Dr. Panos M. Pardalos is a world leading expert in global and combinatorial optimization. In biomedicine, he works on predicting and controlling epileptic seizures, a brain disorder that affects 1% of the population. In telecommunications he develops algorithms for network design problems and uses data mining techniques to analyze the call graph. Such problems require semi-external memory algorithms since massive data sets are involved. He applies optimization, data mining, and systems techniques to study the dynamics of self organized large-scale complex networks in finance, sports, social groups, and biology. His research interests also include cooperative systems, supply chain, and e-commerce.