
Dr Georgios Nounesis
Director & Chairman of the Board of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”
Georgios Nounesis was the Director & Chairman of the Board of the National Centre for
Scientific Research “Demokritos” (www.demokritos.gr), for the period 2017-2021, re-
elected for a second term 2021-2025. During his tenure, he is credited with reforms that
led to the rapid growth of technology transfer rates to start ups and multinationals and the
creation of successful spin-offs. He pioneered the Stavros Niarchos Industrial Fellowship
Program and founded AHEDD, (the Attica Hub for the Economy of Data and Devices),
now coordinating “Smart Attica” one the four European Digital Innovation Hubs of
Greece. Over the last four years “Lefkippos”, the technology park at Demokritos evolved
into a most dynamic organization supporting and accelerating innovative deep-tech
entrepreneurship. Since 2020 he has been appointed as a Member of the Board of the
Hellenic Space Center, (hsc.gov.gr), a term expiring in 2025. In 2022 he was elected as a
member of the NATO Advisory Group on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies.
Dr Nounesis studied Physics at the University of Athens (BS) and the University of
Minnesota (PhD in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics) and attended executive
courses at the Harvard Kennedy School. Other than Demokritos, he held research and
academic appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and CNRS
(Bordeaux).