Michael Styllas was attracted to the mountains from a very young age. This gradually led him to fall in love with the science of Geology. He holds a PhD diploma in Geology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and his MSc in Oceanography-Marine Geology from Oregon State University.

He works as an external geologist for a company with which has realized numerous geophysical, geotechnical and geoarchaeological projects, and has participated in four EU-funded projects. As an independent researcher, he studied the evolution of glaciers and the climate on Mount Olympus in Greece during a project funded by John S. Latsis Foundation in cooperation with the French National research institute CEREGE .

He spends most of his time in the alpine refuge "Christos Kakkalos" on Mount Olympus. He has climbed extensively on the mountains of Greece, as well as on the highest peaks of the world. He was a member of the first successful Greek expedition that stood on the summit of Mount Everest.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx