Profile

My research explores the interactions between people, cities and mobility aiming to inform human-centered, environmentally and socially sustainable planning policies. My latest research focuses on the social acceptance and long-term societal implications of emerging mobility technologies (e.g. automated vehicles, vehicle sharing, MaaS and Hyperloop) for accessibility, spatial structure, social inclusion, public health, planning and mobility governance. I am also interested in human perceptions and preferences of travel (e.g. travel time, accessibility) and their integration into urban and transport planning. I have a strong interest in developing theory and concepts in those fields and empirically explore them using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

I have acted as principal investigator, international expert advisor, management committee member, or research associate in Greek, Dutch, German and EU-funded projects on acceptance and implications of emerging mobility technologies, land use and transport interactions, and cycling mobility (e.g. NewCompactism, WISE-ACT, AV scenarios for the Netherlands, SELF-DRIVEN Areas, DRIVERS, AutomoVer). I am frequently invited to present my work on emerging mobility technologies to international audiences. I have been the guest-editor of the Transport Reviews (2019, Taylor and Francis) Special Issue on long-term implications of automated vehicles and the lead-editor of the Book Volume 'Policy implications of autonomous vehicles' (2020, Elsevier).

Since November 2018, I am affiliated with the Institute of Transport Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin (initially as head of the ‘Automated driving and new mobility concepts’ research group and currently with the Department of Institutional and Strategic Planning of the Institute). I have previously conducted research and/or taught at the Technical University of Munich (August-Wilhelm Scheer Visiting Professor), Delft University of Technology (Assistant Professor and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Research Fellow), UC Berkeley (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Research Fellow), University of Patras (Adjunct Lecturer), National Technical University of Athens (Post-doctoral Researcher).
 
2021-today
Senior Researcher, Department of Institutional and Strategic Planning
Institute of Transport Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

2019
August-Wilhelm Scheer Visiting Professor
Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering (TSE), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

2018-2021
Head of the Research Group 'Automated driving and new mobility concepts'
Institute of Transport Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany
 
2015-2018
Assistant Professor
Department of Transport and Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands 

2014-2015
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Department of Transport and Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands 

2013-2014
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow | Global Fellowships
Transport and Logistics Group (TLO), Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM), Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

2012-2013
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow | Global Fellowships
Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD), University of California, Berkeley

2008-2012
Adjunct Lecturer
Departmentof Architecture, University of Patras, Greece

2007-2012
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Sustainable Mobility Unit (SMU), Department of Geography and Regional Planning, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece

2002-2006
Ph.D. in Urban and Transport Planning
Department of Geography and Regional Planning, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece

1995-2001
Diploma – M.Eng. Degree (5-year course) in Surveying Engineering (Transportation Specialization)
School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to my blog!

Conventionally, travel behaviour theory considers travel as a derived demand. This means that travel occurs just because we want to reach a destination and participate in an activity there. In other words, it is the final goal and the benefits to be got from it, that motivates us to make the trip. But is this always true ? I am pretty sure that the first who would disagree with this theory, which has significantly defined the development path of contemporary cities, would be Constantine P. Cavafy with his most known poem “ Ithaka ”: "As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery ... Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich ".   In my case, I would probably agree more with Cavafy, than the rigorous theory of the scientific
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Expanding our concepts of the quality of everyday travelling with flow theory.

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In our new paper "Have a good trip! Expanding our concepts of the quality of everyday travelling with flow theory", we explore how flow theory could enrich and deepen our understanding of the positive value of travel/being on the move. Flow is an experience that occurs when a person is fully immersed in doing something that provides, level of challenge enough to keep the person concentrated, avoiding boredom or distraction. This experience is profoundly enjoyable, even if mundane, and valuable in its own right.    Here is a nice video by FightMediocrity summarizing flow theory in 5 minutes. And Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talking about flow in a TED Talk.     In our paper, we conclude that:  Most modes offer the potential for experiencing flow in different degrees by triggering mental states of awareness, increased creativity, concentration, disregard for the sense of self, and slowing down on time.  Everyday travelling offers rich challenges and feedback mechanisms that indiv
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The Environmental and Resource Dimensions of Automated Transport: A Nexus for Enabling Vehicle Automation to Support Sustainable Urban Mobility.

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In our new paper we review, conceptualize and suggest future directions for research and policy development on the diverse environmental and energy-related dimensions of automated mobility for road, rail, water, and air passenger transport.   Our conclusions suggest the automation-connectivity-electrification-sharing-multimodality nexus as the only way forward for vehicle automation to reach its pro-environmental and resource-saving potential. Other findings include: The literature tends to narrow down the terms CAVs and AVs to car-equivalents. Simulations and early AV stage experiments have generated conflicting results that do not reach a clear consensus on whether automation can yield genuine benefits for the environment. In all likelihood, the uptake of vehicle automation in isolation, and with an emphasis on autonomous cars, will result in moderate reductions in GHG emissions per mile that would be critically outweighed by a potentially high growth in VMT. The nexus-based transiti
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