Michael Pfister

Michael Pfister is an Associate Professor at the Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg (HEIA-FR), affiliated with the Institute of Constructed Environment Technologies (iTEC). His research focuses on hydraulic engineering, particularly spillway hydraulics, air-water flows, urban drainage systems, and sediment transport. He has contributed to advancing understanding of reservoir thermal dynamics, stepped spillway aerators, and driftwood blockage risks in hydraulic structures.

His work integrates experimental and numerical methods, addressing challenges in dam safety, energy dissipation in stilling basins, and sustainable infrastructure design. Key projects include modeling the impact of turbine operations on downstream water quality and developing guidelines for stilling basin design under stepped chutes.

Recent studies also explore tsunami-induced building loads and riverbank protection using large riprap blocks. Pfister collaborates internationally, co-authoring textbooks like *Hydraulic Engineering of Dams* (2020) and contributing to conferences on urban hydraulics and environmental fluid mechanics.