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.
Véronique MichaudBackground:
1994 Habilitation à diriger des recherches ( INPG, France)
1991 PhD in Materials Engineering ( MIT, USA)
1987 Ingénieur Civil des Mines ( Ecole des Mines de Paris, France)
Activities:
Since January 2018: Associate Dean of Engineering, in charge of Education
June 2012-Dec.2017: Head of the Materials Science and Engineering Section
Since April 2017: Associate Professor at EPFL
2009-2017 : Professeur Titulaire at EPFL
1997-2009: Researcher at EPFL
1994-1997 : Chef de Travaux au laboratoire MSS-MAT, Ecole Centrale Paris (France)
1991-1994 : Post-doctoral research associate, MIT (USA)
Author of about 300 publications of which 140 in peer-reviewed journals
Farhad Rachidi-HaeriFarhad Rachidi (IEEE Fellow, EMP Fellow, Electromagnetics Academy Fellow) was born in Geneva in 1962. He received the M.S. degree in electrical engineering and the Ph.D. degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, in 1986 and 1991 respectively.
He worked at the Power Systems Laboratory of the same institute until 1996 and had several short stays at the University of Florida and the NASA Kennedy Space Center. In 1997, he joined the Lightning Research Laboratory of the University of Toronto in Canada and from April 1998 until September 1999, he was with Montena EMC in Switzerland. He is currently a titular professor and the head of the EMC Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland.
His research interests concern electromagnetic compatibility, lightning electromagnetics and electromagnetic field interactions with transmission lines.
Dr. Rachidi is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY and the President of the Swiss National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science.
He has received numerous awards including the 2005 IEEE EMC Technical Achievement Award, the 2005 CIGRE Technical Committee Award, the 2006 Blondel Medal from the French Association of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Information Technology and Communication (SEE), the 2016 Berger Award from the International Conference on Lightning Protection, the 2016 Best Paper Award of the IEEE Transactions on EMC, and the 2017 Motohisa Kanda Award for the most cited paper of the IEEE Transactions on EMC (2012-2016).
In 2014, he was conferred the title of Honorary Professor of the Xi’an Jiaotong University in China.
He served as the Vice-Chair of the European COST Action on the Physics of Lightning Flash and its Effects from 2005 to 2009, the Chairman of the 2008 European Electromagnetics International Symposium, the President of the International Conference on Lightning Protection from 2008 to 2014, the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Atmospheric Science Journal (2010-2012) and the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY from 2013 to 2015. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the SUMMA Foundation, and a member of the Swiss Academy of Sciences.
He is the author or coauthor of over 200 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and over 400 papers presented at international conferences.
Stefano MischlerStefano Mischler obtained the diploma in materials science in 1983 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETHZ in Zurich. He accomplished his PhD thesis in the field of surface analysis and corrosion at the Materials department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL in Lausanne in 1988. In the years 1989-1990 he held a postdoctoral position at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Establishment in Harwell (Oxfordshire) where he developed novel quantification procedures for Auger Electron Spectroscopy and high lateral resolution surface analytical methods for fiber reinforced ceramics. In 1991 he joined the newly created Tribology group at the Laboratory for Metallurgical Chemistry of the EPFL where he developed research activities in the field of wear-corrosion interactions (tribocorrosion) and of tribological coatings. He is currently head of the tribology group and is developing a reserach and training activity devoted to modern aspects of tribology and surface science and technology, including surface chemical effects in tribology, biotribology and biocorrosion, tribology in microfabrication processes and wear protection methods. In 2006 he spent a sabbatical leave of 3 months at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Institute of Biomaterials.
Thierry MeyerThierry Meyer received in 1986 a diploma degree (MSc) in chemical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL). He was awarded in 1989 a PhD at EPFL for his thesis on micromixing in highly viscous polymeric media. He joined the Institute of Chemical Engineering from 1989 till 1993 as senior scientist in the field of polymerization reactions. In 1994 he joined Ciba-Geigy SA in the pigment division as successively development chemist, head of development a.i. and finally production manager for high performance pigments. Returning to the Institute of Chemical Engineering at EPFL in Lausanne by the end of 1998, he was nominated maître denseignement et de recherche (MER) for leading a new research group in the field of polymers and supercritical fluids, and teaching to chemists, chemical engineers and material sciences, disciplines as process development, introduction to chemical engineering, polymer and organic chemistry at master and bachelor program. In 2005 he owned the responsibility of the Occupational Health and Safety of the school of basic sciences on top of his research activities dealing with risk management and supercritical fluids. He is presently teaching introduction to chemical engineering at bachelor level, risk management at master level and specific courses on safety and engineering risk management in continuing education. He acts also as consultant and expert in risk assessment and chemical engineering matters by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) of the World Business Organization, by several consultancy companies and by major and SMEs chemical industries. Thierry Meyer is currently member of several international associations of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering, American institution of chemical engineering, American chemical society and senior member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He was elected chairman of the European Working Party on Polymer Reaction Engineering from 2001 till 2006. He his currently the Swiss academic member of the European Working Party on Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion as well as of the European Working Party on Education. He is member of several editorial boards: Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Macromolecular Reaction Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Technology, Journal of Chemical Health and Safety.
Demetri PsaltisResearch group
Teaching & PhD PhD Students Victoria Fay, Colin Nikhil Christian Past EPFL PhD Students Wuzhou Song, Alexandre Goy, Julien Cuennet, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Xin Yang, Grégoire Pierre Jean Laporte, Thomas Jean Victor Marie Lanvin, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Hashemi, Nicolino Stasio, Morteza Hasani Shoreh, Marilisa Romito, Pooria Hadikhani, Eirini Kakkava, Joowon Lim, Giulia Panusa, Ahmed Bassam Sayed Ayoub Mohamed Ayoub, Amirhossein Saba, Niyazi Ulas Dinç Past EPFL PhD
Gabor LaurenczyTeaching & PhD Past EPFL PhD Students Christian Ohlin, Céline Fellay, Weijia Gan, Katerina Stefania Sordakis, Mickael Montandon-Clerc, Cornel Fink, Lu Chen Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Séverine Joëlle Moret, Felix Daniel Bobbink
