The Team

Cultural Heritage & Innovation Center, EPFL

Dr. Alain Dufaux

Alain Dufaux’s field of expertise is in signal processing for audio and images, with a dual profile in both academic and industrial worlds. Alain completed his electrical engineering studies in 1994 at EPFL before moving to University of Neuchâtel, where his research mainly focused on speech / audio compression and automatic recognition. After obtaining a PhD dedicated to impulsive sound detection and recognition, he joined the hearing-aid industry in 2001 as a low-power algorithm design specialist, with roles in advanced signal processing applications, ultra low-power implementation for DSP processors, and field application engineering.

Alain came back to EPFL in 2007, first heading a computer vision research group with focus on micro-engineering for the watch industry. Involved more and more in academic project setup and follow-up, team management, lectures and co-direction of PhD students, Alain had the opportunity to join the team of the EPFL Vice-Presidency for Innovation and Valorization in 2011. As part of the MetaMedia Center, he took care of the audio/video digitization operations and associated research actions defined in the frame of the Montreux Jazz Digital Project. Developing skills in audiovisual archiving, he acts as the executive director of the EPFL Cultural Heritage & Innovation Center since 2014, where he coordinates projects in a wider range of research and innovation domains.

Ecole de design et Haute école d’art du Valais

Prof. Christophe Fellay

Neurosciences of Emotions and Affective Dynamics Lab (NEAD), UNIGE

Prof. Didier Grandjean

Artists in Labs Program, ZHdK

Irène Hediger

Irène Hediger is head of the artists-in-labs program (AIL), Department of Cultural Analysis at Zurich University of the Arts. She curates and promotes inter- and transdisciplinary exchange and practices at the interface of art, science and technology in the fields of environmental science, water conservation and marine biodiversity, astrophysics, biology, neuroscience and medicine. In 2009, she initiated the international artists-in-labs Residency Exchange program with scientists and artists from China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Switzerland on environmental challenges and regional implications of climate change.

Hediger has curated numerous exhibitions and accompanying programs on contemporary art, science and technology such as: “Quantum of Disorder”, “(in)visible transitions”, “Displacements – Art, Science and the DNA of the Ibex” and “Propositions for A Poetic Ecosystem” in Jeddah and “Interfacing New Heavens” in Pretoria.

She writes essays and has published books. She holds a degree in Business Administration, Organizational development (DAGG) and a MAS in Cultural Management, University of Basel.

Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA), UNIGE

Carole Varone