Ioannis Gitas is a Professor at the Laboratory of Forest Management and Remote Sensing, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and an elected fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. His research has focused on remote sensing and GIS applications in environmental monitoring, with emphasis on forest fire management and land cover/land use mapping and change detection. He has been involved in various national and international projects and has long-time experience working as a consultant in GIS/RS issues for national and international organizations, as well as for the industry. In addition, he has served as a project proposal reviewer for a number of national and international research organizations. He received his PhD and M.Phil. degrees in GIS and Remote Sensing from the Department of Geography, Cambridge University, U.K., and a B.Sc. degree in Forestry and Natural Environment from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is an Associate Editor of Remote Sensing and has edited special issues for a number of high-impact factor journals. In addition, he has substantial experience in organizing international workshops and conferences. He is currently the Chair of the Special Interest Group on Forest Fires of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL, FFSIG), the FAO Forest Resources Assessment–Remote Sensing Survey contact point for Greece, and is a member of the GOFC-GOLD Fire Implementation Team.
Diofantos Hadjimitsis is a Full Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics of the Cyprus University of Technology. He is the Managing Director of the ERATOSTHENES CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE/ERATOSTHENES CoE. He is a member of the Board of ‘The Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA)’. He was the Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs of the Cyprus University of Technology (2016-2019). He was the Chair of the Department of Civil Eng. and Geomatics from 2011 to 2015. He was a member of the National Experts appointed by the Cyprus Government to investigate the potential of Cyprus to join the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2009. He was appointed by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation as a national delegate/contact point for the FP7 framework in the 'SPACE' in 2011. He was nominated and elected as an SPIE Senior member in 2014 for his achievements in remote sensing. He worked in the past at the University of Southampton (UK), the University of Surrey (UK), and the Frederick Institute of Technology (CY). He worked also in the construction industry (roadworks, highway engineering, project management) as well in the remote sensing industry. He is a member of the Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK), EARSeL (national representative), ISPRS, and NEREUS. He is the leader of the Mediterranean Regional Information Network (MedRIN) GOFC/GOLD/NASA.
