Yannis Bassiakos (Y.B.) is a geologist and chronologist of the University of Athens. He has got postgraduate specialization on ancient mining/archaeometallurgy and on Fission Tracks dating in the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics (Heidelberg/Germany) and in the Geology Department of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy/USA). During the first 7-years-period of his occupation at N.C.S.R. “Demokritos” dealt with the “Uranium Exploration Project”, a program funded by the European Communities, thus worked in all geographic and geological provinces of Greece as well as in the field of various C.-W. European and Mediterranean countries. Among his sounder early achievements is the discovery and study (with his colleagues) of the ancient gold-mines on the Aegean island of Siphnos (1981) thus confirming Herodotus ancient report for indigenous gold production there.

His PhD work (Geology Dept, U. of Athens, 1993) dealt with electron spin/paramagnetic resonance (ESR/EPR)-dating on speleothems, shells and teeth, caves evolution and reconstruction of Upper Quaternary/Holocene landscapes, focused on the speleo-environments of Dyros/Mani area, southern Peloponnese. Since late 1993 he entered as Researcher the Programme for Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Archaeometry, of the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology(INN) at “Demokritos”, working on Archaeometallurgy and ESR/Luminescence-dating projects. In recent years he set up and led the Research Group for Palaeoenvironmental and Ancient Metals Studies, GP-AMS, currently known as Laboratory of Palaeoenvironment and Ancient Metals Studies (PAMS). Since 2002, Y.B. has successfully supervised nineteen (19) PhD candidates, former and current members of the above Laboratory, while another four (4) PhD candidates, also being supervised by him, are continuing their studies.
Main fields of activities (basic research and applications): a) ancient metals: mining, metallurgical residues, technology, provenance of artefacts and experimental simulations for ancient metals production, b) ESR chronometry, combined with dose-rate/microdosimetry for absolute dating purposes (paramagnetic and luminescence), c) palaeoenvironmental studies, underground and maritime: geoarchaeology, geological mapping, neotectonics, active fault dating, sea-level oscillation and sea-land interaction for ancient landscapes reconstruction, as well as d) characterization of inorganic archaeomaterials, by phase microanalyses, metallography and other analytical techniques.
He has coordinated or contributed at a large number of national, international,  and EU-funded research projects. Since 2009 Y.B. serves as Editor-in-Chief of the archaeometric Journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, AASc/Springer-Nature, (IF 1.99) <Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences | Editors (springer.com)>,  in 2010 he was appointed as Member of the Standing Committee for the International Conference “Archaeometallurgy in Europe”, in 2011 he became Member of the Editorial Board in the Monograph Series < Springer Briefs in Earth Sciences >, while in early 2017 he was invited and acts as Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal AURA, <http://epub.lib.uoa.gr/index.php/aura/index>.
• Publications: Over 150 in peered Journals and Conference Proceedings (refereed).
• Presentations: Over 250 in International Conferences and Symposia/Workshops (over 90 invited).
• Citations: Over 1,000 in articles published in scientific Journals, International Conference Proceedings, Monographs and source-books.
Having completed 37 years of occupation, Y.B. retired formally by the end of 2016 and in 2018 he was awarded the title of Emeritus Researcher at the INN of “Demokritos”.  He goes on, nonetheless, contributing in the same Research Center, acting as Participant of the Research Ethics Committee since 2018 and as consultant in funded projects (i.e.  'METAL PLACES’ started 2021 in the frame of Interreg V-A «Greece-Cyprus», and ‘LiTechAe’ started 2020 in the frame of EU Programme MSCA-IF ITN), which are implemented by the PAMS Laboratory of INN.