First Name: Yiannis

Middle Name: C.

Last Name: Laouris

Citizenship: Cypriot

Nationality: Greek

Title: Senior Research Scientist

Academic Degrees: MD,PhD(Neurophysiology), Ms(Systems Science)

Laouris is Founder and President of the Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute and Board Member of the Institute for 21st Century Agoras. He is a neuroscientist and systems scientist, as well as a social and a business entrepreneur.

Laouris is medical graduate of the Karl Marx University (today known as University of Leipzig), Germany, completed a PhD in Neurophysiology (summa cum laude) at the Karl-Ludwig Institute (Leipzig) and an MS (GPA 4.0) in Systems and Industrial Engineering at the University of Arizona. Together with cyberneticians/systems physiologists P. Schwartze, H.D. Henatsch, U. Windhorst and D.G. Stuart, for over 15 years, he applied linear/non-linear digital processing to biological signals from experimental animals to study brain signals.

Laouris promotes the application of broadband technologies as tools in peace building and to bridge the digital; economic educational and inter-personal divides in our planet. He represents Cyprus in many pan-European networks including Insafe, Inhope, COST219ter, COST298, COST2102, EUKIDSONLINE, CARDIAC, etc. In the 90ties, together with George Vakanas and Maria Symeonides (and later Dinos Geogiades and Harry Anastasiou) he founded CYBER Kids (www.cyber-kids.com), a chain of franchised computer learning centers, which introduced IT in the lives of over 15,000 children and 10,000 adults in Cyprus. CYBER Kids expanded in 7 countries and received numerous prestigious awards including the First Award for Creativity and innovation of the Employers and Industrialists Federation, which is handed over by the President of Cyprus.

Laouris has been actively involved in the citizens' peace movement in Cyprus. He was member of the first group of trainers (Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group) that planned and executed the initial trainings in communications- and conflict resolution skills that eventually reached more than three thousand citizens from both the Greek and Turkish communities. Together with Aleco Christakis and Marios Michaelides, he applied structured dialogue on dozens of groups world-wide. He was also the co-Founder of numerous peace promoting projects such as tech4peace.org, Youth Promoting Peace (www.y2p.org), www.EUcitizenship.net,www.MulticulturalCyprus.net, www.TalkOfTheIsland.org, www.civilsocietydialogue.net, www.ActBeyondBorders.net, etc. His contributions in systems science applications were recognized by the Hellenic Society for Systemic Studies who honored him with their 2008 Award.

Laouris has about 50 papers in peered reviewed journals, half of which in neuroscience, a quarter in applied systems science and peace, and the rest in IT-children and neuroscience of learning. He contributed chapters in about 20 books and made over 120 conference papers and presentations. He mainly publishes in Brain Research, Experimental Brain Research, Neuroscience, Journal of Neurophysiology, Behavioural and Brain Sciences, World Futures, Int. J. Applied Systemic Studies and Systemic Practice and Action Research.