Dr. Athanasios Tsaftaris

Dr. Tsaftaris holds a M.Sc. and two Ph.D. degrees from Greece and the United States. He has more than fifty years of teaching experience in undergraduate and graduate programs at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Dr Tsaftaris has supervised more than 100 M.Sc. and Ph.D. theses and has published over 300 peer reviewed articles in international scientific journals with a cumulative impact factor of 500. In 2016, he was included in the F1000Research list among the top 1000 scientists. As an expert in the fields of Genetics, Genomics and Plant Breeding, he held various positions in education, research and technology, in Greece, the EE and worldwide.

Among other achievements, Dr. Tsaftaris established the Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) and served as elected Director in one of its Institutes (Institute of Applied Biosciences) for 8 years. He served as Secretary General of Research and Technology. As President of the Board, Dr. Tsaftaris contributed significantly to the establishment and the construction of the new premises of NOESIS (Science and Technology Museum of Thessaloniki). He had compiled the proposal for the creation of the Alexander Innovation Zone of Thessaloniki. From 2012 until 2014, he served as the Minister of Rural Development and Food of Greece. Currently, he holds the position of the Dean of Graduate Studies of Perrotis College at the American Farm School.