A globally recognized leader in standards development and intellectual property, Prof. Dr Ing. Konstantinos Karachalios was the managing director of the IEEE Standards Association and a member of the IEEE Management Council.

As the leader of an organization that impacts the lives and imaginations of almost every person on earth, he was constantly pushing the global techno-scientific community to accept their share of responsibility for the outcomes of the socio-technical systems we create. This involves challenging and reframing the commonly-held belief that science and technology are neutral, and instead adopting a paradigm of enhanced awareness and holistic responsibility.

To this end, he worked to create appropriate methods and tools to move from principles and good intentions to practically implemented frameworks and solutions. For example, his efforts have contributed to the proliferation of “AI Ethics” and technology ethics more generally, as well as the passage of legislation around Age-Appropriate Design Codes in the UK and California. These codes seek to protect children’s online data and pave the way for global governance systems for ICT platforms and the internet as a whole, moving beyond its “wild west” era.

He has also successfully convinced the Indonesian government to adopt a similar legal-regulatory framework for Indonesia.

Another notable achievement is the milestone of establishing better governance at the interface of standardization and IP law, the two pillars of global markets and trade. IEEE SA, through a consensus-based process and over a decade of effort, validated a patent policy offering more clarity, a feat that no other major standards development organization has achieved to date. This is a unique example of courageous and ultimately successful leadership against some of the most powerful contemporary lobbies.

Before IEEE, Konstantinos played a crucial role in successful French-German cooperation in coordinated research and scenario simulation for large-scale nuclear reactor accidents. And with the European Patent Office, his experience included establishing EPO’s patent academy, the department for delivering technical assistance for developing countries and the public policy department, serving as an envoy to multiple U.N. organizations.

Konstantinos earned a Ph.D. in energy engineering (nuclear reactor safety) and masters in mechanical engineering from the University of Stuttgart.