Professor Lyesse Laloui awarded a doctorate honoris causa

Recognized as one of the most important researchers in geomechanics of our time, Professor Lyesse Laloui has receive an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (UTCN) in Romania on the ninth of November 2022.

In front of the UTCN academic body that participated in the ceremony and the Swiss ambassador to Romania, Professor Laloui, who is EPFL’s Chair Professor of Soil Mechanics, received the prestigious title, in recognition of his contribution to “geotechnical engineering solutions for a sustainable world.”

Professor Laloui’s career has spanned several fields in geotechnical engineering, including the development of energy geostructures and thermal piles, nuclear waste storage, bio-improved soils, CO2 storage.

Speaking at the ceremony where he received the prestigious award, Laloui says he has always been inspired by the issues that contribute to making all of our lives better. “From extracting more energy from underground or using the underground to store energy to the safe disposal of radioactive waste or CO2, I am motivated by the fact that our research has a positive impact on the quality of human life.”

To honor the occasion, a two-day workshop has been organized by the Romanian Geotechnical Society focusing on “Geotechnical engineering solutions for a sustainable world.”