Originally from a small island in Greece called Astypalaia, I grew up in Athens (Greece) where I studied Chemical Engineering. I was however more interested in environmental issues than machinery and processes control. Therefore I decided to join a Master's program in Environmental Sciences at Rutgers . There I was introduced to Oceanography and I was immediately captured. I had not realized before that all the stories my fisherman grandpa was telling me, could have a scientific basis! And even more I was amazed that I could actually work on something I always loved, the ocean.

Since I came to the US, I have been focused on research in Biogeochemistry and Paleoceanography. For my MS I studied nutrient and trace metal dynamics in Lake Superior, while for my PhD I am working on proxies to reconstruct seawater nutrient and carbonate system using elemental ratios and isotopes in the deep sea coral Desmophyllum dianthus. I am currently applying these proxies in fossil corals from the North West Atlantic and the Tasman Sea to reconstruct seawater dissolved phosphate, barium, and carbonate ion concentrations during the last deglaciation. Moreover, I work on pH proxies to monitor the penetration of anthropogenic pCO₂ to intermediate depth waters. Using organisms that precipitate carbonate skeletons exposed me to mechanisms of biomineralization. I am especially interested in how aragonite saturation, temperature, nutrients, and oxygen levels affect coral calcification and elemental/isotopic incorporation in the coral aragonite.

During my MS and PhD at Rutgers University, I participated in a number of cruises including to Lake Superior, the Gulf of Mexico, East and West Antarctica, and Tasman Sea. The interdisciplinary and innovative nature, collaborative research, and field work are what I find most attractive in Oceanography.

Hard work needs also good times. Therefore being a student at Rutgers allowed me to enjoy yoga, camping, traveling, scuba diving, the theater and music scene in NYC, and good food.