Tasso Eleftheriou started out on his scientific career in 1964 at the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, where he worked for more than twenty years. While in Aberdeen he carried out international consultancies with the Royal Society International Biology Programme, India; W.H.O. (Environmental Pollution Control Project Athens); UNESCO (Biological Oceanography in Athens); founding chairman of North Sea Benthos Working Group (ICES). However, in 1986 he returned to hias native Greece as Professor of marine biology at the University of Crete where he remains as Emeritus Professor. The founder director of the Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, Greece (1987), he still carries out duties as Associate Senior Scientist in the Crete Centre of HCMR (Hellenic Centre for Marine Research). His scientific interests are the structure and function of marine ecosystems; stability and production of marine ecosystems; ecological and biological aspects of pollution impacts; coastal zone management; biodiversity and climatic changes; interactions of aquaculture and the environment.
His educational activities included: teaching marine biology and environmental science at the University of Crete Aberdeen University, Robert Gordon University, University of St. Andrew's, Scotland; external examiner in all these universities, as well as University College, Galway, Ireland. From 1987 onwards, he coordinated ERASMUS and SOCRATES networks involving over 24 European universities, responsible for hundreds of international student exchanges.
On his return to his native Greece, from 1987 onwards he was the Greek National Delegate to the International Council for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea (CIESM); the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC); the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in marine pollution; the EU Committee MEDMARIS- marine sciences in the Mediterranean and the MAST-COM Committee DG XII.
He held several EU special posts in major education and training programmes: Training, Mobility & Research (TMR) review panel; Vice-chairman, Marie Curie Evaluation Panel; Expert Adviser for 5th FP Water & Marine Ecosystems): INCO Assessment Panel member; Coordinator, AQUACHALLENGE Workshop, Beijing, 2002; Board, European Census of Marine Life Programme (COML); Consultant, Dept. of Trade and Industry, UK, on strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA 4 and SEA 5).
Professor Eleftheriou has published hundreds of research papers in refereed international journals. In addition to his 4-volume editorship of “ Methods on the Study of Marine Benthos”(4th ed., Wiley/Blackwell, 2013), he has edited many scientific conferences and is an active member of the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed scientific journals.
