Dr. Kyriaki Polychronopoulou is currently Assoc. Prof. of Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KUST, UAE), and Visiting Professor at ETH-Zurich. Recently she was awarded the Directorship of the Catalysis and Separation Center at Khalifa University, the first Center of its type in the UAE.

She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cyprus (2005). Before her appointment at Khalifa University she was Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University (IL, USA) and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IL, USA). During her independent career she has also worked as Research Fellow in the National Physical Laboratory (UK), Texas A&M (USA), and KAIST (Korea). She is recipient of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) Award for Research Excellence in two consecutive rounds in 2017 and 2015. She is also recipient of the 2015 Khalifa University Faculty Excellence Award for Outstanding Research, the 2007 Fulbright Award for Advanced Research in the US, and a 2008 British Council Award for Research.

Her research contribution is focused on the development of catalysts (oxides, sulfides, metal supported catalysts) and adsorbents for hydrocarbon reactions (e.g. steam reforming, Water gas shift) and gas separation processes. She is also focusing on porous materials for H2 storage, and CO2 capture. She is highly interested in the microstructural characterization of adsorbents and catalytic surfaces and their performance/structure correlation. Other professional activities include her role as expert evaluator of projects for EU, NSF, and the HongKong Research Council.