César PulgarinProf. C. Pulgarin is Chemist from Lausanne University, Master in environmental chemistry from Geneva University, Ph D in synthesis bio-inspired of natural substances from Neuchâtel University. During his education he carried out several industrial trainings.
Since March 1989, he has been working at the EPFL where he is leader of the Advanced Oxidation Processes Group (GPAO) active in the development chemical, photochemical, electrochemical, ultrasonic processes, their coupling between them and with biological systems to degrade chemical and microbiological pollutants in water and air. He has an H index of 40 and he is the world most cited author in 1) TiO2 photo-assisted bacterial inactivation in water and 2) Coupling of photochemical and biological processes for pollutant degradation. He has been involved in ten African, South American and European international research projects. He has been Swiss representative in COST program 540.
Janet Gordon HeringExpertise
Biogeochemical cycling of trace metals and metalloids Mineral weathering and reactions at mineral surfaces Water treatment processes for removal of inorganic contaminants
Education Massachusetts Institute of Technology/ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, Cambridge, MA, Ph.D. in Oceanography, May1988. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, A.M. in Chemistry, January 1981. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, A.B. in Chemistry, June 1979.Professional Experience Swiss Federal Institute of A
Qiucheng XuExpertise
- Operando Water and Ion Transport: I pioneered operando high-energy X-ray scattering and fluorescence (WAXS/SAXS/XRF) to directly visualize water and ion transport in membrane–electrode assemblies. These studies revealed how water movement, flooding, and salt formation govern degradation in CO/CO2 electrolysis, establishing the dynamic transport mechanisms in confined electrochemical environments. (Nat. Nanotechnol. 2025; Joule 2024; Nat. Catal. 2023)2. Design of Membrane-Electrode Interface: I
Valentin SimeonovResearchComplete publication list Valentin SimeonovCollaborateur scientifique- EPFL ENAC EFLUMList of publicationsRefereed 1. V. Mitev, V. Simeonov, and I. Grigorov, "Model experiment in measuring the temperature and concentration of water vapours in air by spontaneous Raman scattering", Bulg. J. Phys. 9, No 5, pp. 549-558, (1982)2. V. Mitev, V. Simeonov, and I. Grigorov, ”Atmospheric gases temperature measurements by pure rotational Raman scattering”, Russian Journal of Applied Spectroscopy, 39,
Anna Carratala RipollesDuring my PhD, I mainly focused on characterizing the effect of environmental factors (namely temperature and sunlight) and disinfectants on the stability of human viral pathogens as contaminants of aquatic environments. In addition,I developed a novel source tracking tool to identify avian fecal contamination in environmental samples. Thanks to a research fellowship given by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, I also had the opportunity to explore the diversity of marine viruses in Mediterranean coastal waters by genetic fingerprinting and by next generation sequencing. Later on, I became interested in the long-term effect of environmental stressors on virus communities, so I joined the LCE as a postdoc to investigate the adaptation of enteroviruses to ultraviolet radiation. For 4 years, I worked on developing UV-resistant viruses and characterizing their acquired phenotypic and genetic properties by combining directed evolution experiments, deep sequencing and population genetics. Out of the lab, I am passionate about nature, traveling and scuba diving.
Horst PickTeaching & PhD PhD Students Vivek Prakash, Yang Wang Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Olivia Baud, Thamani Dahoun, Enio Daniel Zanchetta Courses Biotechnology lab (for CGC) ChE-433 This laboratory-training course is designed to give students a comprehensive insight into laboratory research techniques in the field of biotechnology and pharmaceutical biotechnology with practices employed in the industry. Accompanying lectures provide the theoretical background. Chemosensory receptors:
Christian Ludwig2005 - today: Adjunct Professor at EPFL in the field of Solid Waste Treatment and head of the Chemical Processes and Materials research group (CPM) at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Joint EPFL-PSI Professorship on Solid Waste Treatment. 2000 - today: Head, Group of Chemical Processes and Materials (CPM) at Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI). In 2009 the LEM unit was closed and the CPM group is now affiliated to the Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory (LBK) of the Energy and Environment Research Division (ENE). Since June 2002 permanent position ("tenure"). 1997 - 1999: Senior Scientist. Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), General Energy Research Department, Element Cycles Section. 1995 - 1997: Research Fellow. Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG), Department of Resource and Waste Management. 1993 - 1995: Post-doc Fellow. University of California Davis, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources (LAWR). 1990 - 1993: PhD Student. University of Berne, Department of Inorganic, Analytical, and Physical Chemistry. 1989 - 1990: Master Student. University of Berne, Department of Inorganic, Analytical, and Physical Chemistry.
Florian Frédéric Vincent BreiderFlorian Breider obtained his PhD in the field of the stable isotope biogeochemistry from the University of Neuchatel in 2013. This was followed by seven months of postdoc at EPFL in the Atmospheric Particles Research Laboratory and two years as research associate at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) where he conducted studies on nitrous oxide biogeochemistry in oceans. From 2015 to 2018, he was research scientist in the Laboratory for Water Quality and Treatment at EPFL where he conducted research on disinfection by-products and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Since May 2018, he is director of the Central Environmental Laboratory at the Institute of Environmental Engineering of EPFL.
Kevin SivulaSee webpage for more info limno.epfl.ch
Teaching & PhD PhD Students Odile Louise Andres, Arthur Eliot Bouchez, Benjamin Goldman, Nicolas Johannes Diercks, Aurélie Fanny Marie Célérien, Jiajun Li, Louise Marie Foltzer-De Cian, Melanie Victoria Johanning, Nils William Laurent Golay Past EPFL PhD Students Andrea Gasperini, Pauline Bornoz, Xavier Adrian Jeanbourquin, Xiaoyun Yu, Mathieu Steven Prévot, Muhammad Aiman Bin Rahmanudin Hamdan, Nhât-Tân Vuong, Yongpeng Liu, Arvindh Sekar, Barbara Alexandra Primera
Hubert GiraultEducation: 1979 - Engineering diploma from Grenoble Institute of Technology. FRANCE. 1982 - PhD- Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton. Thesis entitled : Interfacial studies using drop image processing techniques. Positions : 1982 - 1984 SERC Research Fellow. University of Southampton. 1984 - 1985 CNRS Research Fellow. University of Southampton. 1985 - 1992 Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, University of Edinburgh. 1992 - Professor of Physical Chemistry, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. 2011 - 2014 Dean of Bachelor and Master studies Hubert Girault is the author of 2 textbooks, the co-author of about 600 scientific publications with more than 20'000 citations and the co-inventor of more than 15 patents. During his academic career, he has supervised 70 PhD students. 30 alumni of his laboratory are now Professors. Honours: Faraday medal 2006, Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry 2007, Reilley Award 2015. Fellow of the Electrochemical Society (USA), Shikata International medal, Polarography Society of Japan. Associate editor of Chemical Science
Athanasios NenesTeaching & PhD PhD Students Berkay Dönmez, Ernest Abboud Past EPFL PhD Students Paraskevi Georgakaki, Lucile Ricard Courses Atmospheric processes: from cloud to global scales ENV-407 The main objective is to present important atmospheric processes from the local to global scales. The course will start with cloud processes, continue to synoptic phenomena like extratropical cyclones and fronts, to finally cover numerical modeling at the regional and global scales. Introduction to environme
