. An influencer with a significant impact focused on ensuring the full involvement of all stakeholders in an energy savings project, in the role of formulating development strategies and cultivating a wide network of key contacts in the private and public sectors. Concentrates on resources and actions to achieve attainable growth results and involves a long-term process in cultivating synergies, partnerships, memorandums and the implementation of environmental awareness programs in collaboration with public institutions, NGOs and the CSR departments of large corporations.

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Nikos Chrysogelos is the Deputy Mayor of Athens for Climate Governance, civil protection and Social Economy since 1/1/2024. Former MEMBER of the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2/2/2012 – 1/7//2014. 4th Vice-chairman of Regional Development Committee (REGI) of the European Parliament – Substitute member of Environment, Public Health and Food Security Committee (ENVI). Greens’ rapporteur in EP for social cohesion policies, regional development, eco-innnovation, bio-economy, smart specialisation, marine spatial planning, eHealth policies, “blue” economy etc. Member of the delegation of the EP for the west Balkan countries. Organiser of many conferences and events on energy cooperatives, eco-innovation, green economy, social economy, industrial symbiosis,, green ports, green shipping, green jobs in the European Parliament. President of the Board of the social cooperative Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal www.anemosananeosis.gr and project manager of the innovative and inclusive Welcommon Hostel www.welcommonhostel.gr in Athens. Regional Councillor in South Aegean (2010-2014). Active in climate action, green transition, combating energy poverty, social economy, social inclusion, intercultural dialogue, sustainable tourism, marine and environmental protection. Author of articles, books. Member of the official list with certificated trainers on environmental issues created by the Greek Minister of Labour. President of the Board and Project manager of the environmental NGO MEDITERRANEAN SOS Network (1999-2009). Project manager of Ecological Recycling Society. Training of trainers, educators, technicians and scientists on environmental and social issues related to sustainability. Lectures and teaching about sustainable development, climate change issues, local agenda 21, coastal management, EMAS and Life Cycle Analysis, reduction and recycling issues, programmes and policy for marine protection, energy communities, green transition, green and social economy. Manager and Environmental consultant in many european projects. Representative of the Greek ecological NGOs in the Legislative Committee for the alternative waste management (package, electric-electronic, used cars and tires, batteries, demolition etc} , established by the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works (1994-1999). Representative of the Greek Environmental NGOs in the Alternative Management Monitoring Committee for the implementation of the Law 2939/6-8-2001 on the “alternative management of package and other products” established by the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works (2001-2002).

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Evangelos Bekiaris, PhD on Mechanical Engineering NTUA, has been elected as Researcher of the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT) of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) in 2001, and elected as ΗΙΤ Director General as of 2016 and CERTH Vice-President as of 2021. Since 1992 he has participated in 117 research projects, in 40 of which at the role of Coordinator.
He is National Representative in the European Commission Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Board of Horizon Europe (HE) since 2020 He is also the President of the European Rail Research Network of Excellence (EURNEX) since 2019. He acted as member of the National Council for Research and Innovation (N.C.R.I.) 2019-2023, and was the National delegate of Greece in the H2020 Transport Committee 2014-2021. In the past, he has also been the President of the Hellenic Institute of Electric Vehicles (HELIEV, 2021-2024) and the European Associations: ECTRI (on Transport Research), FERSI (on Road Safety) and HUMANIST (on Human Factors in Transport).

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Angeliki Kavga is Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Science, of University of Patras (UPatras), on «Greenhouse Construction and Operation» field. She has ΜSc in Environmental Studies from University of Patras (Dept. of Biology) and PhD in Agricultural Engineering from University of Patras (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics) on “Energy Optimization of Greenhouse Using a Heating System with Infrared Radiation (IR).
She has presented remarkable research work in her scientific field with 40 published scientific papers in international journals, one book chapter and more than 45 entries in International and Greek Scientific Conferences. She is Project Manager (PM) in two research programs (Erasmus+ programme – Alliances for Education and Enterprises), Scientific Manager in 4 research programs and member of the research team in 2 research programs.

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Marta Szabo graduated in Hungary as agricultural and mechanical engineer specialized in Building Service engineering. She received a Ph.D. in engineering in 1998 in the field of energy and renewable energy utilization in greenhouses. She started as a lecturer in 1998, then in 2004 became Assistant Professor and Researcher at the Szent Istvan University Hungary. In 2008 became an Associate Professor. Her field is the utilization of renewable energy, and energy management in buildings. In 2009 she acted as a Faculty Director for the International Relations. In 2006-2007 Dr. Szabo was seconded as a national expert to the Institute of Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, and in 2010-2011 has been a senior researcher in the Institute of Energy of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission working on the technical assessment of Renewable Energy in the EU. She has authored and coauthored more than 120 papers and research reports, published in journals and international conferences. She was a member of several organizing committees for many international conferences and workshops. Dr. Szabo is a member of the WREN and has been awarded and been chosen as the best young scientist in renewable energy Congress, Florence, Italy in 2006.

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Emmanuel Kymakis is a Full Professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) and Vice-President of the HMU Research Center. He received his B.Eng. (First Class Honors) degree in Electrical Engineering & Electronics from Liverpool University in 1999 and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Cambridge University in 2003. He and Prof. Gehan Amaratunga are the inventors of the polymer-nanotube solar cell. Before joining HMU, he was a technical consultant offering engineering and consultancy services in the realization of photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants. His multidisciplinary research lies at the interface between nanotechnology and electrical engineering and is centred on the development of printed optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. He has published more than 120 research articles, which have attracted over 11.000 citations and an h-index of 56, while he has an extensive experience in the management of research and industrial projects (6 M€ research funding, design & implementation of 67 MWp of PV parks). Ηe is also included in the list of the top 2% of scientists in their respective fields by citation impact (PLoS Biol 17(8), e3000384). He serves also as scientific evaluator and member of panels of experts of various international governmental and nongovernmental agencies, member of scientific committee of various international congresses, and have been invited to give invited talks in more than 50 occasions. He has been an honorary lecturer at UConn and a recipient of an Isaac Newton and an EPSRC studentship. He was named as a 2014 ChemComm Emerging Investigator and has received two National Excellence Awards. He has served as a member of the founding General Assembly of the Hellenic Foundation for Research & Innovation (HFRI), a member of the Engineering sectoral scientific council of the National Council for Research & Innovation of Greece (NCRI) and a member of the Engineering thematic advisory council of HFRI. He is currently the Director of the interinstitutional Post-Graduate Program “Nanotechnology for Energy Applications” and serves as the work package leader of Energy Generation of the EU FET-Flagship Initiative Graphene.

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Christine Lartigau-Dagron is Associate Professor at Universite de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA, France). She obtained her doctorate on Physical Chemistry of Polymers in 1996 at UPPA, on thermoset polymers before moving to conjugated polymers for light-emitting diodes, during her postdoc under the supervision of Prof. WJ Feast, at the University of Durham (UK). Since 1998, recruited at UPPA, she has been working on the elaboration of conjugated polymers for organic electronics, in particular photovoltaics. In 2010, she defended the ‘Habilitation à diriger les recherches’ at IPREM (Institute of Analytical Sciences and Physico-chemistry for Environment and Materials), for which she is currently Deputy Director. From 2008 to 2014, she was the leader of the french network (CNRS) NANORGASOL on organic and hybrid photovoltaics and served on committees in the same field (GDR Electronique Organique, COST Action MP1307). Since 2005, she is a regular expert and committee member in the field of photovoltaics, nanoelectronics and polymers. She (co)supervised 17 PhDs, coordinated or was workpackage leader for 26 projects, and co-authored 60 papers, 2 patents and a book chapter, on the topic of organic materials for electronic devices. In recent years, she has been working on the development of friendly processes to prepare semi-conducting water-based inks for photocatalysis and performing organic photovoltaic devices.

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Evangelos Mekeridis, as OET's Chief Technology Officer, leads the development of the world’s first automated manufacturing line for I(O)PVs. His expertise includes large-scale production and optimization of OPVs using Roll-to-Roll and Sheet-to-Sheet processes, prototype manufacturing of OPV, PPV, OLED devices, and sensors, as well as materials testing, encapsulation, and laser patterning for OE nanomaterials. Specialized in various printing techniques such as slot die, dip coating, gravure, flexo, screen, and inkjet printing. Experienced in ORMOSIL coatings, nanomaterials synthesis, and electrochemical deposition. Holder of 10 patents, 14 publications, and participant in more than 25 European and national R&D projects on nanomaterials, processes and applications.

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Evangelos N. Drimtzias M. Sc Agricultural Eng. – MBA (Agricultural University of Athens, Royal Veterinary & Agricultural University of Copenhagen, ROCKWOOL University – Denmark), CEO & share holder of IQ Crops Ltd, has more than 32 years’ international experience in projects related to Greenhouse management & Hydroponics applications, Urban Farming, Turn Key applications & sustainable solutions in agriculture.
He has been employed for 17 years as Technical Manager &/or Account Executive &/or Director to the companies Van Den Berg -The Netherlands, Grodan A/S (Rockwool Group – Denmark), Grodan Iberica SA (Rockwool Group – Spain), Grodan B.V (Rockwool Group – The Netherlands), implementing his duties as well expertise in different countries (Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Serbia, N. Macedonia, Romania, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, M. East, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Australia...).
The last years, apart, he runs (also main shareholder) the company IQ Crops Ltd (www.iqcrops.com), closely related and with a heavy heritage in the Greenhouse & Hydroponics industry strengthens & orchestrates services and activities at an international level (1,600 ha hydroponics). Headquartered in Ierapetra, Crete, Greece, privately owned modern greenhouse (5,000 sq.m. commercial scale, works as an experimental and training station) it is active in the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Cyprus, Balkans, Turkey, Middle East...), Logistics facilities in Aspropyrgos - Attica and Sofia - Bulgaria, international partnerships & network in at least 8 countries, develops and is positioned to provide of smart solutions & products for agriculture.

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Loucas Gourtsoyannis serves as captain of the ISTIA AIGAIOU SailMed and Aegean Cargo Sailing projects. He was trained as a mining engineer in Greece and holds a PhD in Metallurgy from McGill University. He has worked in Canada, Greece and Belgium in research, technology, innovation and industrial standards. Loucas has a passion for sailing and took over from Jan Lundberg in February 2018.

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Argiris Laskarakis is the Head of the Organic Electronics Group of Nanotechnology Lab LTFN & Center of Organic and Printed Electronics. His research interests include the fabrication, characterization and optimization of nanomaterials and device architectures for flexible Organic & Printed Electronics (such as Organic Photovoltaics, Perovskite-based PVs, and Organic Thin Film Transistors) by vacuum and printing methods, investigation of structure-property relationships for OE nanomaterials, ex-situ/in-line metrology (optical, electronic, and structural) of inorganic, organic and hybrid nanostructured materials. He has extensive R&D experience in both academia and industry and participated as a Senior scientist in more than 17 European and National projects. His work includes more than 90 publications in International Scientific Journals, 4 book chapters, more than 140 presentations in International Scientific Conferences. Finally, he is responsible for the organization of the International Symposium on Flexible Organic Electronics (ISFOE) since 2008 as part of the NANOTEXNOLOGY multievent.

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Aikaterini Andreopoulou works on the development of functional polymeric and hybrid materials. More specifically, she specializes in (i) polymeric materials for energy related applications such as PLEDs, OPVs, PEMFCs; (ii) hybrid polymeric materials with carbon nanostructures, with inorganic nanoparticles or with metal ions forming metallocomplexes; (iii) the synthesis of Polymeric Ionic Liquids; (iv) Polymer and Polymer nanoparticles with antimicrobial and antifouling properties and (v) the synthesis and characterization of dendronized polymers. She has participated in more than 20 national and international research projects and has 65 scientific publications, 9 submitted patents-4 granted patents and 5 chapters in scientific books.

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Ioannis Gkaragkos holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Auth University in Thessaloniki and also a Master in Business Administrator from University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. For the last twenty years he was the Director and the Plant and Production Manager in a Private Company in the field of Plastics. His expertise includes large scale production of Thermoplastics. He is Specialized in Extrusion lines, Thermoforming Machines and also in various Printing Processes. In 2024 Mr Gkaragkos joined OET Energy Technologies P.V. as the Plant and Production Manager and leads the construction of the First Large Scale Factory for OPVs in the world and the Installation of the world’s first automated manufacturing line for OPVs. Among his tasks is the optimization of the encapsulation processes of OPVs and also the coordination of the OPVs installation department of OET Energy Technologies in different Demos.

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Ioannis Raptis, received his BS degree in Physics (1989) and his Ph.D. in nanopatterning (1996) both from the Physics Department, University of Athens. The software part of his thesis on electron beam lithography simulation became a commercial product launched into the market by Sigma-C GmbH, Germany. Since 2003, he works at NCSR-Demokritos as researcher, and since 2013 as a Director of Research on the design and implementation of technologies and electronic/photonic devices with critical dimension in the micro/nano-scale for a broad-range of bio/chemical sensing applications. He is author of more than 180 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, and holder of 4 patents. He serves as Receiving Editor for JOLT (Elsevier) and as Ass. Editor for IEEE Sensors (IEEE). In 2009, he co-founded ThetaMetrisis SA, the first spin-off company from the Institute of Microelectronics NCSR ‘Demokritos’, that design and manufacture tools for the fast, accurate and non-destructive characterization of coatings in the nano and micro scale, that are extensively used in academia and industry worldwide.

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Panteleimon Panagiotou studied Chemistry at the University of Bayreuth, during which he studied abroad at École supérieure de chimie physique électronique de Lyon in 1995-1996. In 1996, he was an undergraduate research fellow at CNRS (Laboratoire de Chimie de Surface) in Lyon (France). He worked on his diploma thesis in physical chemistry from 1999 to 2000 at University of Bayreuth and completed his studies in the same year. From 2000 to 2001 he was a scientific employee at the Institute for Physical Chemistry at University of Bayreuth and at the Institute for Physical Chemistry & Electrochemistry at Leibniz Universität Hannover. He pursued a doctoral degree from 2001 - 2006. In 2004-2005 he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at DESY in Hamburg (Germany), at ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) and at ILL (Institut Laue-Langevin) in Grenoble (France). For his thesis on “Characterisation of the surface structure and morphology of thin polymer blends by scanning force microscopy, neutron and synchrotron scattering” he was awarded a PhD in the field of physics at the Technical Universität München. Since 2007, Dr. Panagiotou is the Head of Unit Engineering & Natural Sciences, Information & Communication Technologies at Bavarian Research Alliance (BayFOR).

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Wiljan Smaal is Engineer in Nano/micro fabrication and Printing in ELORPrintTec, the technology platform for printed organic electronics at Bordeaux University. Its 850m2 cleanroom is equiped for R&D activities from synthesis of new materials to the application in devices and small prototype fabrication. Wiljan, after being involved in the project from the beginning he has worked on its construction, installation and the start-up of the first R&D activities. Currently, he is responsible for the management and development of the different projects within the facility, the development and execution of the facilities business model, the public relations and partnerships, the maintenance of the equipment for micro/nano-fabrication, the different printing pilots and several optical and electronic charaterization equipment, the user training and support and the maintenance of the cleanroom installation.

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Kostas Komninos Dipl. Mechanical Engineer (National Technical University of Athens, NTUA 2006) with MSc studies on Wind Energy (Technical University of Denmark, DTU 2008) has significant experience in projects related to the exploitation of renewable energy sources, energy saving and energy planning at municipal level. In Copenhagen he was employed for a period of nine (9) months in the COWI A/S wind energy department. The last years he has been active in the field of local energy planning for island municipalities in the Aegean Sea in collaboration with the Network of Sustainable Aegean Islands (DAFNI) and the Aegean Energy Agency. Furthermore, as a project manager he has been involved in the maturing process of sustainable energy projects with interest for the local authorities both in the fields of energy efficiency and energy production from RES. He has also participated as an energy expert in different sustainable energy related EU funded projects (ISLE-PACT, PROMISE, SMILEGOV). In parallel he has acquired teaching experience in the field of “Local Energy Planning” in the framework of the “Energy Academy” (a collaboration of the Aegean Energy Agency and the Chemical Engineers Dept., NTUA) aiming to the training of employees working in the Aegean local authorities. Finally, he is a founding member of the Collective Planning & Design - CPD, an interdisciplinary engineers’ consortium with horizontal organisation and cooperative structure working for the environmentally, socially and economically viable planning of the public space and infrastructures.

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Asterios Chatziparadeisis is a Mathematician with PhD in Statistics. He has worked in policy making positions at the General Secretariat of Research and Technology of Greece and in Managing Authorities. He was responsible for the design of major Greek structural programmes (billions of euros) for Research, Innovation and Competitiveness from the 1990s onwards. He also worked at the European Commission. Since 2021 he is the General Director of Hellenic Organic & Printed Electronics Association (www.hope-a.com). He wrote articles and studies for the Research and Innovation Policies and was evaluator of the European Commission for RTD projects.

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Gyula Bandli holds a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from BME University in Budapest. Started working for Semilab Co. Ltd. in 2015, as a member of the PV team. Currently leading the PV service team and working in R&D. Semilab offers measurement tools for PV, SEMI and FPT markets, for all your metrology needs.

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Konstantinos Tsimenidis is the CTO of BL Nanobiomed. He joined BL Nanobiomed in 2021. He holds a BSc in chemistry and MSc in synthetic chemistry from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR) with 3 years’ experience in polymer and biomaterials chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in Boston (USA). He is highly experienced in the development of new production procedures/protocols and quality control of small and large complex macromolecules for biomedical applications. Currently, the BL Nanobiomed team is focusing on the development of Point of Care systems as medical diagnostics, and more specifically in the detection of biomolecules in the human body via flexible printable biosensors. Mr. Tsimenidis holds 5 publications in international scientific journals, more than 15 presentations in international conferences and participated in more than 5 European and National R&D projects.

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Vytautas Sabonis holds a master's degree in Physics from Vilnius University in Lithuania. Since 2018, he has been the head of the research department at Workshop of Photonics, one of the leading providers of femtosecond laser micromachining services for industry and science customers worldwide. WoP offers fully integrated services, ranging from feasibility and prototyping to actual solutions, including micromachining services and tailor-made laser workstations.

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Goran Kitic works at the position of the Head of the Center for Sensing Technologies within the BioSense Institute. He received a PhD degree from the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia in 2016 on the subject of microwave soil moisture sensors. Goran Kitić developed experience in the field of different fabrication technologies (LTCC, thin&thick film technology, microfabrication, PCB, wire bonding, machining, and 3D printing) and characterization methods (electron microscopy, EDS spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, optical profilometry, electrical measurements). His research interests are related to the development of sensors applied in agriculture, food sector and environmental protection. Some of the developed sensor prototypes involve a multispectral sensor for plant status assessment, soil moisture sensor, a device for early mastitis detection, nitrates in water detector. Besides stated, he is heavily involved in the development of a robotic system for soil sampling and analysis. His research work resulted in seven international journal publications, and numerous papers published on international conferences. During his research career, he was involved in 13 international and national projects.

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Dimitrios Gklavakis Dimitris is the co-founder and Head of Technical Department of Depia Atuomations P.C. He has more than 20 years of experience in numerous projects in Industrial, Energy and Building automation solutions, software engineering and software development, robotics, customization and vertical motion solutions, research, modeling, digital twins, animatronics, exergames and development of industrial devices.

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Nikos Stergiou holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from AUTH University in Thessaloniki. With over 10 years of experience in industrial environment as a lead engineer, he joined Kiriakidis in 2023. He currently serves as the Quality Manager, leading the Flex2Energy team and R&D efforts with main activities in glass with tailored properties for BIPV applications.

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Sokha Khiev is a research engineer and also is in charge of the chemistry cluster and the characterization cluster at the innovation centre ELORPrintTec in Bordeaux, France, since 2013.
His works is to develop the activities of the centre through services or collaboration with researcher and industrial partners.
Before, he begins his career by working on synthesis of conjugated polymer for photovoltaics cells from 2018 to 2010, in the institute IPREM in Pau, France.
After an exciting experience of OPV fabrication, he went to work for the IMS lab in Bordeaux and was in charge of the organic electronic platform from 2010 to 2013.
In 2013, he has the opportunity to design and build the ELORPrintTec centre under the supervision of Prof. Hadziioannou.

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Spyros Kassavetis is the Head of the Nanofabrication Group in the Nanotechnology Lab LTFN. His research interests cover a wide range of nanomaterials (thin films & nanoparticles, polymers) and fabrication processes (Vacuum and Lasers) for applications in Plasmonics / Photonics and Green Energy. He is expert in nanoscale characterization techniques such as Scanning Probe Microscopies, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Nanoindentation. He has authored and co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in International Scientific Journals, 2 book chapters, more than 50 presentations in International Scientific Conferences, and he has participated as Senior Researcher in 10 EU funded R&D projects.

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Evgenia Athanasiadou studied Agriculture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holds an MSc in Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies. During her academic journey, she specialized in Agrivoltaics, focusing on the effects of Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs) in both greenhouse and open-field cultivation. She believes that OPVs not only enhance food production and water management but also play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable farming practices that align with European Εnergy Goals.
Mrs. Athanasiadou joined Organic Electronic Technologies (OET) in 2021 as an Agronomist-Nanotechnologist and has since been involved in various National and European R&D projects focused on integrating OPVs into agricultural systems and assessing their impact on crop growth. She is responsible for OPV-Agricultural Applications at OET, including leading initiatives at OET’s AGROPV HUB, where the integration of sustainable farming is combined with cutting-edge OPV technologies.