Dr Georgios Katalagarianakis graduated as mining and metallurgy engineer from the National Technical University of Athens in 1976. He obtained a diploma on mechanical engineering from the University of Thessaloniki in 1989 and a PhD degree from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in 1998.
He has worked for ten years in the underground mining industry and the mineral resources authority of Greece before joining the European Commission in 1989 as administrator. He has been responsible for European research in the fields of mining and metallurgy, recycling, construction and maintenance of buildings and civil infrastructure, tunneling, industrial safety and ergonomics, use of nanomaterials in buildings, etc. He is currently responsible for research in the area of nanotechnology safety.