Urban Water Management and Hydroinformatics Group (UWMH)
Operating within the School of Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) — a European leader in engineering since 1837 — the UWMH Group advances transformative research in urban water systems under the leadership of Prof. Christos Makropoulos. Comprising over 30 scientists, the group focuses on five interdisciplinary domains: smart and resilient water-energy infrastructure; integrated source-to-tap water management; risk mitigation for floods and droughts; circular economy applications in water; and hydroinformatics tools and services. By merging disruptive technologies with advanced computational models, UWMH redefines water-energy-material synergies in urban and regional contexts.
The group spearheads EU-funded projects, national research initiatives, and consultancy services, collaborating with water utilities, governments, NGOs, and global networks (e.g., Watershare, Water Europe) to translate research into scalable, high-TRL solutions. Through peer-reviewed publications, stakeholder-driven digital tools, and optimized resource management frameworks, UWMH bridges academic innovation with practical implementation, fostering sustainable water-smart cities.
About the partnership
Our main role in the project is to manage the technical aspects and coordinate the scientific work. We monitor technical progress and quality, support the coordinator, ensure smooth cooperation between partners, participate in working groups, and suggest solutions to potential obstacles. We also track milestones and coordinate technical meetings, and ensure scientific and technological outcomes comply with the project requirements for effective progress.
As WP7 leader, we will coordinate tasks related to Water Symbiotic Flows, focusing on the design, installation, testing and validation of a set of innovative solutions for recovery and valorisation in circular symbiotic value chains for both centralized and decentralized cases.
Meet the Team
Christos Makropoulos
Professor in Urban Hydrology, Hydro-Informatics & Water Resources Management
Dr. Christos Makropoulos is a Professor at NTUA’s School of Civil Engineering, Director of NTUA’s Laboratory of Applied Hydraulics and Institute for Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure (ISSRI). An expert in hydroinformatics, water-energy systems, and cyber-physical system modeling, he leads the UWMH Group, overseeing 35+ international projects and authoring 250+ publications (H-index 44). He serves as co-Editor-in-Chief of Urban Water Journal and advisor to the European Commission on water, circular economy, and smart cities. His work integrates resilience, sustainability, and decision-support frameworks for urban water systems.
Klio Monokrousou
PhD – Senior Researcher, Civil Engineer
Dr. Klio Monokrousou specializes in water resources management and sustainable urban planning, with 20 years of experience in EU projects (IMPETUS, NextGen, HYDROUSA) and policy development. An NTUA research associate since 2013, she holds a PhD (DUTh) and MSc (Imperial College London). Former president of the MEDITERRANEAN SOS Network, she bridges technical research with stakeholder engagement, publishing 17+ papers and advancing water policy at national and European levels.
Archontia Lykou
Senior Researcher, Civil Engineer
Ms. Archontia Lykou is a Senior Researcher at NTUA, focusing on hydrologic/hydraulic simulations and GIS-based flood risk assessment. With an MSc in Hydrology and Environmental Water Resources Management (NTUA), she combines academic research with practical flood resilience strategies, contributing to 20+ publications. Her expertise spans 1D-2D hydrodynamic modeling and consultancy for water infrastructure design.
Patricia Gourgoura
Senior Researcher, Social Scientist
Ms. Patricia Gourgoura designs stakeholder participation frameworks and manages financial oversight for EU projects (Horizon, LIFE). A Sociologist with postgraduate training in International Marketing, she integrates social science into hydroinformatics tools, fostering collaboration between NTUA, utilities, and policymakers since 2011.
Giorgos Karavokiros
Senior Researcher, IT Expert
Mr. George Karavokiros develops hydroinformatics tools and knowledge bases, with 30 years of experience in water resource software. A Computer Science graduate (University of Karlsruhe), he has led data management for the European Environment Agency and contributed to Horizon 2020, FP7, and LIFE+ projects.
Christos Pantazis
Senior Researcher, IT Expert
Mr. Christos Pantazis specializes in back-end engineering for smart water applications (Java, Python, REST APIs). With an MSc from Heriot-Watt University, he has 20+ years of experience in public and private sectors, including EU projects (iWIDGET, PEARL) and real-time data systems.
Nikos Pelekanos
Junior Researcher, Civil Engineer
Mr. Nikos Pelekanos focuses on water distribution modeling and machine learning applications. An NTUA graduate, he contributes to hydraulic simulations (EPANET) and flood control research, with two journal publications and conference presentations.
Sotirios Moustakas
PhD – Research Associate, Civil Engineer
Dr. Sotirios Moustakas holds a PhD (KU Leuven) in spatially distributed hydrological modeling, emphasizing droughts. His work integrates river flow, soil moisture, and groundwater data, with applications in Flanders and EU-funded resilience projects.
Dionysios Nikolopoulos
Senior Researcher, PhD Candidate
Dr. Dionysios Nikolopoulos researches resilience of urban water cyber-physical systems, combining Python modeling, machine learning, and EU projects (STOP-IT, NextGen). A NTUA MSc graduate, he has authored 10+ journal papers on decentralized water systems and cyber-physical security.
Panagiotis Kossieris
PhD – Senior Researcher, Civil Engineer
Dr. Panagiotis Kossieris specializes in stochastic analysis of water demand and rainfall processes. His PhD (NTUA) advanced cost-effective data generation methods, applied in Horizon 2020 projects (Fiware4Water, Water Mining) and 10+ peer-reviewed publications.
Ilias Karachalios
PhD – Research Associate, Environmental Manager
Dr. Ilias Karachalios integrates environmental education and waste management into EU projects (Erasmus+, Horizon). With a PhD in Environmental Education, he designs sustainability curricula and leads non-formal education initiatives across Europe.
Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions programme under grant agreement No 101095303, under topic HORIZON-CL4-2024-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-38 – Hubs for circularity for industrialised urban peripheral areas (Processes4Planet partnership) (IA).
