The research activity in the Division of Informatics and Engineering spans a broad range of topics in Information and Communication Technologies, Engineering, and Science. The Informatics group focuses on the research, design and implementation of Big Data, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things technologies and their applications in a number of sectors, including maritime, healthcare, education, culture and, environment. The research activity in the group of Engineering and Engineering Physics mainly involves -but it is not limited to- the study of quantum optical systems, nanophotonics and metamaterials, aiming to applications on the rapidly growing fields of quantum/optical technologies, communications and computing.
Research Topics
Informatics, Engineering and Physics.
Topics
Informatics
Artificial Intelligence – AI-powered well-being
Artificial Intelligence technologies have been influencing various economic sectors. Research on this topic focuses on studying the transition to an AI-powered Well-Being Industry, where well-being is defined as the experience of health, happiness, and prosperity. Emerging business models are studied, and new ones are defined. The impact of AI is assessed, and efforts are designed and planned for making results work for society”.
Internet of Things - Fleet Management using GIS:
Using Internet of Thinks we can collect, transmit, store, analyze and finally use and present vessels live data on a Geographical Information System used as Global Monitoring Platform. We use those data for further analysis, and in maritime industry for example we produced information about engine performance, gas emissions, navigation, Vessel performance etc. The produced information of the above data could be used as an input to a support decision system or to an alerting system, back to the Maritime Company that monitors the Vessel.
Vessels Performance Monitoring:
The modern performance systems are based on the data fusion from different data sources, e.g. sensors, weather provider data, GIS data etc. In principle, a vessel performance monitoring system could be a component of the Global Monitoring Platform. The vessel performance system contains the analysis module, the models, and the reporting module. The following models necessary for the performance analysis have been developed for each class of the vessels, power models (power as a function of vessel speed and draught, hull models (displacement and deadweight tables and block coefficients), engine SFOC (Specific Fuel Oil Consumption) models as a function of engine load.
Adjusted urban expansion models using GIS:
The principle of these models is that based on some data (land uses, terrain, road network, population, etc.), the previous trend of urban development can be measured and recorded. The recorded trends are then used to assess the future development of urban areas. In other words, urban sprawl models project future urbanization trends.
Engineering and Physics
Quantum optics:
Quantum optics study the interaction light (photons) with matter (atoms) in a quantum mechanical level. Quantum optical systems retain a very high level of control and are ideal candidates for cutting-edge technological applications. In our group we study the properties of such systems and their possible applications in quantum technologies.
Photonic crystals and nanophotonics:
Photonic crystals are artificial composite materials comprised of two (or more) periodically placed dielectric materials. Photonic crystals exhibit properties, such as band-gap structure, which are very important for the control and manipulation of light. Harnessing light in the nano-level has tremendous applications in the current technology. Applications include medical non-invasive techniques, lighting and energy saving, optical data communications and safety/security. Our group focuses on the study of the properties of light in periodic and aperiodic photonic structures, with emphasis on reflection, transmission, amplification, absorption, and localization.
Metamaterials and wave control
Metamaterials is a class of composite, artificial structures, suitably engineered to exhibit properties that do not occur naturally. These extraordinary applications i.e. cloaking and invisibility, give rise to smart applications with high impact to contemporary technology. In our group, we focus on the control of matter, electromagnetic, optical, and sound waves is such structures mainly through symmetry patterns of the geometry and the non-Hermicity of the materials.
Holography and String Theory
One of the striking developments emerging from the research in string theory is the idea of the celebrated AdS/CFT correspondence. It's remarkable feature is that it relates the strongly coupled regime of the gauge theory to the weakly coupled regime of the string theory and vice-versa. It is a powerful tool for the study of strongly interacting systems by using a conjectured dual weakly coupled string/gravitational theory. In our group, we focus both in formal and more phenomelogical aspects of the correspondence. More precicely there is activity in the following directions: (i) Holographic computation of the Entanglement Entropy, (ii) Holographic study of strongly coupled condensed matter systems and more.
Team
Panayotis Kalozoumis
Panayotis Kalozoumis is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics and Director at the Research Institute of the Hellenic American University. Holding a PhD in Physics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he has worked as a full-time researcher for several international and Greek research centers and Universities. He is author/co-author of 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals and his work has been presented in multitude of international conferences and workshops. He is also a referee for seven scientific journals. His research interests focus on nanophotonics, wave control in aperiodic media, quantum optics and quantum information. Dr. Kalozoumis collaborates closely with the Department of Material Science in the University of Patras, the Physics Department of the University of Athens, the Center for Optical and Quantum Technologies in Hamburg (Germany), the Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Mans in Le Mans (France) and he is member of the Theoretical Quantum Optics and Technology group in FORTH. More information here.
Contact
Email: pkalozoumis[at]hauniv.edu
Telephone: 2103680964
Ioannis Filippopoulos
A “technology architect”, a “team leader”, an information system and a digital transformation specialist with a passion exceptional aptitude for working with computers combined with an astounding academic background in computer and software engineering (PhD) and business management (MBA). He is also teaching and researching of innovative systems and platforms and he is specialized in Geographical Information Systems. Over the last eight years he has been specializing in Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain platforms in shipping industry as CIO at a top-performing maritime company, as Adjunct Professor at University of Thessaly and as an Adjunct Professor in the Information Technology and Engineering Programs at Hellenic American University.
Contact
Email: ifilippopoulos[at]hauniv.edu
Telephone: 2103680058
Didoe Prevedourou
Didoe Prevedourou holds a master’s degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. Didoe is currently the Director of Innovation in ICT at the Hellenic American University and College. She is mainly responsible for the organization and coordination of the funded research and innovation management activities. She is also Vice President of Innovation and Research at the CTiF Global Capsule, a global, collaborative, non-profit organization for cross-/inter-disciplinary research, education, and innovation. Didoe has a vast working experience in both academic and corporate environments. During 2014-2020, she served as the Managing Director of AIT, a private non-profit research organization, and before that, for twelve years, as AIT’s Research Director mainly responsible for the administration and organization of AIT’s activity, research fund raising, research collaborations and partnership formulations, as well as for the protection, dissemination and commercialization of AIT’s intellectual capital. During 1991 – 2001, Didoe served in various research and managerial positions at INTRACOM S.A., the biggest Hellenic Telecommunications Industry. She was also INTRACOM’s representative at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and a representative of the Greek Industrial Confederation at the Telecommunications Working Group of the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations in Europe (BUSINESSEUROPE). Didoe has worked as research scientist in numerous EU and nationally funded research projects, also in the roles of project coordinator and technical manager, as well as in industrial projects, covering diverse thematic areas in ICT and innovation management. Her research interests are in ICT and its applications in healthcare, education, and culture.
Contact
Email: dprevedourou[at]hauniv.edu
Telephone: 210368915
Dimitrios Zoakos
Dimitris Zoakos received his PhD in Theoretical/Mathematical Physics from the University of Patras, Greece. He has worked as a postdoctoral researcher for more than ten years for both international and Greek Universities, including the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), the University of Porto (Portugal), the International University of Catalonia (Spain) and the University of Athens (Greece). His research interests focus on High Energy Physics and String Theory. He has published several papers and conference proceedings in high-impact-factor peer-reviewed journals and he is a referee for some of the most prestigious journals in the field of Theoretical High Energy Physics. More information here.
Contact
Email: dzoakos[at]hauniv.edu
Sokratis Sofianopoulos
Sokratis Sofianopoulos graduated from the Computer Science Department of the University of Ioannina in 2002 and holds an MSc in Distributed & Multimedia Information Systems from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2003). He received his PhD degree in language modelling for machine translation systems and multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithms from the National Technical University of Athens in 2010. In 2005 he joined the Institute for Language and Speech Processing of Athena Research and Innovation Center. His research interests include natural language processing, with emphasis on machine translation, machine learning, and evolutionary algorithms. Since 2017 he has been an adjunct lecturer at the Hellenic American University, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on machine learning, neural networks, and object-oriented programming. More information here.
Contact
Email: ssofianopoulos[at]hauniv.edu
Yiannis Kiouvrekis
Yiannis Kiouvrekis is an adjunct faculty member in the IT and Engineering division Hellenic American University. He earned his Diploma in Mathematics, a M.Sc. in Pure Mathematics and his PhD from the Department of Mathematics of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). His research focuses on mathematical logic, Artificial Intelligence and the application of pure mathematics in the social and medical Sciences. During his PhD studies, he worked as adjunct faculty member in the Department of Mathematics of NTUA, where he taught discrete mathematics, mathematical logic and R. He was also a lecturer at UNICAF, (UNIC – online) teaching distance-learning courses in statistics and research methodology. Since 2015 he has been an adjunct faculty member at the National School of Public Administration and Local Government in statistics and data analysis. Currently, Yiannis is a researcher at the Medical School of the University of Thessaly and in the laboratory of Formal Methods and Logic in NTUA.
Contact
Email: ikiouvrekis[at]hauniv.edu
Publications (from 2015)
2021
Journal publications
Conferences Proccedings
2020
Journal publications
Conferences Proccedings
2019
Journal publications
Conferences, Seminars, and Talks
2018
Journal publications
Conference proceedings
2017
Book publications
Journal publications
C. V. Morfonios, P. A. Kalozoumis, F. K. Diakonos, and P. Schmelcher Ann. Phys. 358, 385, 623 (2017). “Nonlocal discrete continuity and invariant currents in locally symmetric effective Schrödinger arrays”.
Conference proceedings
P.A. Kalozoumis, C.V. Morfonios, F.K. Diakonos, and P. Schmelcher, Proceedings of Metamaterials Congress 2017, Marseille (2017). “Absorber-laser modes and transparency in the absence of PT-symmetry”.
Ioannis Filippopoulos, Georgios Stamoulis, IEEE / South Eastern European Design Automation, Computer Engineering, Computer Networks and Social Media Conference (SEEDA-CECNSM)), Kastoria, Greece (2017). “Collecting and using vessel's live data from on board equipment using ‘Internet of Vessels (IoV) platform”.
2016
Journal publications
2015
Journal publications
Conference proceedings
P. A. Kalozoumis, C. Morfonios, F. K. Diakonos, and P. Schmelcher, Proceedings of Progress In Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS): Focus Session SC2: PT-Symmetry, Reciprocity, Nonlinear Phenomena, Prague, Czech Republic, July 6–9, (2015). “Local Symmetry Induced Structures in Wave Scattering Systems”.
S. Piperidis, D. Galanis, J. Bakagianni, and S. Sofianopoulos, Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics and the 7th International Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing (ACL-IJCNLP) (2015). “A Data Sharing and Annotation Service Infrastructure”.
P. A. Kalozoumis, O. Richoux, F. K. Diakonos, G. Theocharis, and P. Schmelcher, Proceedings of Phononics 2015: International Conference on Phononic Crystals, Metamaterials and Optomechanics, Paris, France, May 31-June 5 (2015). “Aperiodic Acoustic Waveguides with Local Symmetries: Transmission Properties and Spatially Invariant Currents”.
P.A. Kalozoumis, F.K. Diakonos, and P. Schmelcher, Proceedings of the 11-th International Conference of Computational Methods in Science and Engineering (ICCMSE 2015), Athens (2-15) (2015). “Local Symmetries, Invariants and Transmission Properties in Optical Scattering Systems”.
Funding
Faculty members of the Hellenic American University are actively involved in several national and international funded research projects and consortia.
Current funded projects
Project MetaCities - Meta Cities Excellence Hub in South-Eastern Europe
MetaCities proposes to create an Excellence Hub that spans a large geographical area, that of Southeast Europe. It involves three place-based innovation ecosystems in Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria, each consisting of all types of partners in a Quadruple Helix model (i.e., academia, industrial, societal, public). The thematic focus of the Hub is future, metaverse cities and involves ambitious research and innovation (R&I) agendas and the uptake of advanced digital technologies. The project will define Digital Twins (DT) of future cities/regions that will provide accurate and reliable reference representation seamlessly unifying the physical, digital and human worlds and enabling stakeholders to assess the effects of any changes before investments and implementations actually occur. Specific domains with strong social footprint are selected as reference pilot implementations in order to guide and validate the proposed framework in the three participating ecosystems. The Greek Pilot focuses on Smart Mobility in the region of Patras. Detailed mobility use cases will be designed, and digital twins will be identified and described representing characteristic mobility cases of the city. The Bulgarian Pilot deals with Smart buildings and Energy efficiency in the region of Burgas. Indicative use cases include potential uses of renewable sources of energy (PV), budget planning for energy usage and buildings renovation. The Cypriot Pilot deals with Smart Urban Planning. It will make use of interactive and immersive technologies to visualize and understand smart city data. Innovation excellence will be strengthened in the involved place-based ecosystems through cross-border collaboration in the selected domain of cutting-edge science and innovation.
The project is a Coordination and Support Action funded by the Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area Horizon Europe Workprogramme.
HAEC will be leading the activities on Dissemination, Engagement and Knowledge Transfer and in particular on planning, designing and implementing engagement activities with the economic and civic worlds, as well as clustering activities with other like-minded hubs and networks working on similar thematic areas. Will also actively contribute to the definition of business models, joint, cross-border R&I strategies, common standards of work, processes and outputs, and key performance indicators relevant to operational, tactical, and strategic impacts.
P-ΝΕΤ Emerging New Generation Networks and Applications
P-ΝΕΤ Emerging New Generation Networks and Applications is a Competence Center in the Region of Western Greece. P-NET’s establishment has been approved by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI) of Greece in the framework of the Action «COMPETENCE CENTERS». The Action is co-financed by the European Union and Greece (EU European Regional Development Fund and EPAnEK Operational Program Competitiveness - Entrepreneurship – Innovation 2014-2020). It is implemented through the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI), which also co-funds the first 24 months of P-NET’s operation.
P-NET is a cluster involving 22 partners-shareholders representing big and established companies, SMEs, public and private higher and lifelong education institutions, research organizations, consulting, and entrepreneurship support companies. The main aim of the Competence Center is to support and promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological support to businesses with activity in 5G communication technologies, with emphasis on strengthening vertical value chains (verticals) and sustainability. HAEC is one of P-NET’s shareholders with main interest and involvement in the Center’s knowledge transfer activity by means of professional training programs, business consulting and awareness raising initiatives.
MyTravel: Electronic Platform for Optimal Tourist Reservations via Personalized User Reservation Price Estimations and Preferences
The MyTravel project will develop a novel system to match tourist service providers such as hoteliers with potential clients. The project will also design individual tourist guides tailored to the profile of an area’s visitors. The innovation of this project is twofold. First, the system under study is not just a platform for reverse auctions, but also a means to accurately estimate the degree to which each offer matches the needs and preferences of a particular client, using criteria such as offer price, extra provisions, coverage of the requested interval of stay, the ratings that each hotel/room to let has received and the ratings of other users. Second, the project will propose personalized tourist guides for the visiting areas based on the client’s preferences. Since price is usually a significant factor in the client’s decision to accept an offer, the project will develop specialized algorithms to estimate the “reservation price” of a user for each offer, so that the service providers will have a good idea about the probability that a particular user will accept a particular offer at a particular price. At the same time, every service provider will be able to see the distribution of offers made by their competitors if they also let their offer be included in the distribution seen by their competitors. The matching algorithms will automatically sort the offers presented to the user by their matching rank. HAEC will participate in Work Package 3 of the project: "Design and Development of Algorithms". The work involves the use of artificial intelligence methods to create personalized tourism proposals for the client relevant to expressed interests and desires.The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and national resources and is implemented within the scope of the Operational Program of the NSRF 2014-2020 "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation" (EPAnEK). The project proposal was submitted in response to the GSRT Call «ΕΡΕΥΝΩ – ΔΗΜΙΟΥΡΓΩ - ΚΑΙΝΟΤΟΜΩ».
HOLOTWIN
HOLOTWIN is a University twinning action for enhancing capacity and research excellence in Holographic TelePresence Systems (HTPS) as a catalyst of digitalization. It is funded by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Science and Education. The twinning will activate a process of knowledge transfer towards the Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria), which leverages the academic and research excellence at Aarhus University (Denmark), University of Surrey (UK) and Hellenic American University/Hellenic American College (Greece) in this area of research. HTPS have a huge potential to elevate wireless interpersonal communication to new heights and to become the pillar of digital transformation of business and society. As a relatively new research field, there are still many open challenges requiring collaborative research effort to support both theoretical research and prototype laboratory experimentation. The HOLOTWIN plan of activities includes: staff exchanges, joint brain-storm meetings, research and scientific publications, workshops and summer schools, cross-functional mentoring, and training to empower researchers getting their innovations to the market. For more information about the project please contact Ms. Didoe Prevedourou, dprevedourou [at] hauniv.edu.
Project co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund- ESF) by the Operational Program Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020 (Participating faculty member: P.A. Kalozoumis). “Controlled light-matter strong coupling in quantum transmitters, interacting with MoS2 nanodisks for quantum technology applications”.
Previous funded projects
Project co-financed by Greece (General Secretariat for Research and Technology), and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund), in the framework of the bilateral Greek-Russian Science and Technology collaboration on Quantum Technologies (POLISIMULATOR project). “Polariton quantum simulator”.
Image: Visual representation of research activities in IT and Engineering