Dr. Vassilis Belessiotis

Director of Research and Laboratory Director

Phone: +30 210 6503815, Fax:+30 210 6544592, Email: beles@ipta.demokritos.gr

Dr. V. Belessiotis Belessiotis is (since 2020) Emeritus Director of Research at the National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos" and director (until 2019) of the "Solar and other Energy Systems Laboratory", of which he was also the founder, and was the first laboratory in the research-academic sector in Greece to obtain the accreditation under the EN IOS/IEC 17025 Standard and one of the first such at European level.

He has been active for more than thirty-five years in the scientific area of "Renewable Sources and Energy Saving Systems."

His research interests
lie in the areas of Thermal Engineering, Physical Processes and Metrology of Physical Quantities, with application in renewable energy sources and energy savings and the development of Methods, Simulation Models and Measurement Procedures as well as Characterization of Energy (thermal) Products.

Scientific Work:
Scientific responsible in numerous competitive research programs funded by external sources (with a total amount of funding of over 8 mil. Euro), author of five books (one of which in the English language), six original scientific articles in specialized international encyclopedias ( ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ENERGY), as well as over 250 publications in international journals, international and national conference proceedings (peer-reviewed) and specialized studies. See laboratory publication list.

Honors & Awards - International Recognition:
Two honorary awards for his contribution in QUALITY and "Good Laboratory Practice" (2001 and 2003 respectively), an award for his over 20 year contribution in the field of SOLAR ENERGY (2006, International Solar Energy Society) and recipient of the "Sustainable Construction Award" by the National Technical University of Athens (2008) on behalf of the SESL of NCSR Demokritos, for being the scientific responsible of the building project "Prometheas Pyrforos" ("Prometheus, the fire carrier"). He also received an award from the Greek Solar Industry Association (EBHE) ) «in recognition of the long and decisive contribution to the research and promotion of applications in the field of solar energy in Greece» (ΕΒΗΕ, 18-1-2013) and one from the Institute of Energy for South-East Europe (Prometheus Award) “for his valuable contribution to the certification and dissemination of solar thermal systems” (at the 26th National Conference “Energy & Development 2022”, Athens, Greece, 23-11-2022). His international recognition is confirmed by the more than 5500 citations to his scientific publications in international journals, with an h-index of 38, his authorship in chapters published in international encyclopedias, as well as the invitations for specialized talks in the field of solar energy by foreign Universities and International Conferences. He was included in the Stanford-Elsevier list with the 2% most influential scientists worldwide in the field of energy, based on the citations to his publications throughout his entire scientific career (August 2024).

Membership in Scientific Organizations:

International Solar Energy Society (ISES)
European Desalination Society (EDS)
International Desalination Association (IDA)
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Institute of Solar Technology (IST)
Hellenic Association of Laboratories (Hellas Lab) (National Branch of Eurolab)

Positions of Responsibility:

Laboratory Director at NCSR "DEMOKRITOS"
Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of an NCSR-Demokritos Institute
Chairman of the ASSOCIATION OF GREEK LABORATORIES (HellasLab)
Member of the National Council of Accreditation (ESYD)
Member of the National Council for Quality and Competitiveness (ESP-A)
Member of the Governing Board of the Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES)
Vice-President of the Institute of Solar Technology (IST)
Vice-President of Administrative Council and Executive Member of Hellenic Organization for Standardization (ELOT).
Served on the 5-member Committee for the selection of the Regional Research & Innovation Scientific Council of the Peloponnese Region.