Christos A. Fidas

Welcome

I am an Assistant Professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Patras. I received a PhD and BSc from the same department. My research is related with the design and evaluation of information systems, with emphasis on usable security and personalization.

I have published papers in prestigious scientific venues, which received awards, and (co-) supervised several Ph.D. students. I have extensive professional experience as a principal investigator in several EU-funded and National research projects. I am fluent in German, English and Greek (native).

Email: fidas AT upatras.gr :: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fidas

Find me also at

Highlights

[Workshop at ACM UMAP 2021 - January 2021] I am looking forward to running the 3rd edition of our workshop APPS 2021 - Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security, in conjunction with ACM UMAP 2021. Our special focus in 2021 will be on challenges and opportunities related to the Covid-19 outbreak on ensuring security and privacy of sensitive data and secure user interactions in online systems such as challenges for online distance learning, the need for touchless authentication, e-Government, e-Commerce, etc.

[New Publication - January 2021] Our paper entitled "From hot-spots towards experience-spots: Leveraging on users’ sociocultural experiences to enhance security in cued-recall graphical authentication" has been accepted at the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.

[New Position - November 2020] I am thankful for spending the last years at the Department of Cutlural Heritage Management and New Technologies of the University of Patras. Many thanks to all my colleagues and supporting staff for a fruitful and joyful collaboration. I am very happy to join the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Patras. I look forward to work with my new colleagues and students.

[Guest Editor of Special Issue - November 2020] I am the Guest Editor, together with Dr. Stella Sylaiou and Dr. George Pavlidis, of the Special Issue "Mixed Reality in Culture and Heritage" at the Heritage Journal. Please download the Call for Papers (.pdf)

[Best Paper Award - October 2020] We received the prestigious UMUAI James Chen award for best paper of 2019, for our paper entitled "A cognition-centered personalization framework for cultural heritage content". The User Modeling and User Adapted Interaction (UMUAI) James Chen Award is bestowed annually to the author(s) of the best paper of the year. The award has been donated by the Chen family in commemoration of James R. Chen.

[New Publication - March 2020] Our paper related to personalizing the user authentication process of information systems based on users' cross-cultural differences has been accepted at the ACM User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP 2020) papers' main program (23% acceptance rate). The work has been conducted in collaboration with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

[New Project - December 2019] I am enchanted that our project proposal "Development and production of augmented and virtual reality applications supporting narrative tours at the Tomato Industrial Museum "D. Nomikos" has been included for funding within the RESEARCH - CREATE - INNOVATE call. The proposal has been rated among the first 200 out of 2100 submissions (acceptance rate 10%).
The project proposes the production, presentation and promotion of a versatile cultural product that falls within the general context of the Museum's modern operation as cultural industry, thus linking academic research and innovation with entrepreneurship.

[New Publication - December 2019] Our paper related to improving the estimation of graphical password strength based on the interplay between image content familiarity and gaze-behaviour on image hotspots has been accepted at the ACM Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2020) papers' main program (16% acceptance rate).

[New Publication - November 2019] New paper accepted at the IEEE BigData 2019 conference, entitled "The SERUMS tool-chain: Ensuring Security and Privacy of Medical Data in Smart Patient-Centric Healthcare Systems".

[view more]

[Paper Presentation at ACM WI 2019 - October 2019] I enjoyed participating at the ACM Web Intelligence 2019 conference, and presenting our two papers entitled "Eye Tracking based Cognitive-Centered User Models" and "I Recall this Picture": Understanding Picture Password Selections based on Users' Sociocultural Experiences". I also had the opportunity to meet other researchers and exchange interesting ideas for research.

[Editorial Board - September 2019] I am glad to join the Editorial Board of Heritage (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/heritage), a peer-reviewed and open access journal, covering all aspects of cultural and natural heritage science. The preliminary aims and topics are given at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/heritage/about.

[New Publications - August 2019] Two papers accepted at ACM Web Intelligence 2019, entitled "Eye Tracking based Cognitive-Centered User Models" and "I Recall this Picture": Understanding Picture Password Selections based on Users' Sociocultural Experiences"

[Shanghai Jiao Tong University - May 2019] I was very delighted to visit the School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in the context of Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility Programme (KA107). I have been giving lectures for bachelor, master and doctoral students and discussed further research opportunities.

[New Publication - May 2019] Paper accepted at the IFIP TC.13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2019, entitled "Influences of Mixed Reality and Human Cognition on Picture Passwords: An Eye Tracking Study"

[Guest Editor of Special Issue - April 2019] I am the Guest Editor of the Special Issue "Virtual Reality and Their Application in Cultural Heritage" at the Applied Sciences Journal, Impact Factor 2.217
Submissions Deadline: 29 February 2020. Please download the Call for Papers (.pdf)

[New Publication - March 2019] Paper accepted at ACM SIGCHI UMAP 2019, entitled "On the Accuracy of Eye Gaze-driven Classifiers for Predicting Image Content Familiarity in Graphical Passwords"

[New EU H2020 Project - February 2019] I am happy to participate in the EU Horizon 2020 Serums project aiming to apply a User-centered Design process for defining new methods and tools for patient-centric user authentication

[Workshop Co-Organizer - January 2019] I am Co-Organizer, together with Dr. Marios Belk, Dr. Elias Athanasopoulos, and Dr. Andreas Pitsillides, of the First International Workshop on Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security (APPS 2019), in conjunction with the ACM User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP 2019) conference. Submission due date: March 13, 2019

[Guest Co-Editor - December 2018] I am Guest Co-Editor, together with Dr. Stella Sylaiou, for the Special Issue on ICT for Culture and Tourism at the International Journal of Computational Methods in Heritage Science (IJCMHS). Submission due date: December 20, 2018

[Invited Talk - November 2018] "Human Cognition, Visual Behavior and User Experience in Virtual / Mixed Reality Applications: Case Studies and Interaction Effects", VR@GR: Virtual Reality – Research and Applications in Greece today, held at the Onassis Stegi.

[New Publication - November 2018] Journal paper accepted at User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction (UMUAI), entitled "A cognition-centered personalization framework for cultural heritage content"

[New Publication - November 2018] Journal paper accepted at ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH), entitled "Do game designers’ decisions related to visual activities affect knowledge acquisition in cultural heritage games? An evaluation from a human cognitive processing perspective"

[Invited Talk - May 2018] I enjoyed coming back to the University of Cyprus in the context of Erasmus+ Staff Mobility for Teaching Programme. During my stay I had the opportunity to meet my former colleagues and friends and exchange interesting ideas for research. I was also honored to give a talk at the Computer Science Colloquium Series at UCY and give seminars to Ph.D., M.Sc. and B.Sc. students on topics related to information systems, cultural heritage and usable security.

[New Publication - April 2018] Congrats to Argyris Constantinides for his first regular paper at ACM SIGCHI UMAP 2018 concerning his Ph.D. thesis. The paper is entitled "On Cultural-centered Adaptive Graphical Passwords: Improving Password Memorability based on Users’ Collective Memories". Wishes for many more success.

[New Publication - April 2018] Paper accepted at ACM SIGCHI Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA 2018), entitled "Towards Gaze-Based Quantification of the Security of Graphical Authentication Schemes"

[Invited Talk - March 2018] Invited talk, "Human-Centered Design and Evaluation of Digitized Cultural Heritage Experiences", at the 4th Thematic Seminar on "Digitization of Monuments and Archaeological Sites" in the context of the European Project "Collaborative Digitization of Natural and Cultural Heritage, CD-ETA" of the Programme "INTERREG EUROPE".

[New Publication - February 2018] Journal paper accepted at the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, entitled "Effects of Mixed-Reality on Players' Behaviour and Immersion in a Cultural Tourism Game: A Cognitive Processing Perspective"

[New Publication - December 2017] Full paper accepted at ACM SIGCHI 2018, entitled "Influences of Human Cognition and Visual Behavior on Password Security during Picture Password Composition"

[New Publication - December 2017] Paper accepted for inclusion in the ACM SIGCHI IUI 2018 Papers' Programme, entitled "Eye Gaze-driven Prediction of Cognitive Differences during Graphical Password Composition"

[New Publication - April 2017] Paper accepted at ACM SIGCHI UMAP 2017, entitled "Using Eye Gaze Data and Visual Activities to Infer Human Cognitive Styles: Method and Feasibility Studies"

[New Publication - September 2016] Paper accepted at ACM SIGCHI CHI Play 2016, entitled "Do Field Dependence-Independence Differences of Game Players Affect Performance and Behaviour in Cultural Heritage Games?"

Patents

German Patent & Trade Mark Office (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt): Method and apparatus for flexible user authentication based on individual human cognitive characteristics (Methode und vorrichtung zur flexiblen benutzerauthentifizierung basierend auf individuellen menschlichen kognitiven eigenschaften) – patent pending
Greek Industrial Property Organisation (Οργανισμός Βιομηχανικής Ιδιοκτησίας): Methods and tools to support and monitor in real time visitors of the World Wide Web (N. Patent No. 1004805.OVI, INT. CL G06F 17/60, g06f 15/163)

Honors and Awards

UMUAI James Chen Award for Best Paper of 2019 (November 2020)
Research paper entitled "A Cognition-centered Personalization Framework for Cultural Heritage Content"
Seal of Excellence - Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions call H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
For a high-quality project proposal in a highly competitive evaluation process, namely CogniPass – Cognition-based Personalised Authentication SchemeS [Seal of Excellence]
Best Paper Nomination Award and Honourable Mention at UMAP 2014 Conference (July 2014)
Research paper entitled "A Personalisation Method based on Human Factors for Improving Usability of User Authentication Tasks"
Best Paper Award at SouthCHI 2013 Conference (July 2013)
Research paper entitled "Towards the Personalization of CAPTCHA Mechanisms based on Individual Differences in Cognitive Processing"

Publications

Journals (Selected Publications)

Elsevier IJHCS: Constantinides, A., Fidas, C., Belk, M., Pietron, A., Han, T., Pitsillides, A. (2021). From hot-spots towards experience-spots: Leveraging on users’ sociocultural experiences to enhance security in cued-recall graphical authentication, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Impact Factor: 3.16, Elsevier (to appear)
Springer UMUAI: Raptis, G., Fidas, C., Katsini, C., Avouris, N. (2019). A cognition-centered personalization framework for cultural heritage content, User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction (UMUAI). The Journal of Personalization Research - Impact Factor: 4.68, 29(1), 9-65, Springer, James Chen Award for best paper of 2019 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11257-019-09226-7]
Elsevier IJHCS: Raptis, G., Fidas, C.A., Avouris, N. (2018). Effects of mixed-reality on players' behaviour and immersion in a cultural tourism game: A cognitive processing perspective, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Impact Factor: 3.16, Elsevier, 69-79 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.02.003]
Elsevier CHB: Belk M., Fidas C., Germanakos P., & Samaras G. (2017) The interplay between humans, technology and user authentication: a cognitive processing perspective, Computers in Human Behavior - Impact Factor: 5, 76, 184-200, Elsevier [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.042]
Elsevier IJHCS: Belk M., Fidas C., Germanakos P., & Samaras G. (2015) Do human cognitive differences in information processing affect preference and performance of captcha?, International Journal of Human - Computer Studies - Impact Factor: 3.16, 84, 1-18, Elsevier [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.07.002]
Oxford Uni. Press: Belk M., Fidas C., Germanakos P., & Samaras G. (2015) A personalized user authentication approach based on individual differences in information processing, Interacting with Computers Impact Factor: 1.03, 27(6), Oxford University Press [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.07.002]
Elsevier Comp. Ed.: Fidas, C.A., Komis, V., Tzanavaris, S., Avouris, N. (2005). Heterogeneity of learning material in synchronous computer-supported collaborative modelling. Computers and Education - Impact Factor: 5.29, 44 (2), 135-154, Elsevier [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2004.02.001]

Conferences (Selected Publications)

ACM UMAP 2020: Constantinides, A., Pietron, A., Belk, M., Fidas, C., Han, T., Pitsillides, A. (2020). A cross-cultural perspective for personalizing picture passwords, ACM SIGCHI User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP 2020), 43-52, ACM Press [https://doi.org/10.1145/3340631.3394859]
ACM IUI 2020: Constantinides, A., Belk, M., Fidas, C., Pitsillides, A. (2020). An eye gaze-driven metric for estimating the strength of graphical passwords based on image hotspots. ACM SIGCHI Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2020), ACM Press, 33-37 [https://doi.org/10.1145/3377325.3377537]
ACM CHI 2018: Katsini, C., Fidas, C., Raptis, G., Belk, M., Samaras, G., & Avouris, N. (2018). Influences of human cognition and visual behavior on password security during picture password composition. ACM SIGCHI Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2018), ACM Press, paper 87 [https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3173661]
ACM IUI 2018: Katsini, C., Fidas, C., Raptis, G., Belk, M., Samaras, G., Avouris, N. (2018). Eye gaze-driven prediction of cognitive differences during graphical password composition. ACM SIGCHI Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2018), ACM Press, 147-152 [https://doi.org/10.1145/3172944.3172996]
ACM UMAP 2017: Raptis, G., Katsini, C., Belk, M., Fidas, C., Samaras, G., Avouris, N. (2017). Using eye gaze data and visual activities to infer human cognitive styles: method and feasibility studies, ACM SIGCHI User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP 2017), ACM Press, 164-173 [https://doi.org/10.1145/3079628.3079690]
ACM CHI Play 2016: Raptis, G., Fidas, C., Avouris, N. (2016). Do field dependence-independence differences of game players affect performance and behaviour in cultural heritage games?, ACM SIGCHI Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY 2016), ACM Press, 38-43 [https://doi.org/10.1145/2967934.2968107]
ACM CHI 2011: Fidas, C.A., Voyiatzis, A.G., Avouris, N.M. (2011). On the necessity of user-friendly captcha. ACM SIGCHI Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2011), ACM Press, 2623-2626 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1978942.1979325]

Projects

I have worked as a project manager, user experience expert and information systems architect in numerous EU-funded, National and industrial research projects like:

Research-Create-Innovate: D. Nomikos: Development and production of augmented and virtual reality applications supporting narrative tours at the Tomato Industrial Museum (2021-2023, Principal Investigator)
H2020-SERUMS: Securing Medical Data in Smart Patient-Centric Healthcare Systems (2019-2021, WP5 - User Authentication and Trust) - http://serums-smartpatient.com/
FP7-CR-PLAY: Capture Reconstruct Play (2013-2016, WP5 Leader - Formative and Summative Evaluation) - http://www.cr-play.eu
FP7-SERIES: Seismic Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies (2009-2013, Lead of Information Systems Architecture Design and Implementation) - http://www.series.upatras.gr
FP6-QALIBRA: Quality of life-integrated benefit and risk analysis web-based tool for assessing food safety and health benefits (2006-2010, Lead of Evaluation) - http://www.qalibra.eu
FP6 e-Ten-COMMODE: Collaborative modeling environment (2005-2006, Lead of Evaluation and Pilot Studies)
IST-MODELLINGSPACE: Space of ideas expression modeling and collaboration (2001-2004, Software Engineer)

Teaching

Assistant Professor (2021-) at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras

Ubiquitous Computing (M.Sc.)
Structural Programming (B.Sc.)
Internet Technologies (B.Sc.)
Object-Oriented Programming (B.Sc.)

Assistant Professor (2016-2020), Tenure-track Lecturer (2013-2016) at the Department of Cultural Heritage and New Technologies, University of Patras

New Interactive Media (M.Sc.)
Human-Computer Interaction (B.Sc.)
Structural Programming (B.Sc.)
Visual Programming (B.Sc.)
Pervasive Computing and Cultural Heritage (B.Sc.)

Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus (2011-2013)

Human-Computer Interaction (B.Sc.)
Programming Priniciples for Engineers (B.Sc.)
Operating Systems (B.Sc.)
Introduction to Computer Science (B.Sc.)

Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Patras, University of Ioannina, Technical Institute of Patras (2004-2011)

Academic Service

Advising

Prospective Students

I am always happy to discuss with prospective students new research endeavors in the areas of Information Systems and Culture, Modelling Human Cognition in Interactive Systems, and Usable Security. If you are interested to discuss your research idea please don't hesitate to contact me at fidas AT upatras.gr

Suggested Topics for Ph.D.

AR and VR Effects on Human Cognition within Cultural Heritage Informatics
Investigating the Effects of Human Emotions in User Authentication
Adaptable User Authentication in Ubiquitous Computation Realms

Ph.D. Students (co-supervised)

Argyris Constantinides (with University of Cyprus): Leveraging on Users' Cultural Factors for Increasing Graphical Password Memorability and Security - Jan. 2018-
Christina Katsini: Methods and Techniques for Usable and Secure User Authentication in Natural User Interaction - Sept. 2016-
George Raptis: A Personalized Cultural Heritage Framework based on Human Cognitive Processing - Successfully defended July 2020
Marios Belk: Adaptive Usable Security: Personalising User Authentication and CAPTCHA based on Individual Differences in Cognitive Processing - Successfully defended December 2015

Scientific Community Service

Guest Co-Editor of the Special Issue "Mixed Reality in Culture and Heritage" at the Heritage Journal
Guest Co-Editor of the Special Issue "Virtual Reality and Their Application in Cultural Heritage" at the Applied Sciences Journal
Guest Co-Editor of the Special Issue on ICT for Culture and Tourism at the International Journal of Computational Methods in Heritage Science (IJCMHS)
Workshop Co-Organizer of APPS 2019 Workshop at ACM UMAP 2019
Associate Chair at ACM CHI 2020 Late-Breaking Works track

Review Service in International Journals and Conferences

ACM Transactions on the Web
ΙEEE Transactions on Games
ΙΕΕΕ Transactions on Fuzzy Systems
IEEE Internet Computing Magazine
Behaviour & Information Technology, Elsevier
Journal of Network and Computer Applications, Elsevier
Industrial Marketing Management, Elsevier
Computers & Security , Elsevier
Energy Research & Social Science, Elsevier
International Journal of Human - Computer Studies, Elsevier
Information Technology & People, Emerald
Computers and Education, Elsevier
Interacting with Computers, Oxford
IBM Journal of Research and Development
ACM CHI - SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems