Christian Gabriel TheilerChristian Theiler obtained his Master’s degree in physics from ETH Zurich in 2007 and his PhD from EPFL in 2011. He then joined MIT as a postdoctoral associate to work on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. In 2014, he returned to EPFL as a EUROfusion fellow, to join the TCV tokamak team. Two years later, he was named Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Plasma Physics at EPFL. Christian’s research focuses on tokamak boundary physics and related diagnostic techniques. He has contributed to the understanding of the formation, propagation, and control of turbulent plasma structures, called blobs, and gained new insights on the structure of transport barriers in the plasma periphery in different high-confinement regimes. His current research focuses on detachment physics and turbulence characteristics in conventional and alternative divertor magnetic geometries.
Michele CeriottiMichele Ceriotti received his Ph.D. in Physics from ETH Zürich in 2010. He spent three years in Oxford as a Junior Research Fellow at Merton College. Since 2013 he leads the laboratory for Computational Science and Modeling in the Institute of Materials at EPFL. His research revolves around the atomic-scale modelling of materials, based on the sampling of quantum and thermal fluctuations and on the use of machine learning to predict and rationalize structure-property relations. He has been awarded the IBM Research Forschungspreis in 2010, the Volker Heine Young Investigator Award in 2013, an ERC Starting Grant in 2016, and the IUPAP C10 Young Scientist Prize in 2018.
Pascale JablonkaPascale Jablonka is a French/Swiss astrophysicist who specializes in the area of galaxy evolution. She earned a doctorate in astrophysics from the University Paris 7- Denis Diderot in France. She then held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Headquarter of the European Southern Observatory (ESO, Germany), before obtaining a position at CNRS (France). She is currently Directrice de Recherche at CNRS and on leave of absence from Paris Observatory in the Laboratoire d'astrophysique of EPFL. Pascale Jablonka conducts both observations and numerical simulations to gain insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies. Her research focuses on three main topics : > Understanding the nature of the first stars in the Universe > Infering the driving parameters of the galaxy star formation histories > Deciphering the impact of the environment on galaxy evolution. Her research exploits ground-based and space telescopes as well as high performance computing facilities.
Pascal FuaPascal Fua received an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, in 1984 and the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of Orsay in 1989. He then worked at SRI International and INRIA Sophia-Antipolis as a Computer Scientist. He joined EPFL in 1996 where he is now a Professor in the School of Computer and Communication Science and heads the Computer Vision Laboratory. His research interests include shape modeling and motion recovery from images, analysis of microscopy images, and Augmented Reality. His research interests include shape modeling and motion recovery from images, analysis of microscopy images, and machine learning. He has (co)authored over 300 publications in refereed journals and conferences. He is an IEEE Fellow and has been an Associate Editor of IEEE journal Transactions for Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. He often serves as program committee member, area chair, and program chair of major vision conferences and has cofounded three spinoff companies (Pix4D, PlayfulVision, and NeuralConcept).
Paul BowenDr. P. Bowen after gaining his BSc in Physics at Imperial College (UK), he obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry in the field of catalysis from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1982, He then worked at the BP Research Centre, Sunbury, UK, for 4 years in applied surface sciences before moving to Switzerland and EPFL in 1987. He has been at the Powder Technology Laboratory, in the Materials Institute since its conception in 1988. He has over 190 publications and has written an undergraduate book on ceramic synthesis and processing. Education: 1976-1979 Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. B.Sc. Honours in Physics. 1979-1982 Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Cambridge. Certificate of Postgraduate Studies in Chemistry. Thesis: A Mössbauer Study of Some Clay Minerals and their Surfaces. Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. Thesis: An Iron-57 and Tin-119 Mössbauer Spectroscopic Study of Some Graphite Intercalation Compounds and Carbon Supported Iron Catalysts. Professional Experience: 1983-1986 Research Scientist (Physical Chemist), New Technology Division, British Petroleum Company plc, BP Research Centre, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex TW16 7LN, England. 1987-1988 Engineer, Ceramics Laboratory, Département des Matériaux, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. 1988-2008 Research Associate/lecturer, Powder Technology Laboratory (Present) Institute des Matériaux, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. 1988- 2015 Maitre DEnsiegnement et Recherche (Lecturer & Researcher), Powder Technology Laboratory, Institute des Matériaux, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 2015 – present Adjunct Professor (Professeur Titulaire), Powder Technology Laboratory (LTP), Materials Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Florian Maria WurmFlorian Wurm received his academic training as a Biologist and Molecular Geneticist at the University of Giessen. He joined the Hoechst AG (Behringwerke) in Marburg as head of a laboratory in Virology. Working with immortalized mammalian cells for the establishment of production processes for alpha-interferons provided the first opportunity to combine basic research with medical application. In 1984 he joined Harvard Medical School in Boston as a Research Fellow in Molecular Biology. 1986 he took an offer from Genentech Inc. in San Francisco to work in Process Sciences on the development of large scale manufacturing processes for recombinant proteins. There he has held a number of leading positions and has acquired intimate knowledge in the generation of protein pharmaceuticals in mammalian cells in bioreactors (a number of which are now marketed products). In 1995 he joined the EPFL as a Professor for Biotechnology. Wurm has published more than 250 scientific papers and holds more than 20 patents/patent-applications. His H-index stands at 60 in 2021. He was Chairman (2005-2009) and is member of the Executive Board of the European Society of Animal Cell Technology (ESACT). He serves as a consultant to the pharmaceutical Biotech Industry, mainly in the fields of animal cell technology for recombinant protein production and in regulatory affairs. He works as a scientific reviewer and editior/asscciate editor for a number of international journals in the Biotech field. F.M. Wurm teaches classes to pre- and postgraduate students in the fields of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology.
He was founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ExcellGene SA, a 2001 established company in Monthey, Switzerland. He took the position of President and CEO of ExcellGene in 2015. He retired from the CEO position in 2017 and continues to be President and Chief Scientific Officer of ExcellGene.
In 2008 Dr. Wurm was appointed Visiting Professor for Biotechnology at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China. He retired from his position at the EPFL in 2015. His laboratory is closed. With his team at ExcellGene and in collaboration with Dr. Paco Pino, Director of R&D, he continues to explore manufacturing sciences with animal cells in bioreactors.
