Keynote lecturers

Jean-Michel TORRENTI

Jean Michel Torrenti is an associate researcher at the Gustave Eiffel University and a professor at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées. His research applies to concrete, focusing on its durability, particularly the coupled chemical-physical-mechanical behaviours, including shrinkage, creep, leaching and early-age cracking.

His work focuses on modelling the behaviour of structures, such as bridges, nuclear power plants, and nuclear waste storage facilities. He chairs the fib Materials Commission and is a member of the Presidium of the fib. He was the director of the French national project FastCarb.

Ruben SNELLINGS

Ruben Snellings is an associate research professor at KU Leuven, Belgium. He earned a PhD in geology at KU Leuven on the pozzolanic reactivity of natural zeolites. After his PhD, he was a postdoctoral researcher at UGent (Belgium) and a Marie Curie Fellow at EPFL (Switzerland), specialising in X ray diffraction and electron microscopy of supplementary cementitious materials. He then worked eight years at VITO as senior researcher before returning to KU Leuven. In 2016 he received the RILEM Gustavo Colonnetti Medal.

He currently leads the Applied Mineralogy group at KU Leuven, focusing on sustainable and innovative construction materials using primary and secondary resources as well as mineral carbonation technologies.

Joana Vieira Duarte

At neustark, a Swiss start-up specializing in the permanent storage of CO₂ in mineral waste, Joana oversees the certification of our climate initiatives according to recognized standards.

From measuring our impact and reporting our data to having our results verified by an independent third party, she is an expert in carbon dioxide removal certificates. Holding a PhD in Geosciences, Joana joined neustark to leverage her scientific expertise to make a tangible impact on the climate.

Eric BERGE

Eric Bergé graduated from ESCP and École Centrale Paris. He worked for nearly thirty years in the materials and construction chemicals industry, in France, the United States, and Asia. He worked in particular within the Lafarge group, before holding senior management positions at Chryso and ParexGroup.

He is now involved in industrial decarbonization issues and contributes to The Shift Project as Heavy Industry Project Manager within the French Economy Transformation Plan. He is also the founder of Peachtree, a consulting and investment company focused on greentech and decarbonization.