University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland
PhD on “Social Impacts of Stormwater Management Practices including Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and River Management”, Urban Water Technology Centre
2007
University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland
MSc, Urban Water and Environmental Management
2001
University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland
BSc (Hons), Environmental Science
1999
The Environmental Science and Sustainability research area covers research activities related to the study of the natural ecosystems, natural processes and environment, the interrelations between species and their surroundings as well as amongst them, the impact of human activities in the environment that disturb natural stability, natural systems and threaten sustainability. In more detail, the impact of pollution (water, air, soil), the overexploitation of natural resources (terrestrial, aquatic, food resources), the loss of biodiversity, climate change are subjects of research within this domain. Emphasis is placed on mitigation options for the problems deriving from human activities as well as on adaptation options and processes regarding climate change, which is the biggest global issue the planet is facing. Emphasis is placed on sustainability as the only way to holistically and adequately address the issues at hand and guarantee access to resources in the future, equity and environmental stability. Our research focuses on experimental methods for mapping and analysis of environmental parameter, on planning, mitigation and adaptation measures, environmental management, use of sustainability indicators, with emphasis on the SDGs and other sets of indicators.
At ACG we are served by 3 labs (a physical and natural science lab, a chemistry lab and a biology lab), which have been recently renovated and can support wide -range analysis of environmental parameters and indicators.
Dr. Stella Apostolaki, is Executive Director of the Center of Excellence in Sustainability at The American College of Greece (ACG), Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Environmental Studies Program, Department of Science and Mathematics, Deree – the American College of Greece. She is teaching a variety of environmentally-focused courses in the respective Program and in the Honours Program at Deree – ACG. She has prepared and delivered lectures, seminars and environmental awareness-raising programs addressed to different audiences, including all educational levels and the wider public. She holds a BSc/(Hons) in Environmental Science, an MSc in Urban Water and Environmental Management and a PhD on sustainable urban drainage systems and river management options, obtained from the University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland – U.K, underfunding received by the Environment Agency for England & Wales, in collaboration with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and by HR Wallingford Consultants.
She has a wide research experience, she is expert evaluator of Call for Proposals for the European Commission, has worked as a researcher in collaboration with Universities and Authorities in Greece and in the U.K., and has participated in numerous EU-funded projects. She collaborates as an external consultant with several entities such as the Green Fund of the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy in the project LIFE-IP AdaptInGR – Boosting the implementation of adaptation policy across Greece, the ATHENA Research Center, the UNSDSN Greece & Climate KIC Greece, the International Center for Research on the Environment and the Economy (Icre8), P.S.G Environmental Geo-Exploration Ltd. She is also an Expert under the Body of Knowledge of EIT Climate KIC & Food on Water Scarcity in Southern Europe. Her main research interests are on integrated water management and innovation, sustainable development, sustainable stormwater management, climate change, conservation of biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, public awareness – stakeholder engagement methods and public education, green urban planning with emphasis on amenity and biodiversity and on the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Books
Apostolaki S. & Jefferies C. – Monograph (2009) ‘The social dimension of stormwater management practices in urban areas – Application of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and River Management options’, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller e.K. ISBN 978-3-639-17692-6, Paperback, 224 Seiten
Book Chapters
[1] Apostolaki, S., Akinsete, E., Koundouri, P., Samartzis, P., 2020. Freshwater: The Importance of Freshwater for Providing Ecosystem Services. In: Goldstein, M.I., DellaSala, D.A. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes, vol. 4. Elsevier, pp. 71–79. ISBN: 9780128160961, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.12117-7
[2] Apostolaki, S., Tsani, S. and Koundouri, P. Sustainable water management: Methods and approaches for full cost recovery, Handbook on the Sustainable Politics and Economics of Natural Resources, in Handbooks in Energy, the Environment and Climate Change series, Elgar Publishers, forthcoming, November 2020.
[3] Apostolaki S., Duffy A, (2016) Amenity: Delivering value for society, Chapter in book Sustainable Surface Water Management: A Handbook for SUDS (ed. Charlesworth S.M., Booth C.A.), pp 105-115, John Wiley & Sons L.t.d., U.K. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118897690.ch8
Journal Papers (Appeared / accepted)
[1] Apostolaki S., Akinsete E., Koundouri P., Samartzis P., (2019), Freshwater: The Importance of Freshwater for Providing Ecosystem Services, Chapter in book: Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.12117-7
[2] Apostolaki, S., Koundouri, P., Pittis N. Using a systemic approach to address the requirement for Integrated Water Resource Management within the Water Framework Directive, Science of the Total Environment 679 (2019) 70–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.077
[3] Apostolaki, S.; Akinsete, E.; Tsani, S.; Koundouri, P.; Pittis, N.; Levantis, E. (2019) Assessing the Effectiveness of the WFD as a Tool to Address Different Levels of Water Scarcity Based on Two Case Studies of the Mediterranean Region. Water 2019, 11, 840; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040840
[4] Akinsete E., Apostolaki S., Chatzistamoulou N., Koundouri P., Tsani S. (2019) The Link between Ecosystem Services and Human Wellbeing in the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive: Assessing Four River Basins in Europe, Water Journal 2019, 11, 508; https://doi:10.3390/w11030508
[5] Kampragou E., Apostolaki S., Manoli E., Assimacopoulos D. (2011) ‘Towards the harmonization of water-related policies for managing drought risks across the EU’, Environmental Science & Policy Journal 14 (2011) 815 – 824
Conference papers (Appeared/accepted)
[1] Papadopoulou P., Marouli C., Misseyanni A., Apostolaki S. (2018) Improving learning environments through use of “smart” learning objects in stem courses. Deree – The American College of Greece (GREECE), Proceedings of EDULEARN 18 Conference 2nd-4th July 2018, Palma, Mallorca, Spain, ISBN: 978-84-09-02709-5, http://dx.doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2018.0167
[2]Duffy, A. Apostolaki, S. (2015) ‘Multi-criteria analysis to support rainwater harvesting initiatives in Crete and Croatia’ World Water Congress XV International Water Resource Association (IWRA), Edinburgh, Scotland, 25-29 May 2015