Costas B. Papazachos
Professor of Geophysics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Member of the Quality Assurance Unit (MODIP), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Costas B. Papazachos is Professor of Geophysics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he specializes in Physics of the lithosphere, Seismology, and Applied Geophysics. He holds a BSc in Physics, a 2nd BSc in Geology, as well as a PhD in Geophysics from the same institution. His academic career includes appointments as Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Princeton University and Meierjurgen Fellow at the University of Oregon, alongside research positions at the Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (ITSAK).
His research focuses on seismic hazard assessment, wave propagation, site effects, seismotectonics, and active crustal deformation, with a strong emphasis on applications relevant to civil protection and infrastructure resilience. He has coordinated and contributed to numerous national and European projects addressing seismic hazard for critical infrastructures such as dams, pipelines, and hospitals, as well as microzonation studies across Greece and abroad. He is the author of more than 200 scientific publications, with ~8000 citations (h-index 50), and has delivered more than 80 presentations at international conferences, including invited lectures. He has authored a widely used textbook on the Physics of the Earth’s interior, macroseismic atlases, and numerous technical reports, and is a member of the Editorial board of Pure and Applied Geophysics, as well as reviewer for 20+ international journals. He has also participated as a board member in several organizations, including the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization, the Greek Geological Survey, etc. and contributed to the development of Greece’s seismic code.
He has played a key role in scientific governance and educational policy, serving as Head of the School of Geology, as well as Director of the Geophysical Laboratory at AUTH. He is also a long-standing member of AUTh’s e-Government Steering Committee, as well as of the five members of AUTh’s Quality Assurance Committee, which coordinates QA procedures for the undergraduate, graduate and PhD programs of Aristotle University Thessaloniki.