Dr. Dimitrios Rakopoulos was admitted to the School of Mechanical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in the 16th rank, the premier Technical University in Greece, in 1997. He received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (Dipl.Ing.) with a specialty in Energy in 2002, achieving a general grade of 8.78 out of 10 and ranking 3rd among all School graduates of the year. He was awarded a Prize and Silver Medal by the NTUA Rector and received a State Scholarship for 2 years, as well as a Prize from the Technical Chamber of Greece for 3 years. Dr. Rakopoulos earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Mechanical Engineering from NTUA in 2007. His doctoral thesis was titled “Combustion and pollutants emission of liquid bio-fuels in diesel engines.” He received a scholarship from the NTUA Special Account for 3 years and was awarded the “D. Thomaidis Award” for 4 years for his original scientific articles.
Research and Professional Experience:
Dr. Dimitrios Rakopoulos has extensive research and professional experience in the energy sector. He is currently a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH)/Chemical Processes and Energy Resources Institute (CPERI), the premier research organization in the energy sector in Greece, a position he has held since 2018. Prior to this, he served as a Senior Research Associate at CERTH/CPERI from 2013 to 2017. In his role, Dr. Rakopoulos is responsible for leading projects related to thermal plants, Combined Heat and Power (CHP), Heat Pumps, District Heating, Renewable Energy Sources (RES) technologies, novel energy systems, buildings energy upgrade, Smart Buildings, Smart Grids, Smart Cities, and propulsion engines in marine applications. His responsibilities include developing European and national research projects, preparing proposals, securing funding, managing projects, and elaborating on research findings. Dr. Rakopoulos is an expert in power plant thermal cycle modeling, dynamic simulation of transient boiler operation, and heads several workgroups including thermodynamic simulations, grids modeling, plasma applications in energy systems, and thermomechanical analysis. He is involved in conducting techno-economic analyses of business plans, preparing technical reports, and representing CERTH/CPERI in international meetings.
Educational Task: