Team

Harilaos Koumaras

Head of front Group

Short CV

Dr. Harilaos Koumaras is a research associate professor at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of NCSR “Demokritos” and head of the FutuRe cOmmunication NeTworks (FRONT) Research Group (https://front-research-group.eu/). He is also an editorial board member of the Telecommunications Systems Journal, regular TPC member of renowned international conferences, and a reviewer of various journals and magazines. His research interests include 5G, B5G, 6G networks, Network Programmability, Distributed and Edge Cloud computing continuum, Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software-defined Networking (SDN), and objective/subjective evaluation of the perceived quality of services. Dr. Koumaras is also a founding member of ETSI OpenCAPIF Software Development Group. Currently, he is the author or co-author of more than 100 scientific papers in international journals, technical books, and book chapters, numbering approximately 2000 citations. Dr. H. Koumaras received his BSc degree in Physics in 2002 from the University of Athens, Physics Department, his MSc in Electronic Automation and Information Systems in 2004, being a scholar of the non-profit organization Alexander S Onassis, from the University of Athens, Computer Science Department, and his PhD in 2007 at Computer Science from the University of Athens, Computer Science Department, having granted the four-year scholarship of the National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos”. He has received twice the Greek State Foundations (IKY) scholarship during the academic years 2000-01 and 2003-04.

Vassilis
Pitsilis

Collaborating Researcher

Short CV

Vasilis holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Technology from the University of Patras. With over 15 years of experience as an external scientific associate at NCSR "Demokritos," he has contributed to numerous EU-funded (FP6, FP7, H2020, Horizon Europe) and nationally funded R&D projects. His research focuses on cloud-edge architectures, distributed and intelligent applications in the IoT domain, and the virtualization of network services and computing resources, with a particular emphasis on applications in B5G networks. He has co-authored more than 20 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences.

Georgios
Makropoulos

Research Associate

Short CV

George Makropoulos is a graduate in Electronics engineering from Technological Educational Institute of Athens (University of West Attica) and received his MSc degree in Advanced Informatics and Computing Systems (specialized in Telecommunications) from University of Piraeus in Greece in 2016. He is currently a PhD candidate (Slicing techniques and QoS optimization in 5G networks) in the Informatics and Telecommunications Department of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has extensive experience as a Research Engineer in multiple EU-funded projects, with a strong focus on 5G and Beyond 5G (B5G) architectures. His main expertise includes network openness, experimental frameworks, and network simulation tools. He is currently working as a collaborating researcher at the Future Communication Networks (FRONT) Research Group at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of NCSR Demokritos.

Spyridon Georgoulas

Research Associate

Short CV

Spyridon Georgoulas holds a MEng from the Department of Industrial Design and Production Engineering of the University of West Attica. His studies focused on machine learning, control systems, robotics, and automation.

He is currently a student in the final semester of the MSc in Artificial Intelligence in the inter-institutional program between the University of Piraeus and the National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos'.

He is working as a Research Associate and Artificial Intelligence Engineer in a variety of EU-funded projects at the FRONT Research Group at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of NCSR 'Demokritos'.

Andreas Sakellaropoulos

Research Associate

Short CV

Andreas Sakellaropoulos is a graduate of the Department of Industrial Design and Production Engineering at the University of West Attica, Athens, holding a Bachelor of Science in Automation Engineering. His academic focus included software development, IoT, and robotics. Currently, he works as a Research Associate at the FRONT Research Group, part of the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications at NCSR "Demokritos."

KONSTANTINOS DAVAZOGLOU

Research Associate

Short CV

Konstantinos holds a Bachelor's degree in Informatics and Telecommunications and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Quantum Computing through a joint program with the Democritus University of Thrace and the National Center for Scientific Research. His areas of interest include computer architecture, IoT applications and robotics.

IOANNIS
KONTIZAS

Research Associate

Short CV

Ioannis holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Patras. His primary areas of interest include mobile and wireless networks, 5G core and RAN networks .

GERASIMOS
THEODOROU

Research Associate

Short CV

Gerasimos holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Technology from the University of Patras. With over 25 years of experience as firmware and hardware engineer on embedded systems he has developed many IoT devices based on various wireless network technologies (SuB1GHz, LoRaWAN, 802.11 WiFi, NBIoT). He has contributed to numerous EU-funded and nationally funded R&D projects. His research focuses on low noise-low power mixed (analog and digital) RF hardware design embedded real time operating systems and Open RAN system integration. He has co-authored more than 10 scientific papers.

Maira
Karapsiadi

Research Associate

Short CV

Maira Karapsiadi holds an Integrated Master's degree in Material Science Engineering from the University of Ioannina. Currently, she is part of the FRONT Research Group at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of NCSR “Demokritos”.

GEORGIOS
BATSIS

Research Associate

Short CV

STEFANOS
PLASTRAS

Research Associate

Short CV

Stefanos Plastras is a Research Associate at the FRONT Research Group, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, NCSR “Demokritos”, Greece. He works on B5G/6G network architectures, contributing to ESA and EU HORIZON (SNS-JU, Cluster 4) projects in both technical and coordination roles. His research focuses on 6G core design, B5G APIs, network openness, standardization, and AI/ML-driven QoS optimization for Terrestrial–Non-Terrestrial Networks (TN–NTN). He holds an M.Eng. in Information and Communication Systems Engineering (University of the Aegean) and an M.Sc. in Computer Science (AUEB). He has worked at INTRACOM TELECOM as a Software Developer and taught telecommunications and networking courses at the University of the Aegean. He is also experienced in ESA proposal coordination for B5G and satellite communications. Stefanos is a member of TEE-TCG, a reviewer for IEEE and Springer, and an active IEEE member.

PANAGIOTIS
PAVLIDIS

Research Associate

Short CV

Panagiotis holds a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Thessaly. He has over two and a half years of experience in the telecommunications industry as a Software Engineer, working on 5G Core systems and cloud-native network functions at Intracom Telecom for Ericsson's 5G Signaling Controller portfolio. Motivated by a strong interest in next-generation networks, he transitioned into research, where he works as a R&D Software Engineer at the FRONT Research Group, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, NCSR “Demokritos”, focusing on B5G and 6G network architectures, with an emphasis on network exposure and 3GPP standards. His work involves designing and validating experimental PoCs, alongside developing microservices, APIs, and containerized applications for future communication systems.

DIMITRIOS
UZUNIDIS

Research Associate

Short CV

Dimitris Uzunidis received his B.Sc. in Telecommunications (2009) and Ph.D. in Optical Networking (2016) from the University of Peloponnese. He is currently a Senior Researcher in National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos" (NCSRD) specializing in 5G/6G telecommunications systems and technologies, with extensive experience in performance evaluation, assessment, and optimization of next-generation user-centric networks. Dimitris has actively contributed to over 10 major EU-funded (H2020, Horizon Europe, SNS JU, etc.) and 2 national projects and he has participated in the organization of international conferences (CSNDSP 2024, CAMAD 2024). Alongside his research, he has served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of West Attica and ASPETE. He has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in international conferences and journals. His research interests include the performance evaluation, numerical simulation and optimization of 6G networks, user-centric networking, deep learning applications, and the derivation of system requirements for future fixed and wireless networks.

Alumni

Dimitrios
Fragkos

Research Associate

Short CV

Dimitris Fragkos is a research associate and a PhD candidate at the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSRD) in collaboration with the University of Peloponnese. He has more than three years of experience in Horizon European projects, focusing on 5G network openness and programmability for verticals. His primary research interests include the transformative potential of AI/ML in shaping the future of B5G/6G core network evolution, with a special emphasis on the telco edge cloud domain.

GOGOS
ANASTASIOS

Research Associate

Short CV

Anastasios Gogos received his diploma from the Dept. of Informatics of the Athens University of Economics & Business (AUEB) in 2009. He also holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from the same University, earned in 2012, after pursuing a thesis about Natural Language Processing on text corpora with Topic Model algorithms. He has worked as a Graphic Designer and a Front-end Developer and is still interested in clean design, good UI/UX and the power of using data visualizations. Since 2015, he has been working as a Research Assistant at the Media Networks Lab on projects that deal with multimedia, cloud, 5G & networks. He likes reading April Fools’ Day RFCs and his favorite one is from 1996: “The Twelve Networking Truths” (RFC1925).

STAVROS
KOLOMETSOS

Research Associate

Short CV

Stavros Kolometsos received his BSc in Informatics from Athens University of Economics and Business(AUEB) in 2013. Since 2014, he has been employed as a researcher in NFV and SDN at Media Networks Laboratory(MNL) at Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of NCSR Demokritos. His interests extend to cloud computing, NFV,SDN, 5G networks and kite surfing.

Vasiliki
Rentoula

Research Associate

Short CV

Vicky holds a bachelor’s degree in Informatics and Telecommunications and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence through a joint program between the University of Piraeus and the National Center for Scientific Research. Her academic and professional journey is driven by a profound passion for Artificial Intelligence, Game Development, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Gerasimos Papanikolaou

Research Associate

Short CV

Gerasimos is currently in his final semester of a Bachelor's degree in Informatics and Telecommunications at the University of Athens. With three years of experience in research laboratories, he specializes in Computer Networks, Software Development, and Cyber Security. His academic and professional journey reflects a strong commitment to advancing technologies and improving network security protocols, making him well-prepared for the challenges in the evolving tech landscape.

Harilaos Koumaras

Head of front Group

Short CV

VassilisPitsilis

Collaborating Researcher

Short CV

GeorgiosMakropoulos

Research Associate

Short CV

Spyridon Georgoulas

Research Associate

Short CV

Andreas Sakellaropoulos

Research Associate

Short CV

KONSTANTINOS DAVAZOGLOU

Research Associate

Short CV

IOANNISKONTIZAS

Research Associate

Short CV

GERASIMOSTHEODOROU

Research Associate

Short CV

MairaKarapsiadi

Research Associate

Short CV

GEORGIOSBATSIS

Research Associate

Short CV

STEFANOSPLASTRAS

Research Associate

Short CV

PANAGIOTISPAVLIDIS

Research Associate

Short CV

DIMITRIOSUZUNIDIS

Research Associate

Short CV

Alumni

DimitriosFragkos

Research Associate

Short CV

GOGOSANASTASIOS

Research Associate

Short CV

STAVROSKOLOMETSOS

Research Associate

Short CV

VasilikiRentoula

Research Associate

Short CV

Gerasimos Papanikolaou

Research Associate

Short CV

Vassilis
Pitsilis

Georgios
Makropoulos

IOANNIS
KONTIZAS

GERASIMOS
THEODOROU

Maira
Karapsiadi

GEORGIOS
BATSIS

STEFANOS
PLASTRAS

PANAGIOTIS
PAVLIDIS

DIMITRIOS
UZUNIDIS

Dimitrios
Fragkos

GOGOS
ANASTASIOS

STAVROS
KOLOMETSOS

Vasiliki
Rentoula