Dr. George Georgiou of UNIC awarded the ''Cyprus Research Award – Young Researcher 2023'' by RIF

Press Release

Dr. George Georgiou from the Department of Languages and Literature of the University of Nicosia has been awarded the prestigious “Cyprus Research Award – Young Researcher 2023” in the thematic area of Humanities and Social Sciences by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).

The “Cyprus Research Award – Young Researcher” is awarded to young researchers who have demonstrated the ability to perform high-quality research. The Award aims to highlight the research activity, achievements and personality of young scientists undertaking research in Cyprus, who have shown an ability to produce significant and internationally recognized results from the early stages of their careers.

The evaluation of the nominations is carried out by three (3) Evaluation Committees (EC). The Committees consist of evaluators/experts from abroad selected based on the said thematic areas. Their evaluation criteria assess the quality of the research activity carried out by the nominees, their curriculum vitae and future research.

The rationale for Dr Georgiou’s award, as provided by RIF:

“The young scientist, with an excellent profile and internationally recognized results, is active in the research field of linguistics, and his publications in internationally recognized journals exceed the world average in his field. In the past year, he launched the Phonetic Lab at the University of Nicosia, indicating his insight and effective leadership skills.

Despite the early stage of his career, his CV is impressive. Dr Georgiou has consistently produced high-quality research, recognized nationally and internationally, excelling in inter- and intra-disciplinary research. He has effectively integrated emerging technologies into his expertise area, facilitating their application in similar fields.

His future research projects show great potential and will contribute to his further scientific development, with a focus on the field of linguistics. This direction is a natural progression of the outstanding scientific achievements that Dr Georgiou has made so far.”

About Dr Georgiou

Dr Georgiou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Languages and Literature of the University of Nicosia and serves as the Director of the Phonetic Lab. He has published over 35 refereed journal articles in high-impact journals such as Attention, Perception and Psychophysics, Applied Acoustics, Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, Cognitive Processing, Epidemiology and Health, International Journal of Bilingualism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Journal of Public Health, Language Learning and Development, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Languages, Language Sciences, Scientific Reports, Speech Communication, Speech, Language and Hearing, among others. He has also published several monographs, edited volumes, book chapters, and articles in conference proceedings. He has presented papers at over 50 conferences worldwide and has been invited as a guest speaker at various academic meetings globally.

He has significantly contributed to updating theories of nonnative speech acquisition by developing a new speech model for predicting the perception and production of sounds, which has the potential to maximize learning outcomes. His research extends to the study of language and speech characteristics of atypical populations to develop tools for the diagnosis of disorders and communication-affecting conditions. In addition, he trains machine learning models to predict patterns of typical and atypical language and speech.

More information can be found on his website and the UNIC website.