Antonio Samuel Avila Balula is a Postdoctoral Scientific Assistant at the Control Theory and Systems Biology Laboratory of ETH Zürich . His work focuses on automation of biological experiments, synthetic biology, and control theory applications in robotics and motion systems. PhD in Automatic Control (ETH Zürich, 2023) MSc/BSc in Engineering Physics (Técnico Lisboa, University of Lisbon) His research spans control theory , systems biology , and precision motion systems , with a focus on robotics and synthetic biology. The scientific awards section is empty, indicating no explicit honors mentioned in the provided data. Recent publications highlight data-driven optimization , autonomous robotic inspection , and remote laboratory development . Supervised projects include computer vision for liquid handling robots and machine learning in control systems .
Cyril Cayron is a Scientific Collaborator at the Laboratory of Thermomechanical Metallurgy (LMTM) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where he has worked since 2014. He also serves as a Lecturer in the School of Engineering at EPFL, teaching courses on phase transformations. His work focuses on the intersection of metallurgy, crystallography, and phase transformations, with applications across multiple industries including nuclear energy, aeronautics, and microelectronics. PhD in electron microscopy study of aluminum matrix composites (1996-2000), EPFL, Lausanne Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) (2012) École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy, France (1992-1995) Cyril Cayron's research spans both fundamental and applied aspects of materials science. His primary focus is on phase transformations in metallic materials, where he has developed the groupoid theory of crystallographic variants. His work on martensitic transformations in steels has led to a new hard-sphere crystallographic model that serves as an alternative to traditional phenomenological theories. He has also developed the ARPGE software for reconstructing parent grains from EBSD data, which is distributed in more than 20 countries. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on advanced manufacturing techniques, particularly additive manufacturing (3D printing), where he investigates microstructure evolution, phase transformations, and mechanical properties in materials like stainless steel, titanium alloys, and high-entropy alloys. His work bridges fundamental crystallography with practical applications in aerospace, energy, and medical devices (particularly shape memory alloys). 2018: Haenny Prize - For the connection between crystallography and phase transformations Cyril Cayron co-supervises multiple PhD students including Annick Baur, Margaux Larcher, and Céline Guidoux. He serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals including Acta Materialia, Scripta Materialia, and Journal of Applied Crystallography. His research has been supported by various institutions including CEA/LITEN in Grenoble and EPFL. At EPFL's Laboratory of Thermomechanical Metallurgy, Cayron manages the metallography laboratory and is responsible for SEM, EDS, EBSD, TEM, and HRTEM characterizations. His team investigates the relationships between strong deformations, textures, grain sizes, and phase transformations in various metallic systems.
Olivier Scaillet is a Full Professor at the Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI) of the University of Geneva and holds a senior chair at the Swiss Finance Institute . His academic focus spans Finance , Statistics , and Econometrics , with expertise in Derivatives Pricing , Asset Pricing , Econometric Theory , and Quantitative Risk Management . Education : PhD in Applied Mathematics from University Paris IX Dauphine Leadership : Director of GFRI and Deputy Director (Education) His research includes nonparametric methods , instrumental variable regression , stochastic volatility models , and systemic risk measures . Recent work explores dynamic portfolio optimization , high-frequency jump analysis , and time-varying risk premia in equity and cryptocurrency markets. Professor Scaillet has been recognized with awards for best papers in Journal of Empirical Finance and Banque Privée Espirito Santo , and is a Fellow of the Society of Financial Econometrics . He serves as an associate editor for journals in Econometrics , Statistics , and Finance , and advises BNPParibas research teams in Paris and London.
Prof. Dr. Norbert Hofmann is a Lecturer in thermo-mechanical and casting simulation at the Institute of Thermal and Fluid Engineering within the School of Engineering and Environment at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) . His career spans over 25 years of research and teaching in computational mechanics and advanced manufacturing processes. Roles : Lecturer, Researcher, Conference Organizer Expertise : Numerical simulation, casting optimization, thermal analysis Collaborations : Swiss Nanoscience Institute, ETHZ, international automotive/energy sectors Research Interests focus on: Thermo-mechanical simulation of industrial casting processes Advanced solidification modeling with finite element methods Process optimization using automated systems Thermal management in electronics packaging Microspecimen mechanical testing at extreme temperatures Publication Trends show consistent contributions to casting technology innovation, spanning from aerospace turbine blades (1990s) to modern nanoscale bonding applications. His work bridges computational modeling with experimental validation across disciplines. Scientific Awards : Best Paper Award (2000) for innovative casting process development Outstanding ranking for thermophysical property data contributions As educator, he has mentored numerous students in Computational Mechanics and Advanced Manufacturing through hands-on simulation projects. His research has been supported by collaborations with ABB Turbo Systems AG , Honda Research Center , and Ford Research Center . Labs & Teams : Active participant in the Final COST526 Workshop and APOMAT research consortium. Maintains close ties with Foundry Center FHNW and Swiss NanoScience Institute at Basel University.
Johannes Aichele, PhD , is a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of ETH Zürich. His work focuses on advanced wave physics and imaging techniques across geophysical and biomedical domains. Research interests include: Seismic monitoring of geohazards (rock slopes, debris flows) Shear-wave and elastography imaging Wave dynamics in porous/time-dependent materials Acoustic cloning and inverse problems High-frame-rate ultrasound applications Recent publications highlight innovations in distributed acoustic sensing, rupture nucleation imaging, and cross-domain applications of wave physics. Notable trends include real-time monitoring systems, computational wave modeling, and interdisciplinary approaches bridging geophysics and biomedical diagnostics.
Anastasia Ruvimova is a Ph.D. student and Research Assistant at the University of Zurich , affiliated with the Department of Informatics since April 2021. Supervised by Prof. Thomas Fritz, her research focuses on enhancing software developer productivity and wellbeing through innovative tools and strategies, including virtual reality applications for work environments. Education: Bachelor of Computer Science (minor in Mathematics), Willamette University (2016) Master of Informatics, University of Zurich (2021) Research Interests: Anastasia explores the intersection of software engineering, human-computer interaction, and cognitive ergonomics. Her work emphasizes practical solutions for workplace distractions, remote work optimization, and habit-forming tools for developers. Key Publication Trends: Her recent articles highlight virtual reality's role in fostering flow states, empirical studies on productivity perceptions in software teams, and adaptive scheduling tools. Themes span remote work, developer wellbeing, and immersive environments for task efficiency. Supervision: Anastasia has supervised a master’s thesis on work detachment, a bachelor’s thesis on energy-aware task scheduling, and a master project on habit formation through self-experimentation. She collaborates with Alexander Lill on co-supervised projects. Contact: Office: BIN 2.B.17, University of Zurich Email: anastasia.ruvimova@uzh.ch
Susan Athey is the Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Professor of Economics (by courtesy) at Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Her primary affiliation is with the Graduate School of Business, where she leads the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab. She previously served as Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (2022–2024) and has held roles at MIT, Harvard, and Microsoft. Her research focuses on the economics of digitization, machine learning applications in causal inference, and marketplace design. Key areas include platform markets, online advertising, vaccine policy, and social impact technology. She earned her PhD from Stanford University and a BA from Duke University. Athey's work bridges economics and technology, with contributions to policy design, antitrust analysis, and digital health interventions. Her recent projects include evaluating the impact of social media campaigns on vaccine adoption and designing auction mechanisms for pandemic vaccine distribution. Education: PhD, Stanford (1995); BA, Duke (1991) Affiliations: Stanford GSB, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, National Academy of Sciences Her research has addressed critical issues such as consumer privacy (The Digital Privacy Paradox), AI governance, and experimental methods for policy evaluation. She is a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal (2007) and R. K. Cho Award (2024). Current initiatives include the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab, which develops technology-driven solutions for social sector challenges. She also advises governments and tech firms on market design and innovation policy.
Prof. em. Giuseppe Storti is a retired Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich's Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences. His research focuses on polymer chemistry, recycling technologies, and sustainable materials, with a strong emphasis on depolymerization processes for waste valorization. He has contributed extensively to the development of bio-based polymers, industrial-scale recycling methods, and advanced separation technologies like pressure swing adsorption. His work integrates chemical engineering principles with material science to address challenges in environmental sustainability, including the synthesis of biodegradable polymers and the optimization of polymerization processes. Key contributions include studies on PET depolymerization from textile waste, lignin-based polyurethanes, and novel processes for recovering polyesters and polyamides from post-consumer materials. Publications highlight his expertise in emulsion polymerization, fluorinated ionomers, and hydrogel drug delivery systems. His research often bridges fundamental chemistry with industrial applications, emphasizing scalable and economically viable solutions for waste management and sustainable manufacturing.
Anna Maria Maddux is a Researcher and PhD candidate in the Sycamore Lab at EPFL's Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IGM), part of the School of Engineering (STI). Her research focuses on game theory, multi-agent systems, and learning algorithms with applications in energy markets, robotics, and shared mobility systems. Education: PhD candidate at EPFL (2021–present), MSc in Statistics from ETH Zurich (2021), BSc in Mathematics and Economics from University of Freiburg (2018–2019). Past internships at Daimler Benz and the German Federal Parliament. Key achievements include presenting work at AISTATS 2024 and ICML workshops, co-organizing the NCCR Automation Junior Retreat, and visiting MIT in 2025. She was a fellow of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and Accenture's Female Talent Program.
Philip Jordan is a Doctoral Assistant at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the School of Engineering, Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IGM), working within the SYCAMORE laboratory. His research focuses on multi-agent systems and optimization problems. He received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science from ETH Zurich, with a semester abroad at Princeton University during his undergraduate studies. His Master's thesis investigated independent learning in Markov potential games. His primary research interests include multi-agent reinforcement learning, optimization algorithms, game theory, and their applications in distributed systems. His work often addresses challenges in constrained environments and decentralized decision-making processes where multiple agents interact with shared constraints. Philip has published in top-tier conferences including AISTATS and AAMAS in 2024, with research focusing on independent learning algorithms for constrained Markov potential games and decentralized federated policy gradient methods with Byzantine fault tolerance. His publications demonstrate strong theoretical foundations coupled with practical implementations. He currently serves as a Doctoral Assistant in the SYCAMORE laboratory at EPFL, where he conducts research in systems control and multiagent optimization. His work combines theoretical analysis with practical implementation, as evidenced by the publicly available code repository for his AISTATS 2024 publication. Prior to his doctoral studies, Philip co-founded a start-up in the field of smart contracts, demonstrating practical application of his theoretical knowledge in blockchain technology.
Luca Fabietti is a former researcher at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), affiliated with the School of Engineering (ENAC) and the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEL). His work focuses on smart grids, energy systems, control systems, renewable energy integration, and building automation. He contributed to the development of advanced control strategies for distributed energy resources and the optimization of grid services through multi-time scale coordination and energy storage integration. His research includes experimental validation of frequency regulation services using commercial buildings and HVAC systems, as well as the application of model predictive control (MPC) techniques in energy management. Key areas of interest span heterogeneous energy resource coordination, stochastic prosumer dispatch, and demand-side management. His work is published in journals like Applied Energy and Ieee Transactions on Smart Grid , and his findings have been tested in real-world scenarios, including the Swiss energy market. Fabietti collaborated with units such as La3 (Laboratory of Automation 3), DESL (Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory), and IGM (Intelligent Maintenance and Life Cycle Engineering). His contributions address challenges in grid stability, energy dispatchability, and the integration of renewable resources into smart grids.
Michalis Kokologiannakis is a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich's Department of Computer Science (D-INFK). Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS), where he completed his doctorate. His research focuses on programming languages, formal software verification, and automated reasoning, with a particular emphasis on concurrency, weak memory models, and algorithmic techniques for scalable verification of concurrent data structures. Education: PhD in Computer Science, Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) MEng in Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Research Interests: Developing algorithms for analyzing large-scale concurrent program executions Formal verification of software correctness using mathematically rigorous techniques Tools like GenMC and Kater for weak memory model analysis Practical applications of research in non-academic contexts Teaching Philosophy: Advocates for interactive, dialogue-based education that connects students with cutting-edge research tools and methodologies. Envisions integrating his group's research software into classroom experiences. Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Institute for Programming Languages and Systems at ETH Zurich to address challenges in verification and concurrency research.
Julien Nembrini is a Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the Department of Informatics within the Interfaculty of Informatics at the University of Fribourg. His roles include affiliations with the Human-IST (Human-centered Interaction Science and Technology) group and the Department of Informatics. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and focuses on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of human-computer interaction, robotics, and sustainable architecture. His research interests span human-building interaction , energy-efficient lighting systems , swarm robotics , and computational design tools . Notable projects include developing smart lighting systems that balance energy efficiency with user comfort, and exploring emergent behaviors in wireless robotic swarms. He has collaborated on projects like VOILES/SAILS (self-assembling lighter-than-air robotic structures) and Source Studio (teaching programming to architects). Recent work emphasizes user-centered approaches to technology integration, such as no-code programming for industrial robots and visual analytics for building management systems (BMS). His publications highlight interdisciplinary methods, combining simulation, machine learning, and human factors analysis. He has contributed to book chapters on topics like low-carbon building design and swarm engineering, and has taught courses integrating computational methods with architectural and engineering practices. His work often bridges academic research with practical applications in sustainability and human-centered technology.
Gabriele Manoli is an Assistant Professor (tenure track) at EPFL's École d'Architecture, Civile et de Génie (ENAC), holding positions in the Laboratoire des systèmes urbains et environnementaux (URBES), the School of Architecture (IA), and the Institute of Environmental Engineering (IIE). He also serves as a member of the doctoral commission for the Programme doctoral Génie civil et environnement. His research focuses on urban environmental systems, urban climate dynamics, and sustainability, with emphasis on vegetation effects, microclimate modeling, and climate adaptation strategies. He teaches courses on environmental sciences, urban design, and sustainable infrastructure. Dr. Manoli's work bridges engineering, environmental science, and urban planning, addressing challenges like urban heat islands, green infrastructure optimization, and the interplay between urban form and climate resilience. He advises three doctoral students and collaborates across multiple EPFL departments. His research outputs include influential studies on tree canopy health impacts, urban wind energy potential, and nature-based solutions for climate mitigation. Key affiliations include: URBES Lab - Urban Systems & Environmental Engineering IIE-GE - Environmental Engineering Teaching SSIE-ENS & SAR-ENS - Sustainable Systems & Infrastructure Education He actively contributes to urban resilience initiatives and ecohydrological modeling, with a focus on translating scientific findings into actionable urban planning strategies.
Baraka Jean-Claude Munyaka is a Lecturer and Scientific Collaborator at EPFL, affiliated with the ENAC School and the CEAT department. His work focuses on humanitarian logistics, disaster relief operations, and urban planning in the Global South. He holds a position in the SAR-ENS unit under ENAC-SAR, emphasizing teaching and research in architectural and civil engineering contexts. Research Interests : Munyaka’s research integrates geospatial analysis, supply chain optimization, and Six-Sigma methodologies to address challenges in disaster response, manufacturing efficiency, and sustainable urban development. His work combines theoretical frameworks with real-world case studies in regions like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Senegal. Publications : His recent works explore themes such as deep learning applications in environmental risk assessment, DMAIC-driven productivity improvements in manufacturing, and participatory GIS approaches to rural mobility. These studies highlight his interdisciplinary approach, merging logistics, technology, and policy. Awards : No specific awards are mentioned in the provided materials. Teaching & Advising : Munyaka teaches courses like 'Urban planning in the South' and collaborates on projects addressing global challenges in supply chain management and disaster resilience. His work emphasizes practical solutions for developing regions, aligning with EPFL’s commitment to impactful research.
