Ioannis Gkolias

Dr. Ioannis Gkolias is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece, within the Astrophysics, Astronomy, and Mechanics Section. His academic journey began at AUTh, where he earned both his bachelor’s degree in Physics and a master’s degree in Computational Physics. He later completed his formal education abroad, obtaining his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. His career trajectory has included significant postdoctoral research positions, notably at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, before returning to AUTh as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2020 and subsequently being elected as an Assistant Professor in 2022.

Dr. Gkolias is a specialist in Celestial Mechanics, Orbital Dynamics, and Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, focusing on both the Solar System and artificial satellite environments. His research is highly relevant to modern space applications, covering topics such as the long-term sustainability of the geosynchronous orbital region, analytical modeling of Earth satellite orbits, and the design of post-mission disposal maneuvers for space debris mitigation. He is actively involved in major international projects, having been supported by European Union-funded initiatives like ReDSHIFT and COMPASS.

A significant portion of his published work is dedicated to planetary defense and binary asteroid systems, particularly in the context of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. He has co-authored several papers analyzing the dynamics of the Didymos system both before and after the kinetic impact, examining the perturbed spin state of the secondary asteroid, Dimorphos. His research also delves into the complex dynamics of binary asteroids and the coupling of spin and orbital motion. Furthermore, his expertise includes advanced celestial mechanics concepts like the effects of lunisolar resonances on navigation satellites and the exploitation of natural forces for trajectory design in distant planetary orbiters.