Concept
Biodegradable plastic
Related people (39)
François Maréchal
Ph 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.
Philippe Spätig
Philippe Spätig is currently Adjunct Professor at EPFL in the School of Basic Sciences, in the Laboratory of Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviours. He obtained his diploma of Engineer Physicist at EPFL in 1991 and his PhD at EPFL in 1995 on the role of thermal activation in the plasticity of the intermetallic Ni3Al. From 1995 to 1997, he worked as postdoc in the Materials Group of the Center for Research in Plasma Physics at EPFL, studying the effects of high-energy proton irradiation on alloys and pure metals. He then moved to the University of California Santa Barbara and spent two years in the group of Professor G.R. Odette, working on fracture mechanics of ferritic structural steels. He joined again the Materials Group of the Center for Research in Plasma Physics at EPFL in 2000 and worked in this group until the end of 2012. His research was focused on irradiation hardening and embrittlement of steels, as well as on the development of oxide dispersion strengthened steels. He also worked and developed experimental and analytical small specimen test techniques to reliably extract mechanical properties from limited material volume. In 2013, he joined the Laboratory for Nuclear Materials at Paul Scherrer Institute, while being associated with the Laboratory for Reactor Physics and System Behaviours at EPFL. Since then he mainly works on environmentally-assisted fatigue and fracture on austenitic and pressure vessel steels, where the effects of light water reactor environment on mechanical properties are investigated.
Julien Maillard
2011 - present: Research associate at the Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology (LBE, IIE-ENAC, EPFL)
2007 - 2010: Postdoctoral Fellow at the Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology (LBE, IIE-ENAC, EPFL)
2005 - 2006: Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of East Anglia (UEA, Norwich, UK)
2000 - 2004: PhD thesis at the Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology (LBE)
1995 - 2000: B.sc & M.sc at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology, Zurich (ETHZ)
Nico de Rooij
Nico de Rooij is Professor Emeritus of EPFL and previous Vice-President of CSEM SA. He was Professor of Microengineering at EPFL and Head of the Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Laboratory (
SAMLAB
) from 2009 to 2016. At
CSEM SA
he was responsible for the EPFL CSEM coordination from 2012 to 2016. His research activities include the design, micro fabrication and application of miniaturized silicon based sensors, actuators, and microsystems. He authored and coauthored over 400 published
journal papers
in these areas.
He was Professor at the University of Neuchatel and Head of the Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Laboratory (SAMLAB) from 1982 to 2008. Since October 1990 till October 1996 and again from October 2002 until June 2008, he has been the director of the Institute of Microtechnology of the University of Neuchatel (IMT UniNE). He lectured at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ), and since 1989, he has been a part-time professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). He has been appointed Vice-President of the CSEM SA in February 2008 and headed the newly created Microsystems Technology Division of CSEM SA, from 2008 until 2012. He was Director of EPFL's Institute of Microengineering (EPFL STI IMT) from 2009 to 2012, following the transfer of IMT Uni-NE to EPFL.
Dr. de Rooij is a Fellow of the IEEE and Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK). He recieved the IEEE
Jun-Ichi Nishizawa Gold Medal
, the Schlumberger Prize as well as the
MNE Fellow Award 2016
. He was awarded a Visiting Investigatorship Program (VIP) in MEMS/NEMS Systems by the
A*STAR Science and Engineering Council (SERC)
, Singapore, hosted by
SIMTech
, for the period 2005-2008.
Prof. de Rooij is Corresponding Member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
and Individual Member of the
Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences
.
He has been serving on the Editorial Boards of the
IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (IEEE JMEMS)
,
the IEEE proceedings
,
the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, JM & M,
,
the Sensors and Actuators
,and
Sensors and Materials
. He was Member of the Information and Communication technology jury of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards from 2009 to 2012.
Dr. de Rooij is (or was) Member of numerous international steering committees of conference series as well as
technical paper review panels including the steering committee of the International Conference on Solid-State
Sensors and Actuators and of Eurosensors. He acted as European Program Chairman of Transducers '87 and General Chairman of Transducers '89, Montreux, Switzerland.
He has supervised more than 70 Ph.D. students, who have successfully completed their
Ph.D. thesis.
He received his M.Sc. degree in physical chemistry from the State University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, in 1975, and a Ph.D. degree from Twente University of Technology, The Netherlands, in 1978. From 1978 to 1982, he worked at the Research and Development Department of Cordis Europa N.V., The Netherlands.
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
Vassily Hatzimanikatis
Dr. Vassily Hatzimanikatis is currently Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Lausanne, Switzerland. Vassily received a PhD and an MS in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, and his Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the University of Patras, in Greece. After the completion of his doctoral studies, he held a research group leader position at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland. Prior to joining EPFL, Vassily worked for three years in DuPont, Cargill, and Cargill Dow, and he has been assistant professor at Northwestern University, at Illinois, USA.
Vassilys research interests are in the areas of computational systems biology, biotechnology, and complexity. He is associate editor of the journals Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Metabolic Engineering and Integrative Biology, and he serves on the editorial advisory board of the journals Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, and Industrial Biotechnology. He has written over 70 technical publications and he is co-inventor in three patents and patent applications.
Vassily is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2010), he was a DuPont Young Professor (2001-2004), and he has also received the Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering (2000), and the ACS Elmar Gaden Award (2011).