Affiliation: Cyprus University of Technology
Keywords: Remote sensing, earth observation, geoinformatics, cultural heritage, archaeological prospection, archaeological proxies
Full profile: Dr. Athos Agapiou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering and Geoinformatics, Cyprus University of Technology, where he holds the “Geoinformatics and Earth Observation” chair. He also serves as the Deputy Director of the UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage and coordinates the EOCult Laboratory, a cutting-edge research group specializing in the application of Earth Observation and Geoinformatics for archaeological research and the study of cultural heritage landscapes. Dr. Agapiou has played a leading role in numerous high-profile research initiatives at both European and national levels, including Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects, as well as programs funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) in Cyprus. His work focuses on developing and applying innovative remote sensing technologies for cultural heritage, addressing challenges posed by environmental and anthropogenic factors.
Dr. Agapiou’s academic and professional achievements have been widely recognized with numerous awards and honors. In 2023, he received the Young Scientist Award from the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), acknowledging his contributions to innovative research in the field of Geoinformatics. Earlier, in 2018, he was awarded the Young Researcher Award by the Cyprus Research Awards for his work in cultural heritage studies. His impact is further demonstrated by his inclusion among the top 2% of researchers worldwide in his field, as documented in Stanford University’s annual studies from 2020 to 2024. Additionally, bibliometric studies published in the esteemed journal Heritage Science in 2024 highlighted his influence as one of the top three global researchers in the application of Geoinformatics to cultural heritage, showcasing the extensive reach and importance of his scientific contributions. In corresponding independent research (2022) published in the same journal about the rapid developments taking place in the field and related to the fourth industrial revolution and its applications in cultural heritage studies, the name of Dr. Agapiou was included in the list of the first ten researchers worldwide whose research influences the scientific community.