Mrs Maria Petala is a chemical engineer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and she obtained her doctoral degree in Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of AUTH. As of 2000 she has been involved in environmental engineering research, while since 2013 she has been a permanent member of specialized teaching staff in the Laboratory of Environmental Engineering and Planning, Department of Civil Engineering, AUTH, participating in numerous national and European funded research projects. Her research interests include water, wastewater and solid waste quality assessment, water/wastewater treatment technologies for the reclamation and reuse of water for the enrichment of underground aquifers and the assessment of environmental impacts caused by the discharge of wastewaters. Her research work has been published in acknowledged peer reviewed international scientific journals and has been presented in many international scientific conferences. She serves as a technical consultant in national and local public bodies in water resource management and upgrading of water distribution systems and water quality. She has been an associate scientific responsible in research projects and co-author of a book about environmental engineering.