Sophia Sotiropoulou is physicist, University of Athens (1991), post graduated in Physical methods in Archaeology and Museography, Univ. of Bordeaux (1993) and PhD in Chemical Engineering at the NTUA (2000). She is devoted to heritage science, conducting research in the development of analytical strategies and optimization of methodologies for the study of a wide range of archaeological materials, artworks and heritage objects or structures. She has been specialized in applying imaging techniques, optical, photometric and spectroscopic methods for the analysis of materials, the study of mechanisms of natural aging and the characterization of paint surfaces (including optical, chemical and visually perceptible properties) of heritage objects.
Education
- 2000, Phd, National Technical University of Athens, Department of Chemical Engineering, Section of Materials Science, Greece
- 1993, D.E.S.S.- “Méthodes Physiques en Archéologie et Muséographie”, BORDEAUX I (Department of Science and Technology), France
- 1993, D.E.A. - “Histoire, Civilisation: Archéologie des mondes antiques”, University of BORDEAUX III (Department of Social and Human Sciences), France
- 1992, D.E.U.G. History of Art, PARIS X NANTERRE (Paris Nanterre University). France
- 1991, Diploma of Physics, Physics Department, School of Sciences, University of Athens, Greece
Career
- 2018 to present, Senior Research Associate, FORTH – Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser(IESL), Greece
- 2010 to present, Assistant Module Coordinator (AMC) at "General Principles of Light, Hellenic Open University (HOU) - School of Applied Arts”- Master course "Lighting Design, Greece
- 1996 to 2017, Senior researcher, “Ormylia” Foundation - Art Diagnosis Centre (OfADC) , GREECE
- 1993 to 1996, Research Associate, N. C. S. R. “Demokritos”, Institute of Materials Science, Laboratory of Archaeometry , Greece
Interests
- Heritage Science
- Colour Science
- Technology of Wall paintings
- Pigments Analysis
- Technical imaging
- Molecular Spectroscopies (microRaman, FTIR)
- XRF elemental analysis
- Ancient Polychromy
- Aegean Prehistory
- Museum Lighting
Evdoxia Dimitroulaki is an MSc student at the Materials Science and Technology Department at the University of Crete, while she holds a BSc degree at the Physics Department of the same university.
She joined the IESL-FORTH for her thesis, followed by an internship, concentrating on “Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy to monitor the controlled laser ablation of aged varnish layers from paintings".
In 2019 she visited the Institute of Molecular Science and Technologies, of the National Research Council in Perugia, Italy as an ERASMUS trainee aiming at studying FTIR spectroscopy for the assessment of laser cleaning procedures in paintings.
Education
- 2020, B.Sc., Department of Physics, University of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Laser ablation of aged varnish
- Monitoring of laser cleaning
- LIF spectrsoscopy
Athanasia Papanikolaou studied Physics at the Physics Department of the University of Crete (B.Sc.) and received her MSc in “Photonics & Nanoelectronics” from the same department, in 2018. She joined IESL-FORTH to pursue her undergraduate thesis under the title “Towards the understanding of the two-wavelength laser cleaning in avoiding yellowing on stonework”, and she continues her research work with her MSc thesis focused on the “Development of a photoacoustic monitoring system for the study of laser ablation processes upon the removal of encrustation from stonework”.
In 2019 she received a scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. studied at the Warsaw University of Technology Institute of Micromechanics and Photonics within the CHANGE (https://change-itn.eu/) ITN project. Her aim is to develop a “Portable multimodal system for CH surface measurement and monitoring” under the supervision of prof. Malgorzata Kujawinska.
Education
- 2018, M.Sc., Department of Physics, University of Crete, Greece
- 2016, B.Sc., Department of Physics, University of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Laser cleaning of stone
- Two wavelength Laser Cleanign
- Photoacoustic imaging
- Monitoring laser ablation
Other
Currenty a PhD student at University of California, Santa Barbara (USA)
Maira Tampakaki is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Medicine. She holds a Master’s degree in Brain and Mind Sciences from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete (2020) and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the same university (2016). Her research focuses on studying brain cancer physiology using standardized biological systems, such as organoids, organotypic cultures, and humanized animal models for preclinical drug testing and computational modeling of cancer progression. Part of her work also involves the cultivation and imaging of ocular tissue, utilizing hybrid microscopy systems with the aim of studying and identifying imaging biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Her research interests include the mechanisms of neural system function and development, cancer neurophysiology, the development of biological models for studying human diseases with molecular imaging, and computational/mathematical modeling of cancer
Education
- 2023, Phd cand. , Department of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
- 2020, ΜSc, Department of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
- 2016, BSc, Department of Biology, University of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Mechanisms of neural system function and development
- Cancer neurophysiology
- Molecular imaging
- Μathematical modeling
Michalis Orfanakis is a Physicist and currently a PhD student, member of the Laboratory for Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging (LBMI) of IESL. His research focuses on developing spectroscopic and photoacoustic techniques for bio-marker monitoring. The aim of this doctoral research is the development of spectroscopic and photoacoustic techniques for the identification and real time monitoring of bio-markers, using visible and infrared light. He has a MSc in Microelectronics and Optoelectronics from the Physics Dpt. of the University of Crete with his master thesis in the field of Optical Tweezers. Michalis is also a science teacher in secondary education and he is interested in adapting modern scientific research projects to school level. He is an expert in the field of STEM Education and he is honored with two European Awards. The “European STEM Teacher Award” in 2017 for the development of an Optical CT Scanner and in 2019 for the development of an Optical tweezers set up, aiming at presenting basic phycics principles in Secondary Education.
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Europe 2019
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Greece 2018
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Europe 2017
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Greece 2016
Michail (Mikis) Mylonakis completed his PhD at the Laboratory for Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging (LBMI), part of the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) at the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), in 2024. He was born in Chania in 1993 and pursued his undergraduate studies in Physics at the University of Crete (2011-2015), followed by a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Technology (2015-2018). His doctoral research focused on wavefront shaping for microscopic imaging of biological samples. Over the course of his studies, Mikis has worked on optical systems for imaging ultra-cold atoms and contributed to various research projects. He has been recognized with several awards, including the 1st Prize at Science on Stage Europe in 2019 for his innovative educational work in science, including an adaptive optics illumination device for in vivo imaging.
Education
- 2024, Phd, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete
- 2018, MSc, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Greece
- 2015, Bsc, Department of Physics, University of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Optical design
- Bioimaging
- Mechanical design
- Wavefront shaping
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Europe 2019
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Greece 2018
Other
AN ASSEMBLY OF OPTICAL ELEMENTS AND A METHOD FOR CONTROLLING LIGHT
Ioannis Zacharakis, Michail(Mikis) Mylonakis, Evangelos Marakis, Athanasios Zacharopoulos & Emmanouil Vergis, European Patent application no. 22164624.3
