Datsios Zacharias

RANK:	Assistant Professor
SECTOR:	Power Systems Sector
LABORATORY:	Power Systems Laboratory
EXPERTISE:	High Voltage Engineering

CONTACT DETAILS

ADDRESS:	University Campus Kimmeria, Building B, Office 0.25
E-MAIL:
TELEPHONE:	+30 25410 79979
PERSONAL WEBSITE:	https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zacharias-Datsios
CV:

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS

Insulation coordination of power systems with emphasis on high voltage systems (transmission and distribution systems, HVAC and HVDC, substations, power generating stations, renewables)
Protection of systems and installations against temporary, slow-front, and fast-front overvoltages
Electrical breakdown and electrical discharges – external insulation
Generation and measurement of high voltages and currents, test techniques
Dielectric spectroscopy and dielectric measurements and tests, effects of high electric fields
Lightning protection of structures, power systems and high voltage installations
Lightning performance, lightning protection, and surge protection of transmission and distribution lines and of the connected substations, including HVDC systems
Design, analysis, and safety assessment of grounding systems for low and high voltage installations, including transmission and distribution lines, substations, renewables, and power generating stations
Measurements related to grounding systems
Ionization, electrical breakdown, and electrical properties of soil
Safety of persons and equipment of power systems, low and high voltage installations under fault conditions
Model development and electromagnetic transients simulations of power systems for overvoltage protection

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

High Voltage Engineering I
High Voltage Engineering II
Structure and Operation of Power Systems
Electrical Installations

POSTGRADUATE COURSES

SHORT CV

Zacharias G. Datsios was born in Kozani, Greece in 1986. He received the M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece in 2010 and 2017, respectively. Between 2017 and 2026, he was a Research Associate at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Between 2019 and 2026 he was also a Research Associate and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Western Macedonia in Kozani, Greece, teaching the undergraduate courses High Voltage Engineering I, High Voltage Engineering II, and Lighting, as well as at the Professional MSc “Modern Electrical Distribution Network-HEDNO” since 2024, supervising over 25 diploma theses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In September 2026, he became an Assistant Professor of High Voltage Engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece.

His research interests include high voltage engineering, electromagnetic transients simulations, insulation coordination for power systems, grounding systems, soil electrical properties and ionization, electrical discharges and breakdown, lightning protection, and electrical safety.

He is the author or coauthor of over 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He serves as a reviewer for more than 50 international scientific journals, including the leading IEEE Transactions in his field. For this activity, he has received four awards (3 Distinguished Reviewer awards from IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility and an award as an Outstanding Reviewer from IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy). He is a member of the CIGRE Working Group C4.74 “Line and Cable Models for Steady-State and Transient Studies”. From 2021 to 2024, he was the Principal Investigator of the “Surge Protection of Overhead Transmission System (SPOTS)” project funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research & Innovation (H.F.R.I.). His academic profile is complemented by his participation in industry funded research projects associated with insulation coordination and grounding, lightning and overvoltage protection, and electrical safety.

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Up to September 2026:

Participation in over 40 projects within his scientific interests. Most of the projects were funded by the industry and are associated with insulation coordination and grounding, lightning and overvoltage protection, and electrical safety
Principal Investigator (08/2021 – 08/2024): “Surge Protection of Overhead Transmission System (SPOTS)”, Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “2nd Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Post-Doctoral Researchers” (H.F.R.I. Project Number: 367)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Y. Hadjicostas, Z. G. Datsios, P. N. Mikropoulos, T. E. Tsovilis, A. Kagiannas, Z. Politis, and G. D. Peppas, “Dimensioning of sheath voltage limiters for single-core power cables connecting an overhead transmission line to a 150 kV substation,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 8832-8842, November/December 2025. DOI: 10.1109/TIA.2025.3583678
Stracqualursi, Z. G. Datsios, R. Araneo, P. N. Mikropoulos, and T. E. Tsovilis, “Implementation of leader development models for prediction of insulation flashover in lightning studies,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 8760-8770, November/December 2025. DOI: 10.1109/TIA.2025.3577136
Z. G. Datsios, D. G. Patsalis, P. N. Mikropoulos, and T. E. Tsovilis, “Effects of approximating recorded lightning currents with CIGRE waveforms on computed fast-front overvoltages and critical lightning currents causing flashover to overhead transmission lines,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 3084-3094, October 2023. DOI: 10.1109/TPWRD.2023.3267264
I. Ioannidis, Z. G. Datsios, A. K. Gerodimos, and T. E. Tsovilis, “Accelerating stochastic lightning attachment simulations for the estimation of lightning incidence to overhead lines,” IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 839-849, June 2023. DOI: 10.1109/TEMC.2023.3234626
Z. G. Datsios, P. N. Mikropoulos, E. V. Staikos, T. E. Tsovilis, D. G. Patsalis, D. Vlachopoulos, and S. Ganatsios, “Experimental investigation of the lightning impulse behavior of wet sandy soil,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 212-223, January/February 2022. DOI: 10.1109/TIA.2021.3131972
Z. G. Datsios, P. N. Mikropoulos, and T. E. Tsovilis, “Closed-form expressions for the estimation of the minimum backflashover current of overhead transmission lines,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 522-532, April 2021. DOI: 10.1109/TPWRD.2020.2984423
A. Papadopoulos, Z. G. Datsios, A. I. Chrysochos, P. N. Mikropoulos, and G. K. Papagiannis, “Wave propagation characteristics and electromagnetic transient analysis of underground cable systems considering frequency-dependent soil properties,” IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 259-267, February 2021. DOI: 10.1109/TEMC.2020.2986821
Z. G. Datsios, P. N. Mikropoulos, and T. E. Tsovilis, “Effects of lightning channel equivalent impedance on lightning performance of overhead transmission lines,” IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 623-630, June 2019. DOI: 10.1109/TEMC.2019.2900420
Z. G. Datsios, P. N. Mikropoulos, and I. Karakousis, “Laboratory characterization and modeling of DC electrical resistivity of sandy soil with variable water resistivity and content,” IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 3063-3072, October 2017. 10.1109/TDEI.2017.006583