Contribution by Charalampia-Maria Chatzikonstantinou (CMC)

Pantelis graduated in Civil Engineering at the University of Thessaly (Greece) with a thesis on “Simulation and Management of the Lake Karla Aquifer with the Mathematical Model MODFLOW 2000”. He carried out his Ph.D. on the theme “Groundwater resource management under uncertainty: The value of information in environmentally degraded aquifers” at the Hydraulic Sector of University of Thessaly’s Department of Civil Engineering (2007-2014). Since 2023, he is an Associate Professor at the Department of Rural and Surveying Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

CMC. Could you tell us a little bit about your background and education? Was becoming a scientist part of your career goals when you were a student?

PS. I studied Civil Engineering at the University of Thessaly, in the beautiful city of Volos. The department had been founded just 5 years before I entered, with a small number of students, and this resulted in a close relationship between the teachers and the students. I have been a fan of physics and mathematics since I was little, and I think that was the reason why I chose the orientation of hydraulics in the 3rd year of my studies. In the courses of this orientation, such as Hydrology, Hydraulics, and Underground Hydraulics, I was won over by the explanation of the physical processes taught. In the same department, I continued my studies at the master’s and doctoral levels. Yes, as a student, I wanted to follow the path of research. Already from the 4th year of my studies, when I started my diploma thesis, I wanted to do a PhD, and the reason was what still burns inside me: my love for research. I was lucky in two aspects of my professional career: 1) As a graduate student, I started participating in research programs and 2) The work I had as a civil engineer after finishing my master’s degree was close to the subject of my PhD. It may have been difficult to combine a morning job with a PhD, but when you love something very much, it doesn’t tire you.

CMC. What inspired you to pursue research in groundwater hydrology?

PS. Haha….every time I think about this I laugh, and I will explain why. As I mentioned above, I was very interested in the physical interpretation of the processes of water, e.g. the hydrological cycle, fluid mechanics, etc. While in hydrology and hydraulics you can have visual contact with the object of study, with groundwater, this does not exist, and that interested me even more. I did not flinch even when I was taught the three-dimensional differential equations of groundwater movement. I will never forget the moment in the classroom where all my fellow students looked at the equations with horror, and I observed them with awe.

CMC. You are currently an assistant professor. Was that part of your vision? What helped you achieve your current position in academia? Did you need to make any important decisions to get there, and if so, which were those?

PS. The truth is that becoming a professor wasn’t my initial aim, but what I definitely wanted to do for the rest of my life was to engage in research. This was my vision from an early age, as I said before. However, as the years passed, I realized through the knowledge and experiences I gathered that in Greece, due to the lack of research centers, the only way to engage in research was to become a professor, and so I built this desire day by day. Along the way, of course, I really enjoyed transmitting my knowledge to others, a fact that is consistent with educational activity. What helped me was the hard work and love for what I do. It is my motto that I tell my students, and they laugh: “There is nothing more beautiful and easier than studying, because you do not do manual labor and you gain knowledge, a valuable asset not only for your professional career, but for life in general.” I also received great help from my family, my wife, when I was away from home all day. Yes, there were important decisions that I had to make constantly along the way, but when you love something so much, all obstacles fade away. The most important decision was to leave my permanent job in the public sector to become a professor. In Greece, when you are appointed as an Assistant Professor, you are not permanent, but you serve for three years and are then considered for permanence.

CMC. During your career, you have taken many roles: freelancer, consultant, administrative, project member/partner, researcher, and now professor. In a nutshell, what were the most valuable lessons you’ve learned from each role?

PS. From every professional position, each of us gains experiences and lessons that benefit not only our professional career but also our status in society. I believe, because I’ve lived through it, that the work someone does affects their character and their personality to a certain extent. The two most important lessons I’ve learned are: 1)  the professional lesson, the experience gained overseeing plumbing systems and a broad range of infrastructure projects in my capacity as an engineer; enables me to effectively impart the technical knowledge and practical expertise I have acquired to my students and 2) the social lesson, that I gained from my managerial positions in the public sector on human resource management.

CMC. Looking at your resume, one can notice that you’ve participated in many large-scale projects, regarding water resources management and studying, even on a national level. What was that like?

PS. It was simply wonderful…it is one of the jobs that I believe builds character for young engineers. Of course, I use the word “wonderful” now that the years have passed because, during the implementation of these large studies, there was tension, stress and a great deal of responsibility for the product produced. There were deliverables, as in all projects, and time was always pressing. You know that for us engineering professors, it is not enough to just be a good researcher and teacher, but it’s also necessary to have experience in designing and constructing works. Besides, how can one teach about hydraulic projects without ever having studied or supervised one? Thanks to these large national projects, I gained such knowledge that I am now able to transfer to my students.

CMC. What is one thing that still surprises you after all those years of teaching?

PS. The intelligence and clarity of the students always. In moments when they’re getting tired or bored of the lectures, they are able to pleasantly surprise me with an answer. And I experience this all the time, every year. Growing up, I understood what the generation gap is. When I was young, especially a teenager, and I heard someone older say that their generation was smarter, more hardworking, I immediately rebelled. Now I catch myself getting into these comparisons too. But I am deeply mistaken. Each generation has its gifts. Each generation, I believe, is better than the previous one.

CMC. Your research focuses on groundwater resources simulation and management. Has that field of research changed over the years, and if so, how? Are there any technological advances that can be proposed to tackle any difficulties in this field of research?

PS. I’ve been involved in groundwater resources simulation and management since 2003. Indeed, many things have changed for the benefit of science and for the ease of the researcher’s work. The first and most important is the development of computers: Let’s not mention how many hours were required for the stochastic simulation to be implemented when I first started my PhD in 2007! Now, that time has been reduced tenfold, if not more. Also, the simulation software has become more user-friendly, with more functions and interconnection capabilities. The widespread use of programming languages ​​has played a decisive role. The great technological development that we expect is the use of AI in models. That’s already begun, e.g. in optimization algorithms in the context of water resources management. However, in Greece, there’s something very important and needed that needs to be taken care of: the provision of free digital data. It’s a case that for us, scholars/researchers who deal with water science, has been troubling us for years. Here, big decisions must be made. Some fragmentary steps have been taken such as the establishment of certain organizations, but this alone is not enough. There is a huge amount of information in the public services, still in printed form, forgotten in drawers.

CMC. An important part of your research includes constructing simulation models for aquifers in Greece. What are some things one should consider when attempting to publish a similar kind of work?

PS. There are many elements that one must consider when creating a conceptual model of an aquifer. The most important thing is to be knowledgeable about the study area. This means many visits to the field, but also the acquisition of many data/elements of different natures (e.g. meteorological, demographic, soil, land use, crops, water use, geological, hydrological, topographic, geomorphological, and the list is not exhausted here). An important part is studying all existing works that refer to the particular study area, regardless of their nature. By increasing the amount and the accuracy of the data, the reliability of the work also increases. This comes to confirm the big issue that I touched on earlier about the lack of data in Greece. And one last thing that is very important for us hydrologists: most data is spatially and temporally variable, which makes their acquisition even more difficult, but also the need for more accuracy is even more important.

CMC. And now a different kind of question, so that we get to know you a bit more as a person: What are your main hobbies besides work?

PS. I really like exercising. I play soccer, and in the winter I snowboard. But what pleases me the most is spending time with my family, especially outside the house, that is, on walks, trips, or events.

CMC. Lastly, do you have any advice for individuals just starting their research careers?

PS. In my opinion, the most important piece of advice is to love what they do. That is, if they love it, they won’t get tired, and the result produced will be of quality. Also, to set goals, even the smallest ones, the everyday ones.

About the author

Charalampia-Maria Chatzikonstantinou is a Ph.D. student at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, working on Risk Analysis in Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment through index methods. She is a member of the Blog Committee as part of the Young Hydrologic Society (YHS) board (2025-2026). Correspondence to charachatzikonstantinou@gmail.com.