Dr. Eleni Aretoulaki is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Operational Research & Logistics Laboratory (ORLOG) at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece. She holds a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management and Logistics and a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, both from NTUA. Her doctoral research, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI), focused on the integration of drones and information and communication technologies in humanitarian logistics. She examined how these technologies can be combined to enhance coordination and effectiveness in disaster response and recovery operations. Her dissertation detailed both the functional and non-functional requirements for a platform enabling such integration, and proposed a system architecture to facilitate more efficient field deployment. The research was further validated through structured engagement with industry professionals and stakeholders. Dr. Aretoulaki’s research interests lie at the intersection of humanitarian logistics, warehouse operations, and the practical application of advanced technologies across supply chains. She has participated in projects focused on minimizing material losses, improving accuracy in logistics execution, and enhancing resource allocation using digital tools such as simulation models, digital twins, and process mapping. To date, she has contributed to eight research projects funded by national and European programs—two as a postdoctoral researcher and six during her doctoral studies. She is the author of 12 peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 20 conference papers and has received three reciprocal research scholarships and three Thomaidio Awards in recognition of her academic contributions. Dr. Aretoulaki has also been active in teaching, delivering lectures to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at NTUA. In parallel, she has served as an instructor in NTUA’s Professional Development Program in Logistics 4.0 and has been an invited lecturer at the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) Athens Seminar, where she taught logistics methods and systems. Her professional experience extends to applied research and consultancy in logistics network optimization, process modeling, and material flow analysis across office, retail, and industrial environments.

As a 2025–2026 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at DePaul University, Dr. Aretoulaki will contribute to the development of an early-stage optimization model for decision-making in humanitarian logistics. Her work will include a techno-economic assessment of unmanned systems and communication technologies, the design of initial process models for their deployment, and the collection of field-relevant data from U.S.-based operations to inform the model’s development. Upon her return to NTUA, Dr. Aretoulaki intends to integrate the insights gained through her Fulbright experience into both academic curricula and executive education initiatives. In parallel, she will actively contribute to the advancement of applied research in this field within Greece, where structured, data-driven approaches to humanitarian logistics remain both timely and critically needed.