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Dr Vasiliki Kassianidou was born in London and grew up in Lefkosia. She studied at Bryn Mawr College, USA where she obtained a double major in Chemistry and Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. She received her Bachelor’s degree (BA) with a distinction (Cum Laude) in 1989. She continued her studies at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London where she received her doctoral degree (PhD) in 1993.

Until 1994 she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL and then she joined the faculty of the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus in 1994 as a lecturer in Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry. She was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2013. In May of 2023 she was elected Dean of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Cyprus. From 2015 to 2019 she was the Director of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus. From 2014 -2016 she served as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus. In 2014 she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO, a position she has held until 2023. In 2018 the Ministers Council of the Republic of Cyprus appointed her as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board of Research and Innovation. In 2022 she was elected Corresponding Member of the Archaeological Institute of America. The only other Cypriot archaeologist to receive this great honour was the former Director of the Department of Antiquities and Professor Emeritus of the University of Cyprus Dr Vassos Karageorghis.

Her research focusses on ancient technology and specifically on the production and trade of Cypriot copper through antiquity, as well as on the impact of this industry on the Cypriot landscape and environment. She has taken part and directed numerous field and analytical projects regarding her fields of expertise and has an extensive list of publications which include five edited volumes, two co-authored volumes and over one hundred articles in peer reviewed journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings. Prof. Kassianidou has coordinated several projects funded by the European Union (in FP7 and H2020) and by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus and participates in many more.

Dr Kassianidou is married to Dr George Papasavvas, Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Cyprus and she has two sons, Yiannis and Christoforos.

(EP/SCH)