Director of the MSc

Associate Professor Christos Karydis
Department of Environment

Chair of the Department of Environment of the Ionian University (2023–present). Director of the PreServe Laboratory. Director of the Iconography School “Fotis Kontoglou” of the Holy Monastery of the Great Meteora. Archon Offikialios of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. Lecturer in three (3) postgraduate programs at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Academic coordinator and (co-)author of four (4) e-learning programs at the Centre for Lifelong Learning (KEDIVIM) of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

He has been teaching in higher education since 2006 and has been professionally engaged in the conservation of works of art since before 2002. As a postdoctoral researcher (PostDoc), he worked on the documentation and preventive conservation of relics of Mount Athos in collaboration with the Art Diagnostic Center–Ormylia and the Getty Institute (L.A.).

He holds a Bachelor’s degree (BSc) in Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art (specialization in organic materials) from De Montfort University, UK. He pursued further studies in the United Kingdom in Preventive Conservation of Works of Art at Northumbria University, Newcastle (MA Hons), in Textile Conservation at the Textile Conservation Centre of the University of Southampton (one-year program, A.G. Leventis Foundation scholarship), and in Orthodox Theology at the Hellenic Open University (MA Hons). He received his PhD from the University of Lincoln as a scholar of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.

He collaborates with several Ephorates of Antiquities and serves as scientific advisor for the conservation and study of relics of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Holy Monastery of St. John on Patmos, Mount Athos, as well as institutions in Colombia, Spain, Brussels, Eritrea, England, and Metropolises throughout Greece.

He is the author of four independent monographs and more than 100 publications and conference papers in scientific journals and national and international conferences. He is editor–author of the volume “The Science of Preventive Conservation: Preservation and Collection Management” and editor–author of the Springer publication “Late Antiquity Textiles in the Collection of the Holy Basilic, Patriarchal & Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Patmos: Documentation, Scientific Analysis and Preservation.” He is also head of the International Meeting on the Conservation and Documentation of Ecclesiastical Works of Art (IMCDEA).

Email: c.karydis@ionio.gr

Members of the IPSP Program Studies Committee

Professor Stavros Vlizos
Department of Archives, Library Science & Museology

Graduate of the University of Ioannina and PhD holder from Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. He initially worked as a contract archaeologist at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture (1997–2001) and subsequently at the Benaki Museum (2002–2013) as researcher and scientific associate of the Director, Professor Angelos Delivorrias.

At the Department of Archives, Library Science and Museology of the Ionian University, he teaches as Associate Professor a wide range of courses in Museology and Archaeology. From 2003 to 2017 he served as a member of the Academic Advisory Staff of the Hellenic Open University. He is Director of the Ionian University Museum Collections (museum.ionio.gr) and of the Amykles Research Project (amyklaion.gr), a member of the Archaeological Society at Athens, corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute, member of ICOM, and founding member of the “Roman Seminar.”

As Scientific Coordinator of co-funded (NSRF) projects, he directs research related to the promotion of archaeological heritage through new technologies. His research interests and publications focus on the presentation and management of cultural heritage and archaeological assets, as well as on the material culture of Roman Greece and the diachronic significance of ancient sanctuaries.

Email: vlizosst@ionio.gr
University Museum website: https://museum.ionio.gr/gr/

Associate Professor Manolis G. Drakakis
Department of Archives, Library Science & Museology

Graduate of the Department of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Crete. He completed postgraduate studies in Archival Science and Palaeography at the Vatican Schools of Archival Science and Palaeography in Rome and at the State Archives School in Venice. He holds a PhD from the Department of Primary Education of the University of Crete (grade: Excellent).

He served for many years as Director of the General State Archives of Greece (Heraklion Prefecture) (1993–2016), as Laboratory Teaching Staff (EDIP) at the Department of Primary Education, University of Crete (2014–2018), and as instructor of History and Palaeography at the Patriarchal Higher Ecclesiastical Academy of Crete (1993–2007, 2013–2015).

He has published fourteen monographs and twenty-nine articles in Greek scientific journals. His research interests focus on the history of Crete (16th–20th centuries), with emphasis on the research, study, publication, and commentary of archival sources.

Email: mdrakakis@ionio.gr

Professor Dionysios Koulougliotis
Department of Environment

Full Professor at the Department of Environment of the Ionian University and Dean of the corresponding School. He holds degrees from the Department of Physics (1989) and the Department of Economics (2013) of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and a PhD from the Department of Chemistry of Yale University, USA (1995).

He worked as a postdoctoral researcher (Marie Curie Fellowship) at the University of Florence (1995–1998), at the National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (1998–1999), and at the Technical University of Berlin (2002–2003). His research interests include: educational research in science education with emphasis on Chemistry; physicochemical characterization of foods using spectroscopic techniques; applications of magnetic resonance biophysical spectroscopy (EPR, NMR) in structural biology and photosynthesis; and indoor air pollution. He is (co-)author of 35 scientific publications in international journals (January 2021) with more than 650 citations (h-index: 16).

Email: dkoul@ionio.gr

Assistant Professor Athanasia Petala
Department of Environment

Assistant Professor at the Department of Environment of the Ionian University. She received her Diploma in Chemical Engineering (2011) from the University of Patras and her MSc (2013) and PhD (2017) in Chemical Engineering from the same university. From 2017 to 2022 she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Patras and in 2022 joined the academic staff of the Department of Environment of the Ionian University.

Her research activities focus on heterogeneous photocatalysis and advanced oxidation processes, particularly on the synthesis and physicochemical characterization of catalytic materials, the development and evaluation of (photo)catalysts, and the investigation of reaction kinetics and mechanisms, with emphasis on energy and environmental applications. She is co-author of 47 articles in peer-reviewed international journals. Her published work has received more than 1,692 citations (Scopus), with an h-index of 25, and has been presented at 27 international and 24 national conferences.

Email: apetala@ionio.gr