Prof. Lyesse Laloui

Professor Lyesse Laloui is a world-renowned expert in geomechanics, sustainability, and geo-energy. His distinguished career encompasses leading academic positions, groundbreaking research contributions, and influential leadership roles within the geotechnical engineering and environmental fields. Professor Laloui’s extensive experience, qualifications, and achievements have advanced the frontiers of knowledge and developed innovative solutions for a sustainable future.

Lyesse Laloui – Chair full Professor of Soil Mechanics, Geo-Engineering and CO2 Storage at EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Soil Mechanics Laboratory.

Prof. Lyesse Laloui is an active scientist at EPFL since 1994, where he directs the Soil Mechanics Laboratory as well as the Civil Engineering Section. He is a full member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Academia Europaea, Director of the Associated Research Centers for the Urban Underground Space (ACUUS), and serves as the European Vice President of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). Since 2017, Lyesse Laloui has acted as an ambassador of the Lausanne Montreux Congress (LMC), which brings together experts from the economic region of Lausanne and Montreux. In 2022 Lyesse Laloui appeared in the Ranking of Top 1000 Scientists in the field of Engineering and Technology released by Research.com. He has ranked #17 in Switzerland and #923 in the world. As founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment journal (CiteScore 2021 – 6.8), he is a leading scientist in the field of geomechanics and geo-energy. His research portfolio includes 13 written and edited books and over 370 peer-reviewed papers, resulting in almost 20,000 citations with an h-index of 67 (Google Scholar).

Prof. Laloui is a world-renowned scientist in his field and has dedicated much of his career to understanding the natural world for the benefit of society. His research and exploration of the mechanics of geomaterials and other geology has made significant contributions to our understanding of the physical mechanisms of these materials. From this, he has developed innovative and sustainable technologies for today and the generations to come. His efforts in areas such as sustainability, climate change, renewable energy, and the optimization of natural resources have been recognized and awarded by the European Research Council with an Advanced ERC Grant for his project BIOGEOS (BIO-mediated GEO-material Strengthening), followed by an ERC Proof of Concept Grant (PoC) in 2020. In 2022 Prof. Laloui has been recognized for his commitment to global sustainability with two honoris causae from Heriot-Watt University and from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.