The Organizing Committee is glad to announce that Prof. M. Kitis (Suleyman Demirel University, Türkiye), Emeritus Prof. M. Giugni (University of Naples – Federico II, Italy), Emeritus Prof. D. Tolikas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) and Prof. D. Sarigiannis (Director and President of the Board of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and Professor of Environmental Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) will give keynote speeches during the Conference.
Prof. Maurizio Giugni, graduated with distinction in Hydraulic Engineering in 1979, Researcher at the University of Naples Federico II from 1983, Associate Professor from 1992, Professor of Hydraulic Works from 2000 to 2023. Head of the Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (2002-2008), Head of the Interdepartmental Environmental Research Center (CIRAM) (2007-2013), Head of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (2015-2020), member of the Academic Senate (2016-2020).
He authored more than 300 publications on national and international scientific journals, conference proceedings or book chapters. He focused his research activity mainly on design and management of water and sewer systems, Pressure Management for leakage reduction, District Metered Areas in Water Distribution Networks, energy saving policy in water systems through pumps as turbines (PAT), dynamic response of water pipes in seismic areas, ecological flow (e-flow), soil erosion and desertification, hydraulic risk assessment, prevention and mitigation, urban flash floods and Nature Based Solutions (NBS).
Prof. Giugni was scientific advisor of many public organizations and private companies and coordinator of many national and European scientific projects. He was appointed National Commissioner for Wastewater and Purification by the Italian Prime Minister (11.05.2020-10.05.2023).
He has been awarded the 100 Italian Excellences Award for Hydraulic Engineering in 2021.
Mehmet Kitis is professor in Dept. of Environmental Engineering in Suleyman Demirel University, Türkiye. He has a Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering and Science from Clemson University, USA. He worked as a process engineer in CH2MHILL Inc., CA USA. His main research areas include water/wastewater treatment and reuse, membrane processes, industrial cleaner production applications, industrial water efficiency. He has been making research and consulting for more than 25 years in these areas. Prof. Kitis has published 126 peer-reviewed papers and books/book chapters (web of science h-index: 39) and presented more than 200 conference papers. He worked in 78 research and engineering projects including those of USA AWWARF, USEPA, EU IPA, TÜBİTAK, NATO, MEDRC, Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan, and others. He received 26 national/international scientific/engineering awards. He has advised a total of 29 M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis. He has involved in a total of 49 technical/academic/administrative positions including department chair, vice rector, consultant to ministries, international companies and various industries, research institute director (TÜBİTAK MAM), editorial board member, chamber of commerce advisor, and others.
Professor Emeritus Dimitrios Tolikas was born in 1944 in Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering (1967) and a Ph.D. (1973) from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.). He pursued postdoctoral research as Research Associate at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA (1973– 1974), and completed his habilitation at A.U.Th. in 1976. He served as Appointed Associate Professor (1976– 982) at the School of Engineering of A.U.Th., and in 1982 he was elected Chair Professor of “Water Resources Management.” From 1982 to 2010 he was Professor in the Division of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, A.U.Th. Since 2010 he has held the title of Professor Emeritus. Professor Tolikas has held numerous administrative roles, including Director of the Division of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering (1982–1984, 1992–1994), Head of the Department of Civil Engineering (1984–1987), and Dean of the School of Engineering (2003–2006). He also served on the Board of Directors of AHEPA Hospital in Thessaloniki (1985–1991), and was both Member of the Administrative Committee and Chair of the Technical Council of the University of Thessaly (1993–1999). He has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific publications, including monographs, peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and academic textbooks, contributing significantly to the fields of Hydraulics, Water Resources Management, and Environmental Engineering.
Dimosthenis (Denis) Sarigiannis is Director and President of the Board of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF) and Professor of Environmental Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with parallel appointments at the University School for Advanced Studies of Pavia (IUSS) and Yale School of Public Health. He holds a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from UC Berkeley.
Internationally recognized as a pioneer of translational exposomics, his work quantitatively links external exposures to internal dose, molecular perturbation, and health risk across the life course. His methodological innovations integrate human biomonitoring with PBPK/PBK modelling, new approach methodologies (NAMs), and multi-omics analytics, enabling mechanistically grounded, individual-level risk models. He is equally recognized for operationalizing Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) in chemicals, materials and products through AI-enabled computational toolboxes that bridge next-generation risk assessment with industrial innovation and regulatory practice.
Prior to his academic career, he held senior leadership roles at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), including Scientific Coordinator at the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Assistant to the JRC Director General and positions central to the development of the REACH Regulation on chemical safety.
He has contributed to over 50 international research projects — coordinating 15 — and currently leads the Center of Excellence on Cancer Theranostics at NHRF and the ENVESOME Horizon Europe initiative while serving on the Management Board in the ~€400M PARC partnership. He has authored 233 peer-reviewed papers, 500 conference papers, and 28 book chapters, and has been listed among Stanford’s top 2% of scientists worldwide since 2018. His contributions to the safety of pharmaceuticals and chemicals have been recognized with the Bo Holmstedt Award from Eurotox and multiple excellence prizes. Prize by the European Society of Toxicology and the Bo Holmstedt Foundation.
