Vassilis Charmandaris

Vassilis Charmandaris is Chairman of the Board of Directors of FORTH (Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas). He has also served as Director of the Institute of Astrophysics at FORTH (2019–2025) and Director of Skinakas Observatory, as well as Adjunct Research Professor at the European University Cyprus since 2022. Previously, he was Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Crete, where he held academic positions from Assistant Professor (2005) to Full Professor (2014).

He is an observational astrophysicist specializing in extragalactic astronomy, with a focus on infrared observations of galaxies, star formation, molecular gas depletion, and active galactic nuclei. He studied Physics at the University of Thessaloniki and earned his PhD in Astrophysics from Iowa State University. His career includes research positions at CEA/Saclay, Paris Observatory, and Cornell University, and he has led multiple major research institutes in Greece.