Biography:  George Christakos holds a B.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering and a D.Sc. degree in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering both from the National Technical University of Athens (Greece); an M.Sc. degree in Soil Engineering from the University of Birmingham (U.K.); an M.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (USA); and a Ph.D. degree in Applied Sciences from Harvard University, Cambridge (USA). Until the end of 2005 he was a Professor at the School of Public Health and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Statistics, both at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA). Since Jan 2006 he is the Birch Distinguished Professor of Geography with the Department of Geography, San Diego State University, California (USA). His research interests include stochastic spatiotemporal modelling of natural systems, integrative problem-solving, environmental health science, epidemiology, medical geography, and temporal geographic information systems. He has worked on international projects in USA, China, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Bangladesh, and Egypt. He is the author of six books and over hundred fifty papers in refereed scientific journals. Prof. Christakos is the editor-in-chief of the journal "Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment ". His latest book is: Christakos G., 2010. "Integrative Problem-Solving in a Time of Decadence " Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y.