Paul XirouchakisPaul Xirouchakis obtained his diplôme in mechanical and electrical engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece in 1971. He continued his education at the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Techniques Avancées, in Paris, France where he obtained his diplôme dIngénieur de lE.N.S.T.A. et dIngénieur civil du Génie Maritime in 1973. He obtained his PhD degree in Structural Mechanics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978. He was appointed thereafter assistant and later associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1978-1985). Subsequently he was nominated associate professor at the National Technical University in Athens (1985-1987). After about eight years working in the industry with JJMA, Arlington, Virginia (in parallel he also obtained a PhD degree in Information Technology, in 1992 from George Mason University) he was nominated at EPFL professor of computer-aided design and manufacturing since July 1995. At EPFL he teaches design for X at the bachelors level, computer-aided manufacturing and multi-body dynamics simulation at the masters level and manufacturing information systems at the doctoral level. His research covers the development of methods and computer tools for the (sustainable) product design and manufacturing. Current research projects deal with the development of method and tools for resource efficient part manufacturing, chatter-free part programming, development of a virtual multi-body dynamics machine tool environment and composites drilling programming.
Ralf SeifertRalf W. Seifert is Professor of Technology & Operations Management (TOM) at the College of Management of Technology (CDM) at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) since 2003. His primary research and teaching interests relate to operations management, supply chain strategy and technology network management. He is also active in industry analysis, international project work and new venture formation.
Based on his work with companies, Professor Seifert has co-authored more than 30 case studies covering different industries. These efforts have been recognized by multiple international case awards granted by EFMD in 2018, 2012, 2009 and 2003, ECCH in 2011 and 2006, as well as POMS in 2004. He continues to actively research issues of supply chain strategy, supply chain finance and technology management and has more than 70 articles and international conference presentations to his credit. In addition, he co-authored two books: one focused on strategic supply chain management and another one concerning start-up challenges of technology ventures.
In parallel to his appointment at EPFL, he continues to serve a position at IMD, were he has been appointed Professor of Operations Management in 2000. Prior to joining IMD, Professor Seifert studied and worked in Germany, Japan and the US. He earned PhD and MS degrees in Management Science at Stanford University, a Diplom Ingenieur degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and a Master's degree in Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University. While in the US, he consulted for Hewlett-Packard and served as Teaching and Research Assistant at Stanford University. In Germany he worked for Booz & Company, McKinsey & Company and Freudenberg & Co. In addition, he spent one year as a Visiting Scholar in Operations Research at Waseda University in Tokyo.
Rémy GlardonREMY GLARDON is Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne. He is the founder and director of the Laboratory for Production Management and Processes. He owns a Master in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Materials Science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne. After his graduate study at EPFL, he spent several years as a postdoc at UC-Berkeley where he published several research papers on the mechanical behavior and wear of materials. He then moved to industry and occupied several management positions in production, logistics and operations management. Before joining EPFL in Sept. 1995 to found the Laboratory for Production Management & Processes, he was Operations Manager and member of the board of an international high tech. company. His main research interests are currently related to the design, configuration and strategic, tactical & operational management of value adding networks. His research activities concern more specifically, the integration of human aspects in the modeling & simulation of these complex systems. Rémy Glardon has initiated and completed several research and consulting projects with private companies in these areas, aiming at improving the cost/performance ratio in operations management. He is also co-founder of two start-up consulting enterprises in the field of supply chain and operations management.
Boi FaltingsProfessor Faltings joined EPFL in 1987 as professor of Artificial Intelligence. He holds a PhD degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a diploma from the ETHZ. His research has spanned different areas of intelligent systems linked to model-based reasoning. In particular, he has contributed to qualitative spatial reasoning, case-based reasoning (especially for design problems), constraint satisfaction for design and logistics problems, multi-agent systems, and intelligent user interfaces. His current work is oriented towards multi-agent systems and social computing, using concepts of game theory, constraint optimization and machine learning. In 1999, Professor Faltings co-founded Iconomic Systems, a company that developed a new agent-based paradigm for travel e-commerce. He has since co-founded 5 other startup companies and advised several others. Prof. Faltings has published more than 150 refereed papers on his work, and participates regularly in program committees of all major conferences in the field. He has served as associate editor of of the major journals, including the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR) and the Artificial Intelligence Journal. From 1996 to 1998, he served as head of the computer science department.
Stephan MorgenthalerACADEMIC POSITIONS
Professor of Applied Statistics, EPFL, 1988-present
Associate Professor of Statistics, Yale University, 1987-1988
Assistant Professor of Statistics, Yale University, 1983-1987
Instructor of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983-1984
Urs von StockarOriginaire de Zurich, Urs von Stockar est né en1942. Ingénieur chimiste diplômé de l'EPFZ en 1967, il y est ensuite assistant au Laboratoire de chimie technique et, en 1973, soutient sa thèse couronnée par la médaille d'argent de l'EPFZ.
De 1973 à 1976, il travaille au département de génie chimique de l'Université de Californie. Il y enseigne et participe au développement d'un procédé technique pour la conversion biologique de la cellulose en alcool.
En 1977, il est ingénieur chimiste chez Ciba-Geigy. Fin 1977 il est nommé professeur extraordinaire à l'EPFL. Il dirige l'Institut de génie chimique en 1978/79 et en 1989/90. Il est professeur ordinaire en 1982. En 1982/83 et 1993/95, il dirige le Département de chimie. Son enseignement et sa recherche traitent des opérations de transfert de masse et de la biotechnologie, il s'intéresse également aux questions de bioénergétique et de biothermodynamique. Collaborant avec l'UNIL et l'ISREC, son équipe développe des procédés de fabrication d'anticorps monoclônaux spéciaux, capables de protéger les muqueuses humaines. En 1990 il est nommé professeur associé à l'Université de Genève. Il représente la Suisse dans un groupe d'experts de la Fédération européenne de biotechnologie. Après avoir siégé pendant plusieurs années dans son Comité de direction, il a été nommé président de la Fédération Européenne de Biotechnologie pour la période 1996-97. Depuis 1991, il dirige le Comité de coordination suisse pour la biotechnologie.
Diploma in Chemical Eng.-1967-ETHZ, CH
Ph.D.-1972-ETHZ, CH
Postdoc. Fellow-1973-76-Univ. of California, Berkeley, US
Daniel FavratDaniel Favrat got his Master degree in Mechanical Engineering from EPFL in 1972 and his PhD also from EPFL. He then spent 12 years in industrial research laboratories in Canada (Esso Canada) and Switzerland (CERAC: Centre Européen de Recherche Atlas Copco). From 1988 to 2013, he was full professor and director of the Industrial Energy Systems Laboratory (LENI) at EPFL. During that period he was successively director of the Institute of Energy and director of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. From August 2013 he works at EPFL Energy Center first as director ad interim and now as director technologies.
His research fields include systemic analyses accounting for energy, environment and economics (so-called environomic optimisation) and advanced conversion systems for a more rational use of energy (heat pumps &ORC, engines, fuel cells, power plants, etc).
He is a member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and of the National Academy of Technology in France. He has also an active participation in the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) as a member of the executive committee and vice-chair of the energy committee. He is associate editor of the journal "Energy" and of International Journal of thermodynamics. He is the author of several books on thermodynamics and energy systems analysis. He is also affiliate professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm.
Jeremy Luterbacher
- Masters degree in Chemical Engineering obtained in 2007 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL) (enrolled fall 2005, currently in 3rd semester). Relevant courses: Advanced Separation Processes, Advanced Chemical Reaction Engineering, Process Development and Polymer Chemistry and Macromolecular Engineering. - Bachelors degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering obtained in 2005 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). Relevant courses: Transport phenomena, Separation processes, Process command, Applied Energetics, Chemical Reaction Engineering, Chemical Kinetics, Quantum chemistry and Thermodynamics. - High school Maturity completed at the Nyon High School, 2002 (major subjects: biology-chemistry, advanced math, and Latin). Maturity essay completed 12-2001 with distinction - Secondary School certificate obtained in 1999 at the Gland secondary School, Latin-Greek section
François MaréchalPh D. in engineering Chemical process engineer
Researcher and lecturer in the field of computer aided process and energy systems engineering.
Lecturer in the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and environmental sciences engineering in EPFL.
I'm responsible for the Minor in Energy of EPFL and I'm involved in 3 projects of the Competence Center in Energy and Mobility (2nd generation biofuel, Wood SOFC, and gas turbine development with CO2 mitigation) in which i'm contributing to the energy conversion system design and optimisation.
Short summary of my scientific carrer
After a graduation in chemical engineering from the University of Liège, I have obtained a Ph. D. from the University of Liège in the LASSC laboratory of Prof. Kalitventzeff (former president of the European working party on computer aided process engineering). This laboratory was one of the pioneering laboratory in the field of Computer Aided Process Engineering.
In the group of Professor Kalitventzeff, I have worked on the development and the applications of data reconciliation, process modelling and optimisation techniques in the chemical process industry, my experience ranges from nuclear power stations to chemical plants. In the LASSC, I have been responsible from the developments in the field of rational use of energy in the industry. My first research topic has been the methodological development of process integration techniques, combining the use of pinch based methods and of mathematical programming: e.g. for the design of multiperiod heat exchanger networks or Mixed integer non linear programming techniques for the optimal management of utility systems. Fronted with applications in the industry, my work then mainly concentrated on the optimal integration of utility systems considering not only the energy requirements but the cost of the energy requirements and the energy conversion systems. I developed methods for analysing and integrating the utility system, the steam networks, combustion (including waste fuel), gas turbines or other advanced energy conversion systems (cogeneration, refrigeration and heat). The techniques applied uses operation research tools like mixed integer linear programming and exergy analysis. In order to evaluate the results of the utility integration, a new graphical method for representing the integration of the utility systems has been developed. By the use of MILP techniques, the method developed for the utility integration has been extended to handled site scale problems, to incorporate environmental constraints and reduce the water usage. This method (the Effect Modelling and Optimisation method) has been successfully applied to the chemical plants industry, the pulp and paper industry and the power plant. Instead of focusing on academic problems, I mainly developed my research based on industrial applications that lead to valuable and applicable patented results. Recently the methods developed have been extended to realise the thermoeconomic optimisation of integrated systems like fuel cells. My present R&D work concerns the application of multi-objective optimisation strategies in the design of processes and integrated energy conversion systems.
Since 2001, Im working in the Industrial Energy Systems Laboratory (LENI) of Ecole Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) where Im leading the R&D activities in the field of Computer Aided Analysis and Design of Industrial Energy Systems with a major focus on sustainable energy conversion system development using thermo-economic optimisation methodologies. A part from the application and the development of process integration techniques, that remains my major field of expertise, the applications concern :
Rational use of water and energy in Industrial processes and industrial production sites : projects with NESTLE, EDF, VEOLIA and Borregaard (pulp and paper).Energy conversion and process design : biofuels from waste biomass (with GASNAT, EGO and PSI), water dessalination and waste water treatment plant (VEOLIA), power plant design (ALSTOM), Energy conversion from geothermal sources (BFE). Integrated energy systems in urban areas : together with SCANE and SIG (GE) and IEA annexe 42 for micro-cogeneration systems.
I as well contributed to the definition of the 2000 Watt society and to studies concerning the emergence of green technologies on the market in the frame of the Alliance for Global Sustainability.
Christos ComninellisChristos Comninellis, of Greek origin, born in 1945, received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry (distinction with honor) in 1970 from the University of Alexandria.
From 1971 to 1975, he worked as a chemist at the Institute of chemical engineering at the EPFL, where he achieved his PhD in technical sciences in 1979 for his research on the electrochemical fluorination of organic compounds in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride.
Appointed professor in 1996, he teaches at the Faculty of Basic Sciences (FSB) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL)
Applied Chemistry.
Transport Phenomena.
Chemical and Electrochemical Technologies Related to the Environment.
Electrochemical Engineering.
He also holds a teaching position at the Haute Ecole Valaisanne Sion (HEVs).
His research work is focused on environmental electrochemistry, electrocatalysis, fuel cell and electrochemical promotion in catalysis. An applied research for the utilization of electrochemical techniques in industry for the protection of the environment is a constant concern within his activities. As a result, the collaboration with the industry enabled the development of oxidation processes with regeneration of the oxidant using a new type of bipolar electrochemical reactor.
Christos Comninellis has published over 170 scientific papers, directed 17 doctoral theses and holds 14 patents. He has participated in over 130 international symposia, giving five plenary lectures during the last five years. He has been president of the Evaluation Committee of the FSB since the beginning of 2004 and is member of the jury of the EPFL prize for outstanding PhD-thesis.
