ACG 150

Stella Apostolaki, PhD

Executive Director of the Center of Excellence in Sustainability (CoES)
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the Department of Science and Mathematics - Deree

CONTACT INFO

+30 210 6009800 ext 14640

EDUCATION

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

Research Area: Environmental Science and Sustainability

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.

 

Biography

Dr. Stella Apostolaki, is Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the Department of Science and Mathematics – Deree and Executive Director of the Centre of Excellence in Sustainability of The American College of Greece (ACG). 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, under funding 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 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 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. She has been collaborating with the ATHENA Research Centre, the UNSDSN Greece & Climate KIC Greece, and private entities. 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.

Publications

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

 

Select Publications

  • Apostolaki S. (2023) Nature-Based Solutions for   Sustainable Stormwater Management as            Means to Increase Resilience to Climate Change, Promote Circularity and Improve City Aesthetics, Book Chapter in A. Stefanakis et al. (eds.), Nature-based Solutions for Circular Management of Urban Water, Circular Economy and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50725-0_18
  • Apostolaki S., Berbel J., Casielles R., Consoli S., Diez Cebollero E., Fatone F., Intrigliolo D.S., Masi F., Schmidt G., Sereno Rosado A., Skunca D., Tsani S., (2021), White Paper – Finding innovative solutions to tackle water scarcity, EIT Water Scarcity Project – EIT Climate KIC, December 2021, ISBN: 978-9-0903-5514-6
  • Tsani, S, Apostolaki, S, Koundouri, P. (2021). Policies and socio-economic tools for sustainable water management In Tsani, S., Overland I. (Eds.) The Sustainable Politics and Economics of Natural Resources. Edward Elgar Handbooks in Energy, the Environment and Climate Change, December 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789908770
  • ApostolakiAkinseteE., 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
  • 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
  • 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