Dr. Andreas Karydas holds a degree in Physics from the University of Athens and a Ph.D. in Analytical Applications of Nuclear Techniques from the National Technical University of Athens (1994). He currently serves as Research Director at the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics (INPP) of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos,” where he is also the scientific supervisor of the X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) Laboratory.

With nearly 30 years of research experience, Dr. Karydas spent six years (2009–2015) leading the XRF team at the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory (NSIL) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). During his tenure at the IAEA, he was responsible for the implementation of technical cooperation programmes at both national and regional levels (Asia–Oceania, Africa, Middle East, and Europe), involving more than 60 IAEA Member States. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the coordination and establishment of a new experimental station at the Elettra Synchrotron facility in Trieste, Italy, he received a Special Achievement Award from the IAEA in 2015.

Dr. Karydas’ research focuses on: (i) the experimental investigation of fundamental X-ray–matter interactions using ion-beam- and synchrotron-induced X-rays; and (ii) the development of analytical methodologies and interdisciplinary applications of XRF and ion-beam techniques, with particular emphasis on cultural heritage studies, especially ancient gold technology and ancient polychromy.

He has coordinated numerous national, intergovernmental, and European competitive research projects at INPP. He has authored 160 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, accumulating 3,379 citations (Scopus; h-index: 31). He is also co-author of five book chapters and has contributed 49 additional publications in non-Scopus indexed journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings.

Dr. Karydas serves on advisory boards of international journals and conferences and regularly reviews manuscripts for leading scientific journals. He has delivered more than 18 invited lectures at international conferences and has supervised two Ph.D. theses and seven M.Sc. dissertations. Since 2009, he has served as an external evaluator for research proposals submitted to European programmes (SPIRIT, CHARISMA, IPERION CH, E-RIHS) and has acted as National Delegate to IAEA programmes and several COST Actions (G8, ENFORCE-TXRF, ENRICH). Since 2016, he has coordinated the course “Innovative Techniques for Cultural Heritage Analysis” in the CultTech MSc programme (Cultural Heritage Materials & Technologies) of the Department of History, Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management, University of the Peloponnese.