Christophe BallifChristophe Ballif is director of the Phototovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratoryb) (PV-Lab at the institute of microengineering (IMT) in Neuchâtel (part of the EPFL since 2009). The lab focus is on the science and technology of high efficiency heterojunction crystalline cells,so-called passivating contacts for solar cells, multi-junction solar cells include novel generation Perovskite on innovative optical high speed detector and on various macroelectronics application. It also deals with energy management with a focus on integration of solar electricity into the energy system. The PV-Lab has strongly contributed to technology transfer and industrialization of novel devices and full technology with numerous companies. Christophe Ballif graduated as a physicist from the EPFL in 1994, where he also obtained in 1998 his Phd degree working on novel PV materials. He accomplished his postdoctoral research at NREL (Golden, US) on compound semiconductor solar cells (CIGS and CdTe). He worked then at the Fraunhofer ISE (Ge) on crystalline silicon photovoltaics (monocrystalline and multi-crystalline) until 2003 and then at the EMPA in Thun (CH) before becoming full professor at the University of Neuchâtel IMT in 2004, taking over the chair of Prof. A. Shah. Since 2013, C.Ballif is also the director of the new CSEM PV-Center, also located in Neuchâtel. The CSEM PV-Center is focussing more on industrialisation and technology transfer in the field of solar energy, including solar electricity management and storage. At the core of the CSEM PV-center activities lies several "pilot lines" for various kinds of solar cells manufacturing, with a focus coating technologies, wet chemistry processes for crystalline silicon, metalisation techniques for solar cells, and a platform for developing "ideal packaging solutions and polymers" for PV modules. In addition, joined facitilites between CSEM and EPFL of over 800 m2 are available for modules manufacturing, measuring and accelerated aging. CSEM PV-center has also full team dedicated to storage and energy systems and operates a joined center with BFH in Biel for research on electrochemical storage. He (co-) authored over 500 journal and technical papers, as well as several patents. He is an elected member of the SATW, member of the scientific council of the Swiss AEE, and member of the board of the EPFL Energy center. In 2016, he recieved the Becquerel prize for his contributions to the field of high efficiency photovoltaics.
Alfredo PasquarelloAlfredo Pasquarello effectue ses études en physique à l'Ecole normale supérieure de Pise et à l'Université de Pise et obtient leurs diplômes respectifs en 1986. Il obtient le titre de Docteur ès sciences à l'EPFL en 1991 avec une thèse portant sur les transitions à plusieurs photons dans les solides. Ensuite, il effectue des recherches post-doctorales aux Laboratoires Bell (Murray Hill, New Jersey) sur les propriétés magnétiques des fullerènes de carbone. En 1993, il rejoint l'Institut romand de recherche numérique en physique des matériaux (IRRMA), où sa recherche porte sur des méthodes de simulation ab initio. En 1998, le Prix Latsis de l'EPFL lui est decerné pour son travail de recherche portant sur les matériaux à base de silice désordonnée. Bénéficiant de plusieurs subsides du Fonds National, il constitue ensuite sa propre équipe de recherche à l'IRRMA. En juillet 2003, il est nommé Professeur en Physique théorique de la matière condensée à l'EPFL. Actuellement, il dirige la Chaire de simulation à l'échelle atomique.
Karen ScrivenerDe nationalité anglaise, Karen Scrivener est née en 1958. Au cours de sa carrière, ses travaux et sa recherche traitaient des domaines suivants: Identification du développement microstucturale pendant l'hydratation du ciment. Elaboration d'une approche multitechnique pour étudier la microstucture des ciments et bétons, avec accent sur la quantification par analyse des images d'électrons retrodiffusés. Caractérisation de l'auréole de transition de la pâte de ciment autour des granulats. Compréhension des processus de dégardation des bétons, en particulier le gonflement lié à la formation de l'éttringite retardée dans les bétons étuvés.
Yves BellouardDr. Yves Bellouard is Associate Professor in Microengineering at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, where he heads the Galatea lab and the Richemont Chair in micromanufacturing. He received a BS in Theoretical Physics and a MS in Applied Physics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France in 1994-1995 and a PhD in Microengineering from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2000. For his PhD work, he received the Omega Scientific prize (2001) for outstanding contribution in the field of microengineering for his work on Shape Memory Alloys. Before joining EPFL in 2015, he was Associate Professor at Eindhoven University of Technologies (TU/e) in the Netherlands and prior to that, Research Scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York for about four years where he started working on femtosecond laser processing of glass materials. From 2010 until 2013, Yves Bellouard initiated and coordinated the Femtoprint project, a European research initiative aiming at investigating a table-top printer for microsystems ('3D printing of microsystems'). In 2013, he received a prestigious ERC Starting Grant (Consolidator-2012) from the European Research Council and a JSPS Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. His current research interests are on new paradigms for system integration at the microscale and in particular laser-based methods to tailor material properties for achieving higher level of integration in microsystems, like for instance integrating optics, mechanics and fluidics in a single monolith. These approaches open new opportunities for direct-write methods of microsystems (3D printing). Personal website
Philippe GilletPhilippe GILLET est entré à lEcole normale supérieure de la rue dUlm (Paris) pour y mener des études en sciences de la Terre. En 1983, il obtient un PhD en géophysique à luniversité de Paris VII et rejoint luniversité de Rennes I comme assistant. En 1988, titulaire dun doctorat dEtat, il devient professeur dans cette même université et la quitte en 1992 pour rejoindre Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon.
La formation des chaînes de montagnes, et des Alpes en particuliers, est lobjet de la première partie de sa carrière scientifique. En parallèle, il développe des techniques expérimentales (cellules à enclumes de diamants)qui permettent de simuler en laboratoire les conditions de pression et de température qui règnent au sein des planètes. Lobjectif de ces expériences est de comprendre de quels matériaux sont constituées les profondeurs inatteignables des planètes du système solaire.
En 1997, il commence à travailler sur la matière extraterrestre. Il participe à la description de météorites venant de Mars, de la Lune ou de planètes aujourdhui disparues et explique comment celles-ci ont été expulsées de leur planète dorigine par des chocs titanesques avant darriver sur Terre. Il a aussi participé au programme STARDUST de la NASA et contribué à lidentification de grains de comète ramenés sur Terre après avoir été capturés au voisinage de la comète Wild-II. Ces grains représentent les premiers minéraux de notre système solaire, formés il y a plus de 4,5 milliards dannées. Il a aussi travaillé sur les sujets suivants :
interactions entre bacteries et minéraux;
amorphisation sous pression;
techniques expérimentales: cellule à enclumes de diamant, spectroscopie Raman,diffraction des RX sur source synchrotron, microscopie électronique.
Philippe Gillet a aussi une activité de management de la science et de lenseignement. Il a ainsi dirigé lInstitut National des Sciences de lUnivers du CNRS (France), présidé le synchrotron français SOLEIL, lAgence Nationale de la Recherche française(2007) et lEcole normale supérieure de Lyon. Avant de rejoindre lEPFL il a été le directeur de cabinet du Ministre français de la Recherche et de lEnseignement Supérieur.
Quelques publications :
Ferroir, T., L. Dubrovinsky, A. El Goresy, A. Simionovici, T. Nakamura, and P. Gillet (2010), Carbon polymorphism in shocked meteorites: Evidence for new natural ultrahard phases, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 290(1-2), 150-154
Barrat J.A., Bohn M., Gillet Ph., Yamaguchi A. (2009) Evidence for K-rich terranes on Vesta from impact spherules. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 44, 359374.
Brownlee D, Tsou P, Aleon J, et al. (2006) Comet 81P/Wild 2 under a microscope. Science, 314, 1711-1716.
Beck P., Gillet Ph., El Goresy A., and Mostefaoui S. (2005) Timescales of shock processes in chondrites and Martian meteorites. Nature 435, 1071-1074.
Blase X., Gillet Ph., San Miguel A. and Mélinon P. (2004) Exceptional ideal strength of carbon clathrates. Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 215505-215509.
Gillet Ph. (2002) Application of vibrational spectroscopy to geology. In Handbook of vibrational spectroscopy, Vol. 4 (ed. J. M. Chalmers and P. R. Griffiths), pp. 1-23. John Wiley & Sons.
Gillet Ph., Chen C., Dubrovinsky L., and El Goresy A. (2000) Natural NaAlSi3O8 -hollandite in the shocked Sixiangkou meteorite. Science 287, 1633-1636.
Jürgen BruggerI am a Professor of Microengineering and co-affiliated to Materials Science. Before joining EPFL I was at the MESA Research Institute of Nanotechnology at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, and at the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory, in Tokyo, Japan. I received a Master in Physical-Electronics and a PhD degree from Neuchâtel University, Switzerland. Research in my laboratory focuses on various aspects of MEMS and Nanotechnology. My group contributes to the field at the fundamental level as well as in technological development, as demonstrated by the start-ups that spun off from the lab. In our research, key competences are in micro/nanofabrication, additive micro-manufacturing, new materials for MEMS, increasingly for wearable and biomedical applications. Together with my students and colleagues we published over 200 peer-refereed papers and I had the pleasure to supervise over 25 PhD students. Former students and postdocs have been successful in receiving awards and starting their own scientific careers. I am honoured for the appointment in 2016 as Fellow of the IEEE “For contributions to micro and nano manufacturing technology”. In 2017 my lab was awarded an ERC AdvG in the field of advanced micro-manufacturing.
Franz-Josef HaugI studied Physics between 1990 and 1996 at the Universities of Ulm (Germany) and Waikato (New Zealand). While specializing mostly on Theoretical Physics and Quantum Theory during my studies, I turned towards Experimental Physics for a graduate work on gas-phase epitaxy of silicon. After that, I pursued a PhD program at ETH Zürich (Switzerland), studying Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. As PostDoc, I went to EMPA (Switzerland) to work on plasma processes for hard coatings of TiN and to the Jülich Research Centre in Germany to study light scattering ZnO front contacts for solar cells. In 2005 I joined the Institute of Microengineering (IMT) at the University of Neuchatel to lead a research group on thin film silicon solar cells within the PV-Lab. In 2009 the IMT was integrated into EPFL. My main research interests are optics, charge transport in semiconductors and renewable energy in general. My current work is devoted to passivating contacts for crystalline silicon solar cells, using thin silicon films as contact layers. In 2015 I was appointed Maitre d'Enseignement et Recherche (Senior Lecturer and Scientist) and member of the Faculty of STI. From 2013 to 2015 I was member of the EFPL Teachers Council (CCE) and from 2016 and 2018 I was elected into the Council of the Engineering School (CF-STI). In 2020 I was elected to become a member of CF-STI. My main objective for the legislature is to represent the role of EPFL's intermediate staff and to raise the awareness for concerns of the satellite campuses.
Andreas MortensenAndreas Mortensen is currently Professor and Director of the Institute of Materials at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), where he heads the Laboratory for Mechanical Metallurgy. He joined the faculty of EPFL 1997 after ten years, from 1986 to 1996, as a member of the faculty of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he held the successive titles of ALCOA Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. His research is focussed on the processing, microstructural development and mechanical behavior of advanced metallic materials with particular focus on metal matrix composites and metal foams, on infiltration processing and capillarity, and on damage and fracture in metallic materials. He is author or co-author of two monographs, around one hundred and eighty scientific or technical publications and twelve patents. Born in San Francisco in 1957, of dual (Danish and US) nationality, Andreas Mortensen graduated in 1980 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris with a Diplôme dIngénieur Civil, and earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT in 1986. Besides his academic employment, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Nippon Steel during part of 1986, and was invited professor at the Ecole des Mines in Paris during the academic year 1995 to 1996. He is a member of the editorial committee of International Materials Reviews and has co-edited four books. He is a Fellow of ASM, a recipient of the Howe Medal and the Grossman Award of the American Society of Metals, was awarded the Péchiney Prize by the French Academy of Sciences and the Res Metallica Chair from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, received three EPFL teaching awards, is one of ISIs Highly Cited authors for Materials Science since 2002 and was awarded an ERC advanced grant in 2012.
Paul MuraltPaul Muralt received a diploma in experimental physics in 1978 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in Zurich. He accomplished his Ph.D. thesis in the field of commensurate-incommensurate phase transitions at the Solid State Laboratory of ETH. In the years 1984 and 1985 he held a post doctoral position at the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich where he pioneered the application of scanning tunneling microscopy to surface potential imaging. In 1987, after a stay at the Free University of Berlin, he joined the Balzers group in Liechtenstein. He specialized in sputter deposition techniques, and managed since 1991 a department for development and applications of Physical Vapor Deposition and PECVD processes. In 1993, he joined the Ceramics Laboratory of EPFL in Lausanne. AS group leader for thin films and MEMS devices, he specialized in piezoelectric and pyroelectric MEMS with mostly Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 and AlN thin film. His research interests are in thin film growth in general, and more specifically in property assessment of small ferroelectric structures, in integration issues of ferroelectric and other polar materials, property-microstructure relationships, and applications of polar materials in semiconductor and micro-electro-mechanical devices. More recently he extended his interests to oxide thin films of ionic conductors. The focus in piezoelectric thin films was directed towards AlN-ScN alloys. He gives lectures in thin film processing, micro fabrication, and surface analysis. He authored or co-authored more than 230 scientific articles. He became Fellow of IEEE in 2013. In 2005, he received an outstanding achievement award at the International Symposium on Integrated Ferroelectrics (ISIF), and in 2016 the B.C. Sawyer Memorial award.
Chairman of the International Workshops on Piezoelectric MEMS(http://www.piezomems2011.org/) 