Mission

Play a leading role in implementing the EPFL AQUA (Advanced Quantum Architecture) lab roadmap, i.e. to model and develop hardware/software systems based on photonic/electronic quantum devices, high-speed and time-resolved 2D/3D optical sensing as well as their applications (medical, security, ranging), pushing the limits of CMOS technology, imaging architectures, and applications.

Biography

Claudio Bruschini holds an MSc in high energy physics from the University of Genova and a PhD in Applied Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He started his career with INFN (Italy, 1993), in the WA92 CERN collaboration (particle physics), and then moved to CERN as a Fellow in the European GP-MIMD2 project, attached to the NA48 collaboration (particle physics, parallel programming, 1994-1995).

He then started his close collaboration with EPFL, first in the DeTeC (Demining Technology Center) project (sensors for landmine detection/humanitarian demining, 1996-1997). After DeTeC's end, he started the first of a series of fruitful collaborations with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) on humanitarian demining related R&D (1998). This was followed by the EUDEM survey project (The European Union in Humanitarian Demining, 1998), the EUDEM2 three year EC sponsored support measure (www.eudem.info, 2001-2004), and the DELVE support action (www.delve.vub.ac.be, 2007).

In parallel he started working within the EPFL's AQUA group (Advanced Quantum Architectures, Edoardo Charbon), on topics as diverse as ultrasonic sensors for in-air application, optical 3D and high speed 2D sensing, sensor networks, or tracking/motion capture systems, in particular for the preparation of research projects. This culminated in the European MEGAFRAME (www.megaframe.eu, FP6, 2006-2010, SPAD arrays and related in-pixel time stamping electronics in deep submicron CMOS technology) and SPADnet (www.spadnet.eu, FP7, 2010-2014, networked SPAD arrays for Positron Emission Tomography) projects, coordinated by EPFL-AQUA. As from 2009 he also worked with Dario Floreano on the management of the CURVACE Curved Artificial Compound Eyes FP7 project (www.curvace.org), coordinated by EPFL-LIS. He was also active with CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) within EndoTOFPET-US (endoscopic PET) as well as on a CTI project devoted to the development of a new hand-held standalone tool for tracer-guided medical procedures. In 2014 he had also the pleasure of joining the EPFL ICLAB of Christian Enz during its ramp-up phase, collaborating on device related topics (SNF GigaRadMOST) and biomedical R&D (NanoTera WiseSkin).

Claudio is now fully with EPFL’s Advanced Quantum Architecture (AQUA). He has also been active as independent scientific consultant, under the label CBR Scientific Consulting, on the preparation of (European) R&D project proposals and the execution of individual studies, and worked in 2006 for a local start-up as operations manager and R&D advisor.... but this is another story.

An unauthorized early biography is available at http://lami.epfl.ch/team/claudiob/...

FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS

2016 Swiss Medtech Award finalist, CTI “Compact Probes” project
2016 PicoQuant Young Investigator award, SPIE Photonics West, co-author
2011-2014, 2016 EPFL outstanding performance incentive (“Prime pour préstations exceptionnelles”)
2012 Innovation Village Award, SPIE Photonics Europe, Brussels, Belgium "Best Innovation by a Multilateral Projet, Organisation or Company", 1st Runner-up prize [SPADnet project]
2010 FET Open project “MEGAFRAME” invited to European Parliament as one of “12 outstanding Commission-funded FET projects”
1993 Fellowship, Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Genoa, Italy
1991 CERN Summer Student

MEMBERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES & SERVICE

- IEEE & SPIE (Intnl. Society for Optical Eng.)
- Refereeing papers for Biomedical Optics Express, Sensors (MDPI), IEEE Electron Devices Letters, SpringerPlus, IEEE-TGRS. Formerly: IJSS (Intnl. Journal of System Science), EURASIP JASP (Journal on Applied Signal Processing).
- Project Evaluator (4×) & Reviewer (>10×) for the European Commission, Humanitarian Demining R&D

COMMISSIONS OF TRUST

- Advisory Panel Member, EC IST project DIAMINE, 2001-2002, and DELVE, 2004-2006
- Foundation Council Member, Digger DTR Foundation, 2004-, Vice-President, 2017-
- NATO/IAEA Expert Group Member, Exploratory Mission, Egypt, 2006
- PhD Thesis Committees Member

ORGANISATION OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

- Conference Programme/Advisory Committee: MediSens 2018, London; Crete 2008, 9TH Intnl. Conference on Applications of Nuclear Techniques, 2008; Non-Intrusive Inspection Technologies, in SPIE’s International Symposium on Defense and Security, Orlando, FLA, 2006; EUDEM2 Final Workshop: Is Humanitarian Demining Technology a Broken Promise?, Brussels, 2004; EUDEM2-SCOT, Intnl. Conference on Requirements and Technologies for the Detection, Removal and Neutralization of Landmines and UXO, 2003, Brussels.
- Conference Session Chair: SIGNAL 2016 (+Panelist), Lisbon; GRC 2007, Humanitarian Demining session, Big Sky (MT), USA; EUDEM2-SCOT, 2003, Brussels; MINE’99, Florence, 1999 (co-chair).

MAIN PLENARY/INVITED TALKS

NDIP 2017 Tours (Review, SPAD arrays for biophotonics), ETCMOS 2017 Warsaw (SPAD arrays for biophotonics), MediSens 2016 London (SPADs for PET applications), SIGNAL 2016 (Keynote+Panel, Time Correlated SPAD Imagers), ICON Europe 2016 (E. Charbon, Basel, Nanoscopy), ICFO Barcelona 2016 (SPAD Imagers for Biomedical Applications), NSS-MIC Special Focus Workshop Seoul 2013 (SPADnet), IRA Lausanne 2014 (E. Charbon, SPADs), SIVS 2011 Zurich (Integrated SPAD Imaging), Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2009 (Humanitarian Demining), EUROEM 2008 Lausanne (Plenary, HD), IAEA 2007, Vienna (HD Technical Meeting), IAEA/INFN Padova 2006 (HD Technical Meeting), EC FP5 Concertation Meeting 2003, Brussels, INFN Legnaro 2003 (HD), MINE’99 Florence (HD Euroconference), IST Consultation Meeting 1999, Brussels (HD), Royal Military Academy Brussels 1996 (HD), ...

OUTREACH & VALORIZATION

- SPAD technology pioneered in MEGAFRAME -> core of STMicrolectronics proximity sensor (> 50M units sold so far)
- MEGAFRAME32 sensor currently distributed by PhotonForce Ltd
- Intraoperative positron detection probe developed in “CTI Compact Probes” project engineered and distributed by Forimtech S.A.