Marita Bertsiou is a senior researcher at National Technical University of Athens specializing in hybrid renewable energy systems and sustainable water resources management. Her research work focuses on advancing energy–water independence in arid and noninterconnected islands through the integration of renewable energy, energy and water autonomy, and energy storage technologies. She has extensive academic experience, serving as teaching and research staff across multiple undergraduate and postgraduate programs, contributing to courses in hydrology, water resources management, environmental management, hydrodynamic works, renewable energy systems, environmental planning, and energy system optimization. She has participated in research projects on hybrid energy systems, hydrological modelling, flood risk assessment, water–energy management, multicriteria decision- making tools for the optimal siting of RES units and sustainability in island environments. Her work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and presented at major scientific conferences. Beyond academia, she has significant professional experience in environmental impact assessments and high- level technical consulting. Driven by a commitment to sustainable development, she focuses on delivering innovative solutions, integrating solutions that support energy and water resilience in vulnerable regions.
Evangelos A. Baltas is a professor in the School of Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and currently serves as Director of the Hydrology and Water Resources Development Laboratory. He has more than 35 years of experience in environmental issues, hydrology, water resources management, water resources systems planning and operation, and hydrological modeling. His expertise also spans climate change and land-use change at the catchment scale, hydroenergy management, hybrid renewable energy systems, flood forecasting, and risk assessment. Professor Baltas has authored or co-authored three books, more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and over 200 peer- reviewed publications in national and international conference proceedings, alongside numerous scientific and technical reports. He possesses extensive academic and non-academic administrative experience. Throughout his career, he has supervised more than 200 diploma, graduate, and PhD theses, while providing engineering consulting services to the European Union, Greek Ministries, public organizations, and private companies. Furthermore, he has served as the principal investigator or researcher for numerous research programs and studies in the United States, the European Union, and Greece, focusing on environmental planning, hydrology, flood assessment
and forecasting, hybrid renewable energy systems, and integrated water resources management.