Events

HERON Scientific Advisory Council Holds First Strategic Meeting at Athena RC

July 18, 2025

🤖 HERON, the Hellenic Robotics Center of Excellence, is proud to announce the successful completion of the first meeting of its Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), held on July 18, 2025, at the Athena Research Center premises in Athens, Greece.

This inaugural gathering brought together HERON leadership and team members with the SAC, an assembly of internationally renowned experts in robotics and autonomous systems. Together, they engaged in a full-day exchange focused on HERON’s strategic vision, operational structure, and research roadmap.

đź‘Ą SAC Members in Attendance

We were honored to welcome all seven SAC members in person:

  • Prof. George Pappas (University of Pennsylvania, USA), Chair of SAC
  • Prof. Margarita Chli (University of Cyprus, Cyprus)
  • Prof. Sandra Hirche (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
  • Prof. Lydia Kavraki (Rice University, USA)
  • Prof. John Lygeros (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
  • Prof. Nikos Paragios (CentraleSupĂ©lec, UniversitĂ© Paris-Saclay, France)
  • Prof. Michael Triantafyllou (MIT, USA)
Download Agenda PDF

🗓️ Meeting Highlights

The agenda featured:

  • An opening welcome from Prof. Petros Maragos, HERON Director & Scientific Coordinator, and a briefing on HERON’s vision, objectives and ongoing efforts towards establishing a leading Center of Excellence for Robotics in Greece.
  • Followed by a presentation by Prof. Ioannis Emiris on the pioneering role of the Athena Research Center in the establishment of a Robotics Institute, paving the way for the establishment of the HERON Robotics Center of Excellence.
  • An in-depth overview of HERON’s research departments:
    • Field & Space Robotics (Prof. Evangelos Papadopoulos)
    • Healthcare & Social Robotics (Assoc. Prof. Costas Tzafestas)
    • Safety & Security Robotics (Assoc. Prof. Charalampos Bechlioulis and Assoc. Prof. George Karras)
  • Updates on HERON’s work packages including operations, infrastructure, collaborations, and dissemination—presented by various team members.
  • A guided video tour of the Robotics Institute.
  • An insightful discussion with SAC members around HERON’s scientific roadmap, collaborative initiatives, and cutting-edge research directions.
  • The day concluded with a dinner at the historic Benaki Museum Restaurant, capping off a productive and inspiring exchange.

We thank the SAC for their valuable insights and guidance in reinforcing HERON’s commitment to pioneering research, global collaboration, and impactful innovation.

Stay tuned as we continue to shape the future of robotics—driven by excellence, powered by collaboration.