François Avellan, Emeritus Professor since 2020, was the Director of the Laboratory for Hydraulic Machines at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) from 1994 to 2020. He graduated in hydraulic engineering from the Institut national polytechnique de Grenoble and earned a doctorate in engineering from the University of Aix-Marseille II. He has supervised 42 doctoral theses and was awarded the “Grand Prix 2010 de l’hydrotechnique” by the Société Hydrotechnique de France (SHF). His main research interests focus on the hydrodynamics of turbines, pumps, and pump-turbines, including cavitation, hydro-acoustics, design, and performance assessment.
He has led and coordinated numerous national and international research initiatives involving major hydropower operators and manufacturers, including XFLEX HYDRO, HYPERBOLE, the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research – Supply of Electricity (SCCER-SoE), and several EUREKA projects such as HYDRODYNA, FLINDT, and SCAPIN.
From 2002 to 2012, Prof. Avellan chaired the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) Section on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems and has contributed extensively to standardisation work in this area. His leadership as Convenor of the TC4 working group responsible for editing the IEC 60193 standard earned him the “IEC 1906 Award” from the International Electrotechnical Commission.