Speaker

Nektarios A. Papadogiannis is the Rector of the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) and a Professor of Applied Physics. He graduated from the University of Crete, where he obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Physics, in collaboration with Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at FORTH, École Polytechnique in Paris, and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Munich. In 1999, he was elected Lecturer at the School of Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), and in 2001 he was appointed Researcher at FORTH. Since 2003, he has been serving at the Department of Music Technology and Acoustics of HMU, where he progressed through the academic ranks to become Professor. His research focuses on high-intensity lasers and plasma physics, ultrafast optics and attoscience, optoacoustics, as well as ultrafast acoustics and the acoustic characterisation of materials and metamaterials. He has authored numerous international scientific publications and books and has been invited to deliver lectures at a wide range of internationally recognised conferences. He has served as Principal Investigator in major competitive European and national research projects and holds international patents. He is also Co-founder and Director of Research at the Institute of Plasma Physics and Lasers of HMU. He has extensive academic and institutional leadership experience, having served as an elected Department Chair, Vice Rector and member of University Governing Councils. He has also served as Deputy Mayor of Rethymno, with responsibility for Education, Youth, Lifelong Learning and Digital Transformation. In 2026, he was elected Rector of the Hellenic Mediterranean University