Appointment of EPFL professors

© 2017 EPFL
The Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology has announced the appointment of five professors at EPFL.

Alexandre Alahi has gained international recognition from the scientific community for his findings regarding the behaviour of large crowds of people. His work includes analysing the walking trajectories of over 100 million pedestrians at various railway stations, including in Switzerland. The aim of his research is to use innovative methods from the field of artificial intelligence, robotics and signal processing, as well as findings from the social sciences, to help shape the transport and mobility systems of the future.

Colin Jones develops methodologies and tools for high-performance optimization-based control of dynamically linked large and/or fast systems. His contributions that have attracted considerable attention include the design of a dynamic control system for efficient energy usage in commercial buildings, and an automated learning approach for the regulation of control systems in high-altitude kites exposed to unpredictable environmental conditions.

In recent years, Mario Paolone has established himself at the forefront of international research into the generation, distribution and storage of electrical power. He is particularly interested in smart electrical grids, especially the development of solutions for secure, sustainable and economic power supplies. Mario Paolone also devotes particular attention to the real-time monitoring and management of electricity distribution systems in unstable situations.
Award of the title of Professor

Frédéric Courbin is an internationally acclaimed astrophysicist who specialises in specialised in gravitational lensing. He has exceptional scientific expertise and will in particular boost the visibility of EPFL through his analysis and interpretation of data relating to Euclid, the ESA’s planned space telescope.

Ivo Furno is regarded as a world expert in the field of plasma physics. He focuses on how this field of physics can be applied in practice, such as in fusion reactors or industry. Ivo Furno contributes significantly to the Swiss Plasma Center and to EPFL by creating synergies within plasma physics as well as with the basic and engineering sciences.