Titles

Agricultural engineer and surveyor,

Ms. and Ph. D. in Hydrology and Agricultural engineering,

Dr Honoris Causa, Technical University of Bucarest, Romania,

Professor in Hydrology, Water Resources and Agricultural Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland,

Director of OURANOS, Canadian consortium on climate modelling and adaptation to climate change

Vice-President of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID),

"CIGR Fellow" of the International Commission on Agricultural Engineering.

Emeritus professor of EPFL

Nationality

Swiss citizen

University Education

• 1964 - 1970 : Agricultural engineering and surveying studies at the EPFL. Degree granted: Agricultural engineer and surveyor EPFL diploma.
• 1972 : EPFL postgraduate course in applied hydrology. Degree granted: certificate in hydrology (Master degree).
• 1974 : Thesis in Agricultural Engineering entitled: "Simulation of water movement in porous media" Degree granted: Ph. D. in Agricultural Engineering of the EPFL.
• 1976 : EPFL postgraduate course in applied statistics. Degree granted: Certificate in Statistics applied to Hydrology.

Professional activities

• 1976 - 1978 : Senior chief scientist, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Water use and Management Laboratory, EPFL, in charge of the laboratory's experiments and research activities in agricultural engineering (soil physics, land improvement, erosion processes),
• Co-director of a research project of the Swiss National Science Foundation in remote sensing applied to soil and water use and management,
• 1978 - 1981 : Chief technical advisor of a WMO/UNDP project in Guinea (Conakry) to assist the National Government in implementing a National Hydrologic Service and to establish a general water management plan for one of the four natural regions of Guinea (Fouta-Djallon, ∼ 45'000 km2),
• 1981 - 1983 : Director of Applied Research in Agrometeorology and operational hydrology, Niamey (Niger) within the framework of a WMO project, financed by the UNDP and relating to the development of agriculture and water management for all the Sahel countries members of the CILSS (International Committee of Fight against Drought in Sahel)
• 1983 - 2005 : Professor at the EPFL, responsible for the Chair of Agricultural Engineering, Hydrology and Water Resources,
• Director of the Hydrology and Land Improvement Laboratory (HYDRAM), and, since 2001, director of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ISTE) of the Faculty ENAC of EPFL,
• Co-director of the postgraduate studies programme on "Water Resources Management, Hydrology & Hydrogeology" in collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel (UNINE) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ),
• Director of the EPFL postgraduate course on "Development" organized in Ouagadougou,Burkina Faso (till 2004), on "Geographical information technology in the field of environment" organized by the EPFL and the UNITAR (UNDP) (till 1994), on "Technology and Sustainable Development (TSD)" organised in Chennai-Madras, India (till 2002), course on "Natural Risks (hydrological risks)" of the Geneva University, (CERG course) (till 1998),
• 2005 . 2010 : Executive director of OURANOS, Canadian consortium on climate modelling and adaptation to climate change (www.ouranos.ca)
• From 2011 : local and international consultant in his competence domains

International activities

• Expert to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC),
• Expert to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and to the United Nation's Program for the Development (UNDP),
• Consultant for the WMO, FAO, UNESCO, UNEP, UNITAR, BIRD,
• Member of the Committee for the evaluation of projects and institutional bodies (Grenoble Competence Center on the prevention of natural risks, "Institut National Polytechnique" (INPG), Grenoble (F), Rural and Agricultural Department, Louvain-la-Neuve University (B), CEREVE laboratory, "Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées", Paris (F)),
• Lecturer within the framework of several international education programmes, especially in the field of hydrology and water resources organized abroad (Romania, Tunisia, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Wuhan-China),
• Numerous lectures, communications and key-note conference speaker at many congresses and international scientific and technical symposia, public presentations, scientific and technical communications,
• Several public conferences at the local and/or national levels for large public and scientific organisations and/or associations,

Fields of professional activities

• Soil physics, agrology and soil-hydrology,
• Vadozone hydrology, soil and water management, agricultural engineering,
• Rural landscape management (land improvement, assessment and planning), irrigation and drainage systems, rainfall-runoff control and anti-erosive techniques,
• Hydrology, hydrometeorology, agro-meteorology,
• Hydrology and hydraulic modelling and forecasting,
• Environmental impact assessment studies for soil and water schemes,
• Hazards, floods and hydrological risks, impacts on soil and water, evaluation and management of preventive measures, climate change and its impacts on soil and water.
• Climate modelling (global and regional scales), climate scenarios, adaptation to climate change with special emphasis on water resources and land use & management

Languages

• French : Mother tongue.
• German, English : Good to very good knowledge.
• Italian, Spanish : Knowledge.

Author or co-author of

• 70 publications in scientific and technical journals, reviews and magazines
• 110 communications within the frame of international seminars, colloquies and symposia
• 4 course notebooks for undergraduate and graduate students
• 3 distance learning course on hydrology, Water resources and Natural Hazards
• 5 books (co-authors), of which 3 translated into English language
• 9 books (co-authors for specific chapters)
• 6 books (co-editor)