Title of the speech: Nanotechnology processes for environmental protection and solar energy conversion

Polycarpos Falaras was born in Karditsa, Greece, in 1960. He received the degree in physics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, the D.E.A. degree (Hons) in electrochemistry from the University Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI, France, in 1983, and the Ph.D. degree (Hons) in chemistry, in 1986. During his PhD thesis, he joined the Physique des Liquides et Electrochimie Laboratory, CNRS, University Pierre et Marie Curie. In 1989, he entered the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos,” Athens, Greece, where he is currently working as Research Director, leading a group of 16 people. He disposes strong expertise in research management and he has been the Director of the NCSR Demokritos, Institute of Physical Chemistry, from 2007 to 2012. He has published more than 300 articles in international refereed journals of high I.F., received more than 21.000 citations (with h-index 74, Scopus). He holds eight (8) patents. He has participated (including coordination) in several EU and national projects. He is currently working on nanomaterials and nanotechnology-driven processes for solar energy conversion to electricity (third-generation solar cells: dye-sensitized, quantum dot, perovskite) and environmental protection (photocatalytic materials and reactors for water cleaning, H2 production, CO2 capture/conversion). He has served as Editor of Applied Catalysis B: Environmental and as a member of the editorial board in seven international journals (including Chemical Engineering Journal) as well as a regular reviewer of more than 100 international refereed journals. He taught Physical Chemistry at the Hellenic Open University and supervised the work of 26 postdoctoral and 23 Ph.D. students. For his innovative work in photoinduced processes, he has received prestigious awards by international (Prince Sultan International Prize for Water—PSIPW, Alternative Water Resources Prize) and national (Theodoros Aretaios Award/Academy of Athens; Empirikion Idrima) institutions.