Andreas Andrikopoulos is a Professor at the Department of Maritime Studies of the University of Piraeus, where he serves as Director of the MSc Sustainable Blue Economy. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a PhD from the Athens University of Economics and Business and a master’s degree (MSc) from the University of Warwick. He has served as Professor of Finance, CEO of the Property Development Company and Director of the Executive MBA program at the University of the Aegean. His textbook “The essentials of social finance” has been published by Routledge (2021). His research interests include shipping finance, social finance, financial management, accounting, corporate governance, ESG, epistemology and scientometrics. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Econometrics, the Journal of Corporate Finance and the Cambridge Journal of Economics.

Maria Boile is Professor of “Port and Inland Terminal Policy and Management” Director of the MSc in Shipping, Director of the Quantitative Analysis in Shipping Laboratory at the University of Piraeus. She is Head of the Research Sector on Transport Economics and Environment, Maritime and Air Transport, at the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT), Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH). She is an affiliated faculty with the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, Rutgers University, US. She has served as Research Director at CERTH/HIT, in the field of “Analysis and Operations of Freight Transport, Logistics Systems and Applications of ICT”; Associate Professor of Transportation in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Rutgers University, U.S.; co-Director of the Freight and Maritime Program (FMP) at the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT); Academic Fellow with the Center for Supply Chain Management of the Rutgers School of Business; and Assistant Professor of Transportation at Lafayette College. She has a diploma in Civil (Transportation) Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece (1990), M.Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Rutgers University, US (1992), and Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, US (1995). Her research interest and expertise is in the areas of passenger and freight intermodal transport system modeling, freight and maritime logistics, port and inland terminal operations and management, transport policy. She has participated in over 70 sponsored research projects in the U.S., Europe and Latin America, as a principal investigator in over half of them. She has developed graduate and undergraduate curricula at three Academic Institutions and she has taught graduate and undergraduate transportation and logistics courses, short courses and seminars at several Institutions in Europe, U.S., Asia and Africa. She has authored and co-authored over 170 technical articles,12 book chapters and a book. Her teaching and research work has received several awards, including a Best Paper Award (2000), a Transportation Engineering Education Award (2009), an Award for Excellence as a Distinguished Educator (2006-2007) and the prestigious Partnerships for Innovation award, through the National Science Foundation, Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships.

Dr. Anastasia Christodoulou is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Blue Economy at the Department of Maritime Studies at the University of Piraeus. She has worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Strategy & Innovation of Copenhagen Business School as well as at the School of Business, Economics & Law of Gothenburg University in Sweden in the area of sustainable shipping and ports. She is a Visiting Professor and former Research Associate of World Maritime University specializing in maritime energy management issues. She has extensive experience in teaching sustainable maritime operations (including air pollution from shipping, oil spills, ballast water, development of sustainable multimodal transport chains) at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

She holds a PhD in maritime studies from the University of Piraeus, Greece; her dissertation focused on the assessment and evaluation of various instruments that could lead to the internalization of the external cost of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. She was awarded with a Lighthouse Swedish Maritime Competence Center Fellowship for postdoctoral research (2017-2020) as well as a State Scholarship Foundation of Greece Fellowship for PhD dissertation research (2008-2011).

She has been involved as a key researcher in various European, regional and national research projects and has published several peer-reviewed academic articles in a number of well-established academic journals; namely Transportation Research Part D: Transport & Environment, Maritime Economics & Logistics, Maritime Policy & Management, Transport Policy, Marine Pollution Bulletin. She is member of the World Conference of Transport Research Society and the International Association of Maritime Economists.

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KWcAFOQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Andreas Gondikas is a chemical engineer (National Technical University of Athens, Greece) with a master’s degree in engineering management (Duke University, USA) and a PhD in environmental (nano)metrology (Duke University, USA). He worked as a postdoctoral researcher on several projects at the University of Vienna and the Gothenburg University, before assuming the role of Principal Investigator for the HFRI-funded project “NanoISland” at the Faculty of Geology & Geoenvironment, University of Athens, Greece. He then served as project manager for the EU-funded project “nexus monARC”, leading an interdisciplinary team of scientists in monitoring water quality at the Hellenic Volcanic Arc. In addition, he provides innovation management services for industrial and academic organizations in research and development projects. Having a keen interest in environmental challenges, Andreas has been involved in several proposals and projects in the EU and the US, studying the effects of human activities on the ecosystem and human health. He is a permanent member of the organizing committee for the “Plastics workshop for early career researchers: Best practices and expert insights” (https://microplasticsworkshop.com/) and a member of the Working Group on Shipping Impacts in the Marine Environment (WGSHIP) at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), representing Greece (https://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/WGSHIP.aspx).

Dr. Maria Karakasnaki is an Associate Professor at the Department of Maritime Studies. She holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from Athens University of Economics and Business, a MSc in Maritime Studies and a Ph.D. in Maritime Studies (specialization in Management and Quality) from the Department of Maritime Studies of University of Piraeus, Greece. Her research interests include the topics of management and quality, quality management systems and human resource management.

Konstantinos D. Melas is an Assistant Professor of Maritime Economics at the University of Piraeus. His academic expertise lies in maritime economics, freight rate volatility, behavioral finance in shipping, and logistics management.

He holds a Ph.D. in Behavioral Finance in Shipping Markets from the Cyprus University of Technology and an MSc in International Accounting and Finance from Bayes Business School, City, University of London.

His research explores the dynamics of global shipping markets, the impact of commodity prices on freight rates, economic policy uncertainty, and sentiment-driven behavior in maritime investment. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, including International Economics, German Economic Review, Review of Behavioral Finance, and Maritime Economics & Logistics.

Konstantinos has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Greece and abroad, actively participates in international academic conferences and EU-funded research projects, serves as a peer reviewer for leading journals, and collaborates with industry professionals to bridge the gap between theory and shipping practice.

• Professor (Economic Analysis), University of Piraeus, Dpt. of Maritime Studies (2004-)
• Deputy Governor, Bank of Greece (2020-2026)
• NR Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, USA (2012-2020)

Academic Studies

• 1995-1996: NATO Post-doctoral Fellow, Center for European Studies, Harvard University, USA.
• 1993-1994: Post-doctoral Fellow, Center for European Studies, Harvard University, USA.
• 1991-1993: Doctorat (Economics), Dpt. of Political Economy, University of Paris VIII/Lumieres, France.
• 1987-1989: M.Phil. (Development Economics), Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK.
• 1983-1987: Diploma/Ptychion (Economics), Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Associate Professor of Shipping Studies – Director of the MSc in Shipping
Department of Shipping Studies, University of Piraeus

Dionysios Polemis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Shipping Studies at the University of Piraeus, specializing in Maritime Economics, and Director of the MSc Program in Shipping.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Liverpool, UK, an MPhil in Finance from Bangor University, Wales, UK, an MSc in Banking and Finance from Bangor University, Wales, UK, and a BSc in Business Economics from Anglia Ruskin University, UK.

His research interests include Maritime Economics, Shipping Finance, International Trade, Market Analysis, Chartering, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Financial Risk Forecasting.

He has published in reputable international academic journals such as Tourism Management (AJG/ABS 2024 List 4), Journal of Commodity Markets (AJG/ABS 2024 List 3), International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management (AJG/ABS 2024 List 2), and has presented at international scientific conferences. He has also contributed to collective volumes both in Greece and abroad.

He actively participates in the academic community through research committees and organizations in the fields of shipping and education. He has been involved in numerous European and national research projects related to shipping, entrepreneurship, education, and economic policy. In the past, he has served as an economic and financial investment advisor to companies of both Greek and international interest, while since 2022 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Ports Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

He teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate level in the areas of Maritime Economics and Policy, International Economics, Chartering, and Commodity Trading.

Peter J. Stavroulakis is a Diplomate Mechanical and Production Engineer (National Technical University of Athens), with a master’s degree in business administration from the Agricultural University of Athens, a master’s degree in occupational and environmental health from the Medical School of Athens, and a PhD from the Department of Maritime Studies of the University of Piraeus, in which he also completed his post-doctoral research in the field of sustainability of maritime clusters. He also holds training certificates in the fields of child and adolescent psychopathology and psychodynamic psychotherapy. For a number of years he was an external partner of the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education and a member of the academic staff at the American College of Greece, until the moment of his appointment at the Department of Maritime Studies of the University of Piraeus. Peter holds many collaborations with private and public bodies such as the Hellenic Army, the Athens Transportation Organization, Attiki Odos, the National Technical University of Athens, and the University of West Attica. His discipline concerns maritime technology and management science and his research interests refer to the analysis of the functional and constructional elements of ships and modern methods and tools for managing maritime businesses in relation to existing and emerging technologies, their applications, development, and improvement.

Basil Tselentis is a Professor in Marine Environment at the Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus. He is a Chemist with postgraduate studies in Biochemistry at University College London. He also holds a degree in Public Health from the National School of Public Health. He teaches courses related to Environmental Management, Quality Assurance and Certification in Shipping and Transport. His research activities include the management of the coastal marine environment and is specialized in the environmental monitoring and environmental certification of commercial and tourist ports, as well as integrated plans for environmental management of maritime activities in the coastal zone. He is Lead Auditor (ISO 14001) from Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance.

Dr. Vangelis Tsioumas is an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methods in Shipping at the Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus. Dr. Tsioumas has an extensive record of research, teaching, and administration. He holds a PhD from the Department of Maritime Studies at the University of Piraeus, an MSc in Risk Management & Financial Engineering from Imperial College Business School, and a BSc & MSc in Applied Mathematics from National Technical University of Athens.

Dr. Tsioumas has published numerous research articles in the areas of shipping market modeling and strategic management using analytical tools. He has also served as a reviewer for several journals. Furthermore, Dr. Tsioumas conducted research at the Athens University of Economics and Business as a Post-doctoral Fellow and at New York University (NYU) as a visiting scholar.

In the past, Dr. Tsioumas lectured at the Department of Naval Architecture, University of West Attica in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs; at the Department of Port Management and Shipping, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; and at the American College of Greece – Deree, where he served as the Head of the Department of Maritime Transport & Logistics and as an inaugural fellow of the Center of Excellence in Shipping, Logistics & Transportation (CoELST). He was awarded a Stipend for Excellence in Teaching at Deree during 2017-18.

Dr. Tsioumas has several years of work experience in the maritime industry as a shipping market analyst and chartering broker. He is also a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS). Moreover, he has participated in various European research and consulting projects in the areas of shipping and port management. Most recently, he served for 3.5 years as a Research Manager for the SkillSea project at the Eugenides Foundation.

Dr. George K. Vaggelas is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Maritime Studies of the University of Piraeus. He has previously served as an Associate Professor at the Department of Ports Μanagement and Shipping of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and at the Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport of the University of the Aegean. He is also a founding member of PortEconomics – a web-based initiative advancing knowledge exchange on port economics, management and policies.

He was Partner and Managing Director of Ports & Shipping (P&S) Advisory, an innovative company aiming at delivering consultancy services of high quality in the port and shipping industries. George has spent four years (2010-2014) as an advisor to the President and CEO of Thessaloniki Port Authority (ThPA) SA dealing, among others, with the strategic planning of the port and the development of the cruise business. During 2014-2016 he served as member of the Greek Regulatory Authority for Ports, until 2016, when he resigned in order to devote more time in consultancy and research of maritime transportation systems and ports. Since then he has completed shipping and seaport related projects in several European countries, examining transport systems and port reorganization, transport systems investments, port M&A’s, shipping clusters, shipping policy etc.

He has (co-) authored several studies examining shipping transport and seaport economics, management and policy. Several of these studies have been published in international scientific journals and presented at international conferences.

He is a member of the Board of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) and of the Port Performance Research Network (PPRN). He is also member of the Hellenic Association of Transport Engineers and of the Economic Chaber of Greece. George Vaggelas holds a BSc (Shipping & Enterpreneurship), an MSc in Shipping Trade and Transport (STT), and a PhD (2008) in port economics, management and policy, obtained at the Department of Shipping Trade and Transport, School of Business, University of the Aegean, Greece.