John Botsis received his diploma in a civil engineer from the University of Patras, Greece, in 1979. He continued his education at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio/USA, where he earned his Ph.D. in engineering sciences in 1984. After two years at the Research Center for National Defense, Athens, he was appointed assistant professor in the department of civil and materials engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago/USA, associate in 1991 and full professor in 1995.
In 1996 he was appointed professor of solid and structural mechanics at EPFL. His teaching and research cover structural and continuum mechanics, fracture and fatigue of various materials such as living tissue, polymers, metals and composites for industrial and medical applications. Michel Devine is professor emeritus at EPFL.