Maria Philokyprou (Diploma in Architecture, NTUA; MSc in Architectural Conservation, Edinburgh; PhD, University of Cyprus) is currently Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Cyprus. She studied Architecture at the National Metsovion Technical University, Athens and continued her studies at Edinburgh with an Evgenides Foundation Scholarship (awarded every year to the graduate of Metsovion with the highest grades on graduation). In 1992, she was awarded an MSc in Architectural Conservation with distinction by the Heriot-Watt University at Edinburgh and subsequently a Ph.D. degree in the field of History of Architecture and Traditional Building Materials by the University of Cyprus (2001). Before her election in her current position and since 2006, she has undertaken, as an adjunct faculty lecturer, the organization and teaching of courses on Vernacular Architecture and History of Architecture in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cyprus. Her main research interests lies on the field of Conservation and Vernacular Architecture. More specifically she is interesting in architectural conservation, preservation and promotion of the built environment, the vernacular architecture of Cyprus, the environmental features of vernacular architecture, traditional architectural technology, analysis of traditional building materials and methods of construction and the design of new materials “friendly” to man and the environment. She has been the principle investigator and coordinator in research programs financed by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation and the University of Cyprus and she has recently established the VernArch Lab (Research Laboratory in the Vernacular Architecture of Cyprus). In the past, during her private practice as an architect, she carried out projects regarding historic buildings, one of which – the Monastery of Panagia tou Sindi – received a Europa Nostra award in 1999. She was employed as a postgraduate research assistant in the Archaeological Research Unit at the University of Cyprus and as a planning officer in the Conservation Sector of the Architectural Heritage at the Town and Planning Department (2001-2010). She has presented her research work in numerous local and international conferences and has published articles in local and international journals and conference proceedings.