Claudia Rebeca Binder SignerClaudia R. Binder, a Swiss, Canadian and Colombian citizen, was born in Montreal and spent most of her childhood in Switzerland and Colombia. She studied at ETH Zurich from 1985 to 1996, earning a degree in biochemistry and then a PhD in environmental sciences. After conducting her post-doctoral research at the University of Maryland in the US from 1996 to 1998, she returned to Switzerland and took a position as a senior research scientist at ETH Zurich, studying the interaction between human and environmental systems at the Institute for Natural and Social Science Interface. In 2006, Binder joined the University of Zurich as an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, and in 2009 moved to the University of Graz in Austria where she served as a full professor of systems science. In 2011, she took a position at the University of Munich’s Department of Geography as a full professor of human-environment relations.
Binder joined EPFL in March 2016 and set up the Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS) at ENAC; she also holds the La Mobilière Chair on Urban Ecology and Sustainable Living.
Her research involves analyzing, modelling and assessing the transition of urban systems towards sustainability. She looks in particular at how we can better understand the dynamics of urban metabolism, what characterizes a sustainable city, and what drives and hinders transformation processes. She does so by combining knowledge from social, natural and data science. Her research focuses on food, energy, and sustainable living and transport in urban systems.
In Switzerland, Binder was appointed to the Research Council, Programs Division of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in 2016 and serves on the Steering Committee of the SNSF’s National Research Program 71, “Managing Energy Consumption” and the Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER). She is also a member of the Steering Board on Sustainability Research for the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, she was elected as a member of the University Council of the University of Munich (LMU).
At EPFL, Binder is the academic director of Design Together, a cross-disciplinary teaching initiative. She was appointed to the management team of the Energy Center in 2018 and as head of the working group on EPFL’s energy and sustainability strategy in 2019.
Kristin Becker van Slooten
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Since 2017: - Member of ETH Board (Delegate of School Assemblies of ETH Zurich and EPFL)
- Project Leader, Equal Opportunities Office, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
2006-2016: Advisor to the President and the General Secretary, EPFL
2004-2006: Member of ETH Board (Delegate of School Assemblies of ETH Zurich and EPFL)
2006: Senior Scientist & Lecturer, Head of Research Group in Ecotoxicology
EPFL, Ecological Engineering Laboratory, directed by Prof. Andrew Barry
2002-2005: Researcher & Lecturer, Head of Research Group in Experimental Ecotoxicology
EPFL, Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, directed by Prof. J. Tarradellas
8/2001: Invited Professor
University of Metz, France, Research unit "Ecotoxicité, Biodiversité, Santé environnementale"
1995-2002: Researcher
EPFL, Institute of Environmental Technology (IGE), Research Group in Ecotoxicology, directed by Prof. J. Tarradellas
-> Publication of 19 ISI papers and 56 proceedings
-> Supervision of 4 PhD students, 23 master and 12 postgraduate students
EDUCATION
1990-94: PhD Thesis, Institute for Environmental Technology, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
1992: Advanced Ecotoxicology Course, European Environmental Research Organisation, Texel, Netherlands (scholarship)
1988-89: Advanced Master in Environmental Sciences, EPFL
1982-88: Diploma in Biology, University of Geneva (thesis realised at the Federal Research Institute Liebefeld, Bern)
1977-81: International Baccalaureate, International School of Geneva
1968-77: Undergraduate studies in Hanover, Germany
MEMBER OF COMMISSONS AND ORGANISATIONS
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Foundation Council "Schweizer Jugend forscht" (since 2018);
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Foundation Council "Les Bois Chamblard" (since 2018);
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ETH Board (2004-2006 and since 2017);
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Direction Board of Ecotox Center Eawag/EPFL (2010);
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Scientific Commission for Chronic Risks, INERIS, France (2003-2006);
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Foundation Council, Institut Universitaire Romand de Santé au Travail, Lausanne (2003-2006);
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Steering group for Antifouling Emission Scenarios, OECD, Paris (2003);
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Organising Committee of the "Certificat d'études complémentaires en toxicologie", University of Lausanne (2000-2005);
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Directing Committee of COETOX ecotoxicology courses, EAWAG, CEMAGREF Lyon & EPFL (1999-2006);
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Commission of Environmental Toxicology, Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape, Berne (1997-2006);
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Working Group on Endocrine Disruption, Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape, Berne (1996-2003);
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School Assembly, EPFL (2000-2003);
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Teaching Commission of the section SIE, EPFL (2002-2004);
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Research Commission of the faculty ENAC, EPFL (1997-2006);
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Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, SETAC (1997-2006);
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Society of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, SECOTOX (1996-2006);
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Lemanic Network of Toxicology (2000-2006).
LANGUAGES
Bilingual German - French
English: complete fluency
Spanish: basic 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.
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.
Albert RenkenTeaching & PhD Past EPFL PhD Students Serge Maeder, Jacques Membrez, Stéphane Porchet, Philippe Menoud, Brigitta Frank, Harvey Randall, Wolfgang Zimmerer, Frédéric Van Vyve, Serge Golay, Jianzhong Yang, Stéphane Dubuis, Philippe Warnery, Anders Nattorp, Christian Spühler, Laurent Cavin, Miriam Lorenzi, Bastien Monnerat, André Rouge, Olivier Wolfrath, Peter Stahl, Ralf Maurer, Konrad Geissler, Volker Höller, Benoît Louis, Pierre Reuse, Fabio Rainone, Eric Joannet, Chrystèle Horny Past EPFL PhD Students as co
Edgard Gnansounou
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1983 Ing. Civil EPFL
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1991 Dr ès Sciences techniques, EPFL
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Directeur du Laboratoire de systèmes énergétiques (LASEN) de 2003 à 2008
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Dès 2008, Responsable du groupe de Recherche en Bioénergie et Planification énergétique
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Co-fondateur du bureau d'étude ENERS Energy Concept
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Président de la Fondation SUD (Solidarités Universitaires pour le Développement)
Je suis membre de différentes associations professionnelles parmi lesquelles figuent le Conseil Mondial de l'énergie (CME) et l'Association internationale pour l'économie de l'énergie (AIEE). Comme membre du groupe d'étude du CME sur les vulnérabilités, j'ai développé les métriques utilisées pour évaluer la vulnérabilité énergétique des pays industrialisés.
Depuis janvier 2008 : membre du Comité d'édition du journal international Bioresource Technology.
Depuis 2009: membre du Comité de la "European Biofuels Technology Platform" Harm-Anton KlokExpertise
Polymer design at nanoscaleBiologically-inspired polymers
Mission
Research at the Laboratory of Polymer (LP) focuses on the development of novel advanced polymeric materials with potential applications in optics, electronics or medicine. The philosophy is that precise control over nanoscale structure is an important prerequisite to tailor polymer properties. To this end, a “bottom-up” approach is followed, which starts with designing a new material at the molecular level, in order to be able to pr