Christos S. Zerefos
Head, Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens (2008-); Secretary General, Academy of Athens (2020-); Professor of Atmospheric Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (2002-2010); Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Director of the Postgraduate Studies in Environmental Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (1979-2002); Head of the Center for Environmental Effects on Health, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens (2003- ). Scientific Collaborator (Samarbeidspartnere), University of Oslo, Norway (1995); Honorary Fellow (Fulbright Scholar), University of Minnesota, USA (1985); Visiting Professor, Physics and Astronomy Department, Boston University, Boston, USA (1983). His research led to important contributions to international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol. Has supervised 55 masters and more than 30 PhD theses. His bibliometric indices are: 269 publications with 8.634 citations (without self-citations), h-index 56 (from Web of Knowledge, March 2022) and a total of 520 publications with 14.537 citations, h-index 67 (from Google Scholar, March 2022).
Has received a number of internationally recognized awards, among which the Order of Honour from the President of the Hellenic Republic (2020) and the French Government Decoration “Commandeur dans l’ordre de Palmes académiques“ (2015). Honorary Doctorate Degree, Democritus University of Thrace (2023), Honorary Professor of the Physics Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2018), Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Patras (2016), Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, University Division of the American College ANATOLIA, Thessaloniki (2008). Global Ozone Award, UNEP on the 10th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol (1997), Awards of the American Geophysical Union (Editors Award for Excellence in Refereeing, 1998 and Yoram Kaufman Award, 2015), of the European Academy of Sciences (Blaise Pascal Medal, 2015), UNEP Honourable Mentions (1995, 1999, 2012), “Honorary Member” of the International Ozone Commission (2016). He has also received the Award "I. Kapodistrias for the Sciences, Letters and Arts" of the Municipality of Nafplio (2020), Badge of Honor of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2018), the “Ioan Ursu” Medal of the Balkan Physical Union (2018), the "European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award" awarded to the National Observatory of Athens for the establishment of the Geoastrophysics Museum and the rehabilitation of the laboratories and the Library of the National Observatory under his supervision (2010), the Gold Medal of the City of Thessaloniki (2008). In the past 20 years has acted as contributor or reviewer in most WMO/UNEP Scientific Assessments of Ozone Depletion.
His proposal to the Greek Government (2019) for the creation of a flexible international mechanism to protect natural and cultural heritage monuments from climate change has been included in the emblematic UN activities by the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres. This initiative has been supported by more than 100 countries, UNESCO, the World Meteorological Organization and other NGOs such as ICOMOS and Europa Nostra.
Has created from zero (1) The Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens (1978) (2) The Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1981) (3) The WMO Northern Hemisphere Ozone Mapping Centre (1991) (4) The Graduate Programme on Environmental Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1991) (5) The Center for Environmental Effects on Health , Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens (2003) (6) The UNESCO Chair on Natural Hazards in the Geosphere, the Hydrosphere and the Atmosphere (2006-2020) (7) The Geoastrophysics Museum, National Observatory of Athens (2008) (8) The Navarino Environmental Observatory in Messenia with the University of Stockholm and TEMES S.A. (2009).