Alumni

Biography

Costas G. Karakatsanis

Costas G. Karakatsanis received a B.S. Degree in Chemistry in 1974 and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 1978, both from the University of Pittsburgh.  After graduation, Costas joined Mobay Corporation, as the American polymers entity of Bayer Corporation was then called.  Since then, Costas has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in the Bayer organization, including management positions with global responsibility.  Costas has a broad background in techniques for the chemical and physical characterization of polymeric materials, with extensive experience in the use of modern spectroscopic and microscopic techniques as problem-solving tools.  He has co-authored several papers in this area.  Costas was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship (1970-74) and served as Technical Advisor for the Advanced Technologies Task Force of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.  Over the years, Costas has been instrumental in fostering a close relationship between Bayer and the University of Pittsburgh.  Costas retired as Director, Materials Characterization from Bayer MaterialScience in August 2006. 

Costas was born in Cyprus and first came to the US as a high school senior under the auspices of the AFS program.  He is a classical music enthusiast and has a piano diploma from the National Conservatory of Greece.