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Prof. Yannis Missirlis, University of Patras, Greece
Emergent properties in multicellular organisms
short bioProfessor Yannis F. Missirlis is a distinguished Greek scientist and pioneer in the fields of biomechanics, biomaterials, and biomedical engineering. Born in Samos, Greece in 1946, he studied Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and pursued postgraduate studies in the United States, earning an MSc from Syracuse University and a PhD from Rice University in Biomedical Engineering.
He began his academic career in North America as Assistant and Associate Professor at McMaster University (1974–1980), before joining the University of Patras in 1981 as a Full Professor. There, he founded and directed the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, contributing significantly to the establishment and development of these disciplines in Greece.
Professor Missirlis has held key academic leadership roles, including Vice-Rector of the University of Patras, and has actively participated in international scientific bodies such as the European and World Councils of Biomechanics. His research spans cell–material interactions, tissue engineering, mechanotransduction, and biomechanics across multiple scales.
He has authored and co-edited influential books on biomaterials and protein interactions, and published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers and numerous book chapters. In recognition of his contributions, he has been named an Honorary Member of leading scientific societies and elected Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE).
Today, he remains active as an affiliated researcher at the Sabanci University Nanotechnology Center (SUNUM) and as a collaborator with research institutions including the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, continuing to contribute to advances in nanomedicine and biomedical engineering. |
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Prof. David Payne, Imperial College London, UK
An introduction to X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy |
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Dr. Nikos Pliatsikas, Physics Department, AUTh, Greece
Probing Surfaces and Thin Films with XPS and AES: Principles, Instrumentation, and Materials Applications
short bioDr. Nikolaos Pliatsikas graduated from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Ioannina and obtained his PhD in 2018 from the Department of Physics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). From 2018 to 2020, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Linköping University, supported by a personal fellowship from the Wenner-Gren Foundations. Between 2021 and 2024, he served as Principal Investigator of the HFRI-funded BioNanoTiN project at AUTH. His research interests lie in the synthesis and nanostructuring of advanced materials, including thin films, nanoparticles, and nanostructures, targeting applications in photonics and optoelectronics. He is also active in the advanced characterization of surfaces, nanomaterials, and thin films through spectroscopic and X-ray techniques, with emphasis on the chemical composition, structure, and morphology of solid and nanostructured materials. At AUTH, he played a central role in the installation and operation of a shared research infrastructure for X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy/Microscopy (AES/SAM). He has participated extensively in a broad range of research projects as both principal and collaborating investigator. |
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Prof. Heinz Adolf Preisig, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
A brief workshop on SHACL
short bio Heinz Adolf Preisig is a Norwegian chemical engineer and academic known for his contributions to process systems engineering, particularly in the areas of process control, modeling, and optimization. He served as a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, where he played a key role in advancing research and education in chemical engineering.
Preisig’s work focused on developing computational methods for the design and operation of complex industrial processes, including dynamic modeling and advanced control strategies. He was especially recognized for integrating mathematical rigor with practical engineering applications, helping bridge the gap between theory and industrial implementation.
In addition to his research, he was an active contributor to the international scientific community through publications, collaborations, and mentoring of students and researchers. His legacy includes a strong influence on modern approaches to process systems engineering and engineering education. |
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Prof. Ingo Salzmann, Concordia University, Canada
Thin Film Structure Characterization by X-ray Diffraction Techniques
short bioDr. Ingo Salzmann is an experimental physicist and surface scientist, holds a PhD (summa cum laude) in experimental physics from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, and, after being Visiting Professor at the Institute of Solid-State Physics at The University of Tokyo (Japan), joined Concordia University as Associate Professor in 2018 on a joint position in physics and chemistry. He has authored >100 peer-reviewed publications and dedicates his research to the physicochemical and optoelectronic properties of organic semiconductors focusing on surface characterization, scattering techniques, and photoelectron spectroscopy as performed in the lab and at synchrotron radiation centers around the world. |
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Prof. Kostas Sarakinos, University of Helsinki, Finland
The physics of vapor-based thin-film synthesis
short bioKostas Sarakinos is Professor at the Department of Physics at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and Guest Researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. Kostas’s research interests include atomistic processes during film nucleation and growth, growth manipulation, in situ growth monitoring, and deterministic and stochastic film growth simulations. He has co-authored 80 papers, 4 book chapters, and 1 book. He teaches courses related to materials, surface, and thin-film physics at undergraduate and post-graduate level. |
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Prof. Aylin Sendemir, Ege University, Turkey
Tissue Engineered Systems as in vitro Disease Models
short bioDr. Aylin Şendemir graduated as a mechanical engineer from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Türkiye (1994); received her M. Sc degree from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering from Bogazici University (1997), and her Ph.D degree in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. She is an Associate Professor at Ege University Bioengineering Department, and is currently the principal investigator of Ege Research Group of Biomaterials and 3D Biointerphases (EBioPhase). Her research interests include interactions of mammalian cells with biomaterials, tissue engineering, mechanobiology and biocompatibility testing. She is particularly interested in design and production of in vitro tissue engineered 3D personalized disease models for pharmaceutical screening and minimizing animal testing. She has experience on in vitro modeling of neurodegenerative diseases, blood-brain barrier pathologies, spinal cord injury, diabetic skin wounds and tumoroids. Dr. Şendemir is also among the founding members of Turkish Biodesign Team (TBT), and investigates form and function relationship within different tissues. |
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Dr. Despoina Tselekidou, Nanotechnology Lab LTFN, AUTh / COPE-Nano, Greece
short bioDespoina Tselekidou is a Physicist and holds an MSc in Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies. During her academic journey, she specialized in solution-based deposition techniques and material characterization for the fabrication of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). She has published 14 publications in international scientific journals, delivered over 15 presentations at international conferences, and participated in more than 5 European and National R&D projects in the field of organic electronics. |
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Prof. George Volonakis, University of Rennes, France
Engineering and Understanding Tomorrow's Optoelectronics: Atomistic Computational Design of Advanced Semiconductors
short bioGeorge Volonakis is a Junior Professor at the Université de Rennes (Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes), where he leads a research group focused on the computational design of materials for energy applications. He obtained his PhD in Physics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and subsequently held a postdoctoral position at the University of Oxford in the group of Prof. Feliciano Giustino. His research combines first-principles calculations and machine learning to discover and characterise novel halide perovskites and related materials for photovoltaics and optoelectronics. He has authored 56 publications — including contributions to Nature Materials, Advanced Materials, and Science — with over 5,500 citations and an h-index of 25. He is the recipient of a Chaire de Recherche Rennes Métropole and a Junior Research Fellowship at Wolfson College, Oxford, and currently serves as Associate Editor of Materials Science and Engineering: R (Elsevier). |
