# George Mantanis

George Mantanis (Greek: Γεώργιος Μαντάνης; born September 18, 1966) is a Greek wood scientist and professor at the University of Thessaly in Greece, who is an elected fellow (FIAWS) of the International Academy of Wood Science and co-editor of the scientific journal, Wood Material Science and Engineering.

## Early life and education

Mantanis was born in Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece in 1966, and grew up in the village Stipsi. He is the eldest son of Eleni Sevastou and her husband, Ignatios Mantanis. He completed his secondary education with honors at the High School of Kalloni at Lesbos island, in 1984.
Subsequently, from 1984 to 1989, he pursued undergraduate studies in forestry specializing in wood technology, earning a university diploma from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment.
After receiving a McIntire–Stennis scholarship, he pursued doctoral studies in the United States of America under the supervision of Raymond A. Young at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison. He got his PhD degree in 1994, after conducting novel research upon the swelling of wood and lignocellulosic materials in water and organic liquids, which has received over 1,000 citations by March 2024.

## Research career

In the period 1996–1997, he worked at the Forest Research Institute of Thessaloniki, located in Thermi, Greece. During the years 1998–2001, he was employed at the chemical research company Chimar Hellas S.A. in Thessaloniki. After that, he worked as a faculty member at Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Department of Wood & Furniture Design and Technology, from 2002 to 2019.
Since February 2019, he has held the position of full professor at University of Thessaly and serves as the head of Laboratory of Wood Science and Technology, Department of Forestry, Wood Sciences & Design, which is located in Karditsa city. In 2018, Mantanis was elected as a co-editor in the scientific journal Wood Material Science and Engineering (Taylor & Francis), which publishes topics related to wood science, wood technology, and wood engineering. Additionally, he is a year-round reviewer for the peer-reviewed wood-related journals Holzforschung, European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, Wood Science and Technology, and BioResources, and a member of the scientific committee of the Hardwood Conference.
In October 2020, a meta-research by Ioannidis et al. in the referred journal PLOS Biology, included his name in Mendeley Data 2020, thus acknowledging his research work in the area of wood sciences. In December 2021, the International Academy of Wood Science, a nonprofit organization of recognised wood scientists, elected George Mantanis as a fellow for his research and scientific work.
In October 2023, a meta-research carried out by John Ioannidis et al. at the Stanford University, included Mantanis in the Elsevier Data 2022, where he was ranked at the top 2% of researchers globally in the area of wood science (forestry – materials). In August 2024, Mantanis has acquired the same international distinction for his research work in wood science (Elsevier Data 2023). Until January 2025, the research work of Mantanis has received more than 3,200 citations at Google Scholar (h-index: 27; i10-index: 50).

## Personal life

Since 2002, Mantanis and his wife, Paraskevi Zougrou, have lived in Karditsa, Greece. They have two adult sons, Ignatios and Antonios.