Since obtaining a PhD in Physics, I have been involved for over 30 years in R&D and teaching activities in academic, government laboratory and private institutions in Switzerland and Australia. My interest in technology transfer has led me to found and co-found two high-tech startup companies.

My present administrative responsibilities include: • Coordinator of ACCES at the STI Faculty, for the promotion of Computational Engineering • Coordinator for Academic Affairs at the STI Faculty, aiding the recruitment of professors and internal academic promotion.

Modern scientific research has developed into a multi-disciplinary activity. The continual improvement in numerical methods, software and computer hardware has enabled the application of numerical simulation of fluid and granular flows to problems of academic and industrial importance in a wide range of fields. My personal activities have involved the interaction between physics, mathematics, mechanical & chemical engineering, computer science and life sciences, and their communication to a large public.

Serge Wüthrich (1992) Olivier Byrde (1997)

My present research interests include the development of: • Granular flow simulation of fundamental and industrial interest • Materials simulation using a microscopic granular approach • Fluid flow simulation for large-scale systems • Multiphase flows, in particular, fluid-granular flows • High-performance computing and scientific visualization • Communication of scientific results to the general public Particular application areas of current interest are: • Materials science: simulation of the structural properties of agglomerate materials (e.g. concrete) • Bioengineering: micro- and macroscopic level modelling of biological flows • Industrial particulate processing (e.g. transport, mixing, crushing) • Marine engineering: hydrodynamics and aerodynamics of sailing and powered boats (e.g. Hydroptère, America’s Cup, ferries) • Avalances: propagation of snow avalanches and debris flows • Aeronautical engineering and its historical context (e.g. FauX DufauX project) • The relation between science and art (e.g. TIMBRE!! project, DEM Gallery)

My publications concern numerical, experimental and theoretical research in a wide range of areas, including numerical simulation of fluid and granular flows, parallel computing, scientific visualization, plasma and fusion physics, chaos and optical physics: • 37 scientific papers published in 24 international peer-reviewed journals • 58 papers published in international conference proceedings • 21 articles published in scientific journals for the general public