Team – FRONT Research Group

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.

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.

Spyros 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 artificial intelligence, control systems, robotics, and automation.

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”.