Dr. Varsamis is a Civil Engineer who specializes in Structural and Earthquake Engineering. He earned his Diploma in Civil Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) in Greece and also holds an M.S. degree in Earthquake Engineering and Seismic Design of Structures from AUTh. He decided to continue his studies in the United States, at which time he was awarded a scholarship from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation which supported him during his doctoral studies in Civil Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In 2021, he earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from RPI and joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer as a Lecturer. His research primarily focuses on the performance of structures with seismic protection devices that exhibit both positive and negative stiffness, as well as on the optimal design of reinforced concrete shear walls and cores with boundary elements. In addition, he has a strong interest in the analysis and assessment of new and existing structures using performance-based procedures. He has taught several structural analysis and design courses at the undergraduate and graduate level at RPI, for both steel and concrete structures.