The Centre for Cyber-Physical Food, Energy & Water Systems, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, appoints distinguished visiting Professor, Dr Charis Galanakis. The appointment was made to recognize his outstanding achievements and expertise in the field of agricultural sciences and food waste recovery. It falls under the University’s Global Excellence and Stature (GES) 4.0 program, aimed at positioning the institution within the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and addressing Africa’s changing socio-political and economic landscape.
“Prof Charis brings a wealth of invaluable expertise in the Agri-food and 4IR domains that will unlock innovations and capacity building at the University, essentially leveraging Agri-Food 4.0 to combat food insecurity” says Prof Nnamdi Nwulu, Director: UJ Centre for Cyber-Physical Food, Energy & Water Systems (CCP-FEWS).
Professor Galanakis’s appointment at the University of Johannesburg is significant due to his global recognition, alignment with the University’s 4IR goals, promotion of international collaboration, and contributions to the future of food science and sustainability. In addition, the appointment reflects the University of Johannesburg’s commitment to fostering international partnerships and knowledge exchange. Moreover, Professor Galanakis’s appointment highlights the importance of sustainability, resilience, and bioeconomy in the “future food” field. His expertise in these areas will likely impact research, curriculum development, and public understanding of 4IR.
Prof Charis Galanakis says, “I am deeply honored by the opportunity to serve as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, signifying our shared dedication to research, innovation, and sustainability. Together, we will explore new horizons, engage in global collaborations, and work towards a sustainable and impactful future within food, environment, and engineering.”
ABOUT
Dr. Charis M. Galanakis is a multidisciplinary scientist and a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Web of Science, 2019, 2021-2023) with experience in food and environmental science and technology, innovation, industry, and academia. He has established the “food waste recovery” discipline and founded the most prominent open innovation network worldwide to inspire related professionals to extract high added-value compounds from wasted by-products in all stages of food production and re-utilize them in the food chain. Over the last years, he has been activated in the “future food” field, covering bioeconomy, food security, resilience, sustainability, and food chain digitalization. He has been an Honorary Professor of Agricultural Sciences at Taif University (Taif, Saudi Arabia) since 2022 and the Research and Innovation Director of Galanakis Laboratories (Chania, Greece) since 2012. He has more than 25 years of experience analyzing wine, food, beverages, and environmental samples and at consulting-related industries and local producers. Since 2014, he has worked as a freelance expert, evaluator, and monitor of funded projects and proposals (>50 calls) for different bodies, including the European Commission, World Intellectual Property Organization, European Bank for Reconstruction Development, US Department of Agriculture, and the Australian Resource Council, among others. He has served as an invited lecturer at the Technical University of Crete (Greece), Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus), ISA Lille University (France), and internationally (via the online ISEKI Food Association e-course platform), giving courses on agricultural/food waste treatment, valorization, and recovery. He has been the Editor in Chief of Discover Environment (Springer Nature) since 2022 and Discover Food (Springer Nature) since 2021, editorial board member and subject editor of Trends in Food Science & Technology (Elsevier) since 2021, Food and Bioproducts Processing (Elsevier) since 2015, Food Research International (Elsevier) since 2013, Foods (MDPI) since 2019, Journal of Advanced Research (Elsevier) since 2020, Future Foods (Elsevier) since 2020, Acta Innovations (CBI Pro-Akademia) since 2019, Waste Management in Agroecosystems (Frontiers), and Nutrition Food Science & Technology (Frontiers) since 2016. He has published >300 scientific documents, including >80 scientific articles (research, reviews, and monographs) in ISI Scientific Journals, book chapters, conference presentations, and technical briefs for international organizations, and the edition of >50 multi-author contributing books. His scientific work has raised interest, reflected by several nominations and more than 45 invited speeches as keynote speakers and panelists in scientific events.
