The EPFL attracts a prominent environmental expert from Johns Hopkins University
12 May 2004
Marc Parlange appointed as professor in environmental modeling
After more than thirty years of involvement with environmental
sciences, the EPFL did not wish to simply maintain its established
position in the field. It was committed to attracting a world leader
with broad scientific and technical experience to bring new dimensions
to the EPFL in both teaching and research.
With strong support from the
top, the School of Architecture, Civil, and Environmental Engineering
(ENAC) succeeded in finding the person to respond to such a challenge
by engaging the chairman of the Department of Geography and
Environmental Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Parlange has been a pioneer in identifying, measuring, and
describing the mechanisms that regulate the flux of heat and humidity
in the atmosphere. Using computer simulation and innovative methods of
mathematical analysis, Dr. Parlange developed original models to
analyze complex meteorological phenomena, such as turbulence, the
behavior of aerosols in the lower atmosphere and the exchange of gases
between soil and air. In focusing on global measurement techniques that
stimulate technological innovation, his research comes to grip with
major environmental issues that define some of today's most important
global challenges in air and water pollution.
In accepting his appointment to the EPFL, Dr. Parlange has made a major
career choice for which he is fully prepared. He spent the 2002-03
academic year on the Lausanne campus as a guest professor.
Born in 1962
in Providence, Rhode Island, the budding scientist literally plowed
through the academic world. After having studied Applied Mathematics at
Griffith University in Australia, he came to Cornell for his M.S.
(1987) in Agricultural Engineering and his Ph.D. (1990) in Civil and
Environmental Engineering. Following six years at the University of
California at Davis as an assistant and associate professor, he joined
the Johns Hopkins University in 1996 as a full professor. He is the
author and co-author of more than one hundred scientific publications.
Professor Parlange has also demonstrated outstanding teaching and
mentoring skills: several of his students have already achieved
academic recognition by rapidly advancing to professorial posts. His
appointment represents a major teaching asset in EPFL's Environmental
Science and Engineering section.