Biography

1998 – 2002

PhD in Natural Sciences (Dr. phil. nat.), Class “Excellent”

Faculty of Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland

PhD Thesis: “Climate Variability over the Mediterranean”

Scholarship awarded by the Greek State Scholarships Foundation

1995 – 1998

MSc in Meteorology & Climatology, Class “Excellent”

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

MSc Thesis: “Climatic changes and extreme weather events during the period of the Late Maunder Minimum in the region of southern Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean”

University degree in Geology, Class “Very Good”

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Akademische Rätin (permanent), deputy head of the Climatology/Climate Dynamics and Climate Change research group

Scientific research: climate variability and change, extreme weather and climate events (floods, droughts, heatwaves, frost) past, present and future, atmospheric circulation dynamics, process understanding, climate-society interactions, climate services, interdisciplinary and international collaboration.
PI of national and international research projects (details under Projects section below),

Teaching at the bachelor (BSc) and master (MSc) studies levels: Mediterranean Climate Change; Climate Change and Human Health; The southern Pacific Island countries; Climate, Climate Change Impacts: Greece, including excursion to Athens/Peloponnese, General
Skills: Science & Scientific Communication.
Supervision of bachelor, master, doctoral and postdoctoral students.

Administration in the frame of the department of Geography. Attracting funds for research, organization of conferences, workshops, meetings; supervision of international exchange researchers and students, contribution to internationalisation strategy of the University, cooperation UWisconsin (Madison, Milwaukee), capacity building, cooperation activities China, Namibia, South Africa.

Research Scientist / Project coordinator. The Cyprus Institute, Energy, Environment and Water Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus

July 2019

August 2016

• Daten- und KI-gestütztes Frühwarnsystem zur Stabilisierung der deutschen Wirtschaft (Data and AI-based Early Warning System to stabilise the German Economy, DAKI-FWS), PI
  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
  2021-2024
  Acquired partner budget: 1’445’000 EUR

• CLImate INTelligence: extreme events detection, attribution and adaptation design using machine learning (CLINT), PI
  H2020
  2021-2025
  Acquired partner budget: 439’000 EUR

• Fork-to-farm agent-based simulation tool augmenting BIOdiversity in the agri-food VALUE chain (BIOVALUE), PI
  H2020
  2021-2025
  Acquired partner budget: 436’250 EUR

• ClimXtreme Module C: Impacts of extreme weather and climate events on natural and socio-economic systems; subproject: Impacts of compound weather extremes on crops in Germany: present and future (CROP), PI
  Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  2020-2023
  Acquired partner budget: 280’000 Euro

• Nutzbare Lokale Klimainformationen für Deutschland (Useful Local Climate Information for Germany; NUKLEUS); subproject: Hybrid-deterministisch-stochastische Verfahren und Herunterskalierung für Climate Services (Hybrid-Determinististic-Stochastic Methods and Downscaling for Climate Services; PI
  Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  2020-2023
  Acquired partner budget: 240’000 EUR

• EM-MHeatWaves (Eastern Mediterranean marine heatwaves: Ocean responses to atmospheric forcing and impacts on marine ecosystems), DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)
  2020-2022
  Acquired partner budget: 12’000 EUR

• The Etesian wind system and energy potential over the Aegean Sea; Past, present, future DFG (German Science Foundation research project)
  2016-2019
  Acquired partner budget: 210’000 EUR

• The Mediterranean Hot-Spot: Challenges and Responses in a Changing Environment DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Network project with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
  2017-2019
  Acquired budget: 150’000 EUR

• VINCEX (Regional variability of wind and wind power: uncertainties, scenarios and extremes), DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)
  2012-2013
  Acquired partner budget: 10’000 EUR

• NESTOS-Water (Climate change and anthropogenic impacts on the surface water resources and the riparian ecosystem of the Nestos Delta), DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)
  2014-2015
  Acquired partner budget: 10’000 EUR

• IGBP-PAGES Workshop grant for the Workshop “Mediterranean Holocene climate and human societies”,
  April 2014, Navarino Dunes, Costa Navarino, Messinia, Greece
  Acquired budget: 5’000 USD

• ETESIANS (The Etesian wind system over the Aegean Sea: an assessment of wind resources in the area for present and future climate), DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)
  2011-2012
  Acquired partner budget: 10’000 EUR

• FP₇-EU CLIM-RUN (Climate Local Information in the Mediterranean region: Responding to User Needs), project acquisition; retained by the Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus
  2011-2014
  Acquired partner budget: 300’000 EUR

• IGBP-PAGES Workshop grant for the Symposium “The Medieval Warm Period Redux – Where and when was it warm?”,
  September 2010, Lisbon, Portugal
  Acquired budget: 5’000 USD

• ESF-MedCLIVAR grant for Workshop “Impacts of Mediterranean climate change on human health”,
  October 2009, Paphos, Cyprus
  Acquired budget: 15’000 EUR

• FP₇-EU ACQWA (Assessing Climate impacts on the Quantity and quality of WAter)
  2009-2013
  Acquired partner budget: 200’000 EUR

• CyI-CIMME (Climate Change and Impacts in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East)
  2009-2010
  Total budget: 500’000 EUR

• IGBP-PAGES Workshop grant for the Symposium “Extreme climate events during recent millennia and their impact on Mediterranean societies”,
  September 2008, Athens, Greece
  Acquired budget: 5’000 USD

• ESF-MedCLIVAR Workshop grant for the Symposium “Extreme climate events during recent millennia and their impact on Mediterranean societies”,
  September 2008, Athens, Greece
  Acquired budget: 6’000 EUR

• Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation Workshop grant for the Symposium “Extreme climate events during recent millennia and their impact on Mediterranean societies”,
  September 2008, Athens, Greece
  Acquired budget: 10’000 EUR

• WMO-MEDARE (The MEditerranean climate DAta REscue Initiative)
  2008-2012
  Budget available via WMO for workshops and conferences

• FP₆-EU CIRCE (Climate Change and Impact ResearCh: the Mediterranean Environment), PI
  2007-2011
  Acquired partner budget: 200’000 EUR

• ESF – Research Networking Programme MedCLIVAR (Mediterranean CLImate VARiability and Predictability)
  2006-2011
  ESF budget available for workshops, conferences, student exchange, publications, travel

• FP₅-EU SO&P (Simulations, Observations and Paleoclimate Data: climate variability over the last 500 years)
  2002-2006

• FP₅-EU EMULATE (European and North Atlantic daily to multidecadal climate variability)
  2003-2006

• NCCR Climate (Nationaler Forschungsschwerpunkt Klima) Swiss National Science Foundation
  2001-2009

• FP₄-EU ACCORD (Atmospheric Circulation Classification and Regional Downscaling)
  1997-1998

• FP₄-EU ADVICE (Annual to Decadal Variability In Climate in Europe)
  1996-1998

• Vice-Chair: ITU/WMO/UNEP Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Natural Disaster Management, https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/ai4ndm/Pages/default.aspx
• Lead author Mediterranean Assessment Report 2020 (MAR1) Chapter Challenges of Climate and Environmental Changes, https://www.medecc.org/first-mediterranean-assessment-report-mar1/
• Steering Committee Member (till June 2021): Network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC): Towards an improved scientific assessment of climate change and its impact in the Mediterranean Basin, https://www.medecc.org/. 2020 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe awardee
• Climate Change and History Research Initiative: A comparative approach to climate, environment and society in Eurasia. Towards understanding the impact of climate on complex societies. Princeton University. Project member, https://climatechangeandhistory.princeton.edu/
• ANSO Association for Trans-Eurasia Exchange and Silk-Road Civilization Development (ATES) WG5 “Silk Road Civilization and Environment” Coordinator, http://www.anso.org.cn/programmes/asociation/Association/
• Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency, Accreditation Panel Member, 2019
• Chief Editor: Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, Springer, Topic 5: Climate-change-related effects on the environment and ecological systems, https://www.springer.com/journal/41207
• PAGES Newsletter Science Highlights “The Medieval Climate Anomaly” March 2011 – Editor
• Climatic Change Special Issue “Climate Variability, Predictability and Climate Risks: A European Perspective”, vol. 79, Issue 1-2, 2006 – Editor and author

• Workshop “Climate change and ancient Peloponnesian realities: a WORKshop for linking climate model output with local archaeological information”, 18-22 October 2021, Navarino Dunes, Navarino Environmental Observatory, Messenia, Greece – Organiser, convener and speaker
• Symposium “The First Plague Pandemic (541–750 AD): Transformative Disaster or Footnote in History?”, 22-24 September 2021, Schloss Herrenhausen, Hannover, Volkswagen Foundation – Organiser, convener and speaker
• ATES (ANSO Association for Trans-Eurasia Exchange and Silk-Road Civilization Development) 2020 Annual Meeting, 23-24 January 2021, online – Convener and speaker
• MedCLIVAR 2020 Conference “Climate Change in the Mediterranean Region; Lessons Learned and New Perspectives from Regional to Local Scales”, rescheduled to 2021, Marrakesh, Morocco – Convener
• 2nd Euro-Mediterranean Conference for Environmental Integration, 10-13 October 2019, Sousse, Tunisia, Convener, Keynote speaker, Chair Track 5 Climate-change-related effects on the environment and ecological systems
• Summer School “Climate Change Impacts on the MED-Agro-Food Chain”, 9-14 September 2019, Schloss Rauischholzhausen, Germany – Chair organiser, fund raising (13’000 EUR)
• MedCLIVAR 2016 Conference “Mediterranean Climate: Learning from the Past, Perceiving the Present, Engaging for the Future”, 26-30 September 2016, Athens, Greece – Programme Committee and Organising Committee member
• Conference “Adaptation strategies to global environmental change in the Mediterranean City and the role of Global Earth Observations”, Greek EU Presidency Event, June 2014, Athens, Greece – Chair organiser, convener
• Workshop “Mediterranean Holocene climate and human societies”, April 2014, Navarino Dunes, Costa Navarino, Messenia, Greece – Organiser, convener and speaker
• MedCLIVAR 2014 Conference “Understanding Climate Evolution and Effects on Environment and Societies in the Old World Region”, 23-25 June 2014, Ankara, Turkey – organizer, convener, speaker
• MedCLIVAR conference 2012 “The climate of the Mediterranean region: understanding its evolution and effects on environment and societies” September 2012, Madrid, Spain – Convener
• Council for Watershed Health conference “The Mediterranean City: A Conference on Climate Change Adaptation” June 2012, Los Angeles, USA – Convener and speaker
• ESF-MedCLIVAR Conference “Mediterranean Climate: from past to future” June 2011, Lecce, Italy – Convener and speaker
• Symposium “The Medieval Warm Period Redux – Where and when was it warm?”, September 2010, Lisbon, Portugal – Organiser, convener and speaker
• International Conference “Energy, water & climate change in the Mediterranean & Middle East, EWACC2010”, January 2010, Nicosia, Cyprus – Organiser and convener
• Workshop “Impacts of Mediterranean climate change on human health”, October 2009, Paphos, Cyprus – Organiser, convener and speaker
• ESF Workshop “Understanding the mechanisms responsible for the changes in the Mediterranean Sea circulation and sea level trends”, September/October 2008, Rhodes, Greece – Organiser
• First MedCLIVAR Summer School “Climate Variability over the Mediterranean area: Atmospheric and Oceanic Components”, September 2008, Rhodes, Greece – Organiser and teacher
• Symposium “Extreme climate events during recent millennia and their impact on Mediterranean societies”, September 2008, Athens, Greece – Organiser, convener and speaker
• International NCCR Climate Summer School Series, 2005-2009, Grindelwald and Monte Verita, Switzerland – Organiser and teacher

Climate Dynamics, Geophysical Research Letters, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Global and Planetary Change, Climatic Change, Quaternary Science Reviews, International Journal of Climatology, Climate Research, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, among others EU FP₇ Evaluator; Climate and Research Fund Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP) Evaluator, 2012-2020; H2020; Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency, Swiss National Science Foundation