Kalliopi Sapountzaki is an Associate Professor in applied geography with emphasis in spatial planning and protection from natural disasters. She holds a diploma in Architecture (National Technical University of Athens, 1980), a Master of Arts in Urban Design (University of Manchester, 1981) and a PhD in Management of Natural Disasters and Spatial Planning (National Technical University of Athens, 1990). Prof. Kalliopi's research interests are in: geographies of risk and vulnerability with respect to seismic disasters; forest fires and other versions of natural disasters; management of vulnerability, resilience and risk; risk mitigation and its integration in urban and regional planning; urban and regional spatial planning; sustainable development and spatial planning; territorial governance, risk governance, and urban governance.