Manolis Plionis

Manolis Plionis
Born
Athens
Scientific career
FieldsObservational and Theoretical Cosmology, Extragalactic Astrophysics, Climate Change and Natural Disaster management, legal aspects of Space endeavours
WorkplacesUniversity of Sussex, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics of Mexico, National Observatory of Athens, European Univ. of Cyprus
ThesisGalaxy clustering and filaments
John D. Barrow

Manolis Plionis (Greek: Μανώλης Πλειώνης, born 13 July 1960.) is a Greek astrophysicist, known for his contributions to observational cosmology and extragalactic astrophysics. He has been a Professor at the Department of Physics of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki since 2012, and was the Director of the National Observatory of Athens.

Biography

Manolis Plionis graduated in mathematics from the University of Crete. He then moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a scientific career focusing on large-scale structures of the universe, and in 1989 he earned his PhD from the University of Sussex. His doctoral research focused on the statistical distribution of galaxy clusters and the large-scale structures of the universe. He then spend several years in Italy as a postdoctoral researcher at the SISSA International Research Center. His scientific work received recognition through the award of the E.C. Marie Curie Fellowship. The following years he advanced his postdoctoral research activity in cosmology at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics before returning to Greece in 1995. There, he served as a researcher at the National Observatory of Athens (NAO) until 2012. In 2009, he was elected Full Professor at the Physics Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and in 2012 he officially assumed his role at the university.

In 2017 he was elected Director and President of the Board of Directors of the National Observatory of Athens. He directs a national network for climate change dubbed as the “CLIMPACT project”. The project has been nominated by the Institute for Sustainable Development of the European Public Law Organization for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 International EarthShot Prize.

During his career he also became, and remains until today, an adjunct Research Professor at the European University of Cyprus and for more than 13 years was a Visiting Researcher at the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) in Mexico.

Research and scientific work

Plionis’s scientific interests span from observational cosmology to extragalactic astrophysics, to climate change and associated natural disasters as well as on space law. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Modern Physics D and of the Open Journal of Astrophysics.

He has also published several articles in newspapers and online concerning the legal aspects of space endeavours and the suggested legal regime for the application of rapidly expanding AI technologies in space exploration. He was the co-author of “Greek Space Law”, a book that provides an overview of the nomology/legislation that governs all space activity that falls under the jurisdiction of the Greek State.

Awards, distinctions, nominations

References

  1. ↑ Barlogianni, Christina (2025-08-07). "Manolis Plionis - KOMVOS - NODE". Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 School of Physics, Aristrotle University of Thessaloniki. "Manolis Plionis - short CV" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "School of Physics, AUTh". www.physics.auth.gr. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 faculty profiles, European University of Cyprus. "Manolis Plionis - Employment history".
  5. ↑ "Former Directors Archives". National Observatory of Athens. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  6. ↑ "University of Cyprus, faculty profiles, manolis plionis, academic qualifications". euc.ac.cy.
  7. ↑ "Manolis Plionis". The Conversation. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  8. 1 2 "Galaxy clustering and filaments". sussex.primo.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
  9. ↑ "Prof. Plionis Manolis". National Observatory of Athens. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  10. ↑ "University of Cyprus, faculty profiles, awards/international recognition".
  11. ↑ "Manolis Plionis". European Space Sciences Committee. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  12. ↑ "Prof. Plionis Manolis". National Observatory of Athens. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  13. ↑ "CLIMPACT". climpact.gr. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  14. ↑ "CLIMPACT". climpact.gr. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  15. ↑ "Tο Εθνικό Δίκτυο για την Κλιματική αλλαγή – CLIMPACT υποψήφιο για το βραβείο Earthshot Prize 2022". gsri.gov.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  16. ↑ "Earthshot Prize 2024 / Το Αστεροσκοπείο και η Τήλος υποψήφιοι για το μεγάλο διεθνές βραβείο". Αυγή (in Greek). 2024-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  17. ↑ faculty profiles, European University of Cyprus. "Manolis Plionis - European University of Cyprus".
  18. ↑ "INAOE". astro.inaoep.mx. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  19. ↑ "Manolis Plionis - The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  20. ↑ "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  21. ↑ "Manolis Plionis". scholar.google.be. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  22. ↑ "International Journal of Modern Physics D". World Scientific Publishing. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  23. ↑ "Editorial Board | The Open Journal of Astrophysics". astro.theoj.org. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  24. ↑ Koskina, Anthi; Sykioti, Olga; Plionis, Manolis (2024). "AI-Driven Innovation and Discoveries in Space Exploration: The Need for an Adapted Regulatory Regime". In Farmanbar, Mina; Tzamtzi, Maria; Verma, Ajit Kumar; Chakravorty, Antorweep (eds.). Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Multidisciplinary Applications. Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Multidisciplinary Applications. Singapore: Springer Nature. pp. 377–390. doi:10.1007/978-981-99-9836-4_28. ISBN 978-981-99-9836-4.
  25. ↑ Koskina, Anthi; Plionis, Manolis (2024-04-02). "Private companies are exploiting outer space, but the law is struggling to catch up". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  26. ↑ Α. Κοσκινά/Μ. Πλειώνης, Ελληνικό δίκαιο του διαστήματος, 2025 (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2025-07-14. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  27. ↑ Koskina, Anthi; Plionis, Manolis (2025). "Greek Space Law". Space and Society. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-72813-6. ISBN 978-3-031-72812-9. ISSN 2199-3882.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  28. ↑ "CLIMPACT". climpact.gr. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  29. ↑ "Sectoral Scientific Councils". esetek.gov.gr. Archived from the original on 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  30. ↑ "Environmental Sciences, Energy & Sustainable Mobility". esetek.gov.gr. Archived from the original on 2024-09-08. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  31. ↑ "Manolis Plionis". European Space Sciences Committee. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  32. ↑ "Greek National Committee for Astronomy". helas.gr. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  33. ↑ "International Astronomical Union". iau.org.
  34. ↑ "Διεθνής αναγνώριση για το Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο: Ειδική τιμητική διάκριση από την ESA για την πρώτη ευρυζωνική λέιζερ-επικοινωνία με τη διαστημική αποστολή «ΨΥΧΗ» | Υπουργείο Ψηφιακής Διακυβέρνησης". Υπουργείο Ψηφιακής Διακυβέρνησης (in Greek). 2025-07-30. Archived from the original on 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2025-10-09.