Dr. John A. Paravantis is a Professor in the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Piraeus. He holds a five-year Civil Engineering (with a minor in Transportation) degree from the National Technical University of Athens as well as a two-year M.Sc. degree in Transportation, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Health, both from the Department of Civil Engineering of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA. In his seven-year stay in Chicago, Dr. Paravantis worked as a research assistant in coal cleaning projects with the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), and did some consulting work on computer programming, parallel to his graduate studies.

Dr. Paravantis has taught over 30 undergraduate and over 10 postgraduate courses during the last 24 years in the University of Piraeus. In addition, Dr. Paravantis has supervised more than 40 undergraduate studies, over 35 postgraduate diploma and two doctoral dissertations (with three more currently in development). Dr. Paravantis has published 24 research articles in refereed international journals and has presented 48 papers in refereed international scientific conferences, all part of a total all 87 publications which have attracted 2090 Google Scholar citations (h-index=17). In his research, Dr. Paravantis uses quantitative techniques (multivariate statistics, econometric modeling, simulation, optimization, and game theory) to analyze global energy systems (such as transport and the urban environment) and their environmental and geopolitical impacts. Dr. Paravantis has participated in 14 research projects, in four of which he was scientific coordinator.

Prior to joining the academia, Dr. Paravantis had a 10-year professional career. In total, he has supervised the preparation of more than 40 Environmental Impact Statements (EIAs) and special environmental studies, mainly of large transportation and technological infrastructure projects.