Lyesse Laloui

Lyesse Laloui, (born 1963) is a Swiss civil engineer and full Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL where he holds the Chair in Soil Mechanics, Geotechnical-Engineering and CO₂ Storage. He is the Director of the Soil Mechanics Laboratory (LMS) at EPFL^[1] and a globally recognized expert in geomechanics, geo-energy, and sustainability.^[2]

Prof. Laloui is a pioneer in sustainable geotechnical engineering. His work has advanced several fields, including:

• Energy geostructures: coupling structural foundations with renewable geothermal systems
• Bio-cementation: soil strengthening via bio-geochemical processes
• CO₂ sequestration: geological carbon storage
• Nuclear waste disposal: long-term behavior of geological barriers
• Shale mechanics: behavior of low-permeability materials

He has authored over 400 peer-reviewed journal publications,^[3] 13 books, and holds five patents.^[4] His h-index exceeds 70, with more than 20,000 citations.^[5] He is founder and Honorary Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment.^[6]

Laloui received a Master's in Civil Engineering from the Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics in Algiers (1987), an Advanced Master's in Soil and Structural Mechanics (1989), and a PhD with honors (summa cum laude) from Ecole Centrale Paris (1993), where he also served as a Research Fellow. He joined EPFL in 1994 and became a Full Professor in 2006.

At EPFL, he has held numerous leadership roles:

• Director of LMS (2008–present)
• Director of the Civil Engineering Section (2012–2022)
• Member of the ENAC School Board (2013–2022)
• Director of the Doctoral Program in Mechanics (2008–2012)
• President of the EPFL Assembly and ETH Board representative (1999–2001)

He has also served as Adjunct Professor at Duke University (2007–2024), Visiting Professor at Northwestern University (2022–2023), and held positions at Hohai University, University of Minnesota, Padova, and Montpellier.

Laloui has collaborated or supervised numerous researchers^[7] including:

• Prof. Alessandro Rotta Loria, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Northwestern University,
• Dr. Mathieu Nuth, Associate Professor at University of Sherbrooke,
• Dr. Bertrand François, Assistant Professor at Université Libre de Bruxelles,
• Dr. Alice Di Donna, Assistant Professor at University Grenoble-Alpes,
• Dr. Yafei Qiao, Associate Professor at Tongji University,
• Dr Roman Makhnenko, Assistant Professor University of Illinois,
• Dr. Anne-Catherine Dieudonné, Assistant Professor of Engineering Geology at Delft University of Technology
• Dr. Melis Sutman, Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer The University of Edinburgh.

In addition to his academic career, Laloui is a leading voice in international geotechnical policy and innovation. As ISSMGE Vice President for Europe,^[8] he has led initiatives focused on sustainability, youth engagement, and knowledge transfer. He chaired the Advisory Committee of the 2024 ECSMGE^[9] and is a member of the International Advisory Board for the upcoming 21st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE) to be held in Vienna in June 2026.^[10]

He has also contributed to numerous international expert groups including NAGRA (Swiss nuclear waste agency), the International Energy Agency, and the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research.

Laloui is a founder or co-founder of several startups:

• Enerdrape – geothermal panels for underground infrastructure
• Geoeg – energy geostructures for buildings
• Medusoil – bio-based soil stabilization
• Nesol – clean energy solutions

His companies have won awards including the Swiss Top 100 Startups,^[11] Venture Kick,^[12] and AMAG Sustainability Challenge.^[13]

He also developed the commercial design software Thermo-Pile, used globally in energy pile design.

• Kimberly-Clark Distinguished Lectureship Award, InterPore 2026^[14]
• John Mitchell Lecturer, Deep Foundations Institute, European Federation of Foundation Contractors, 2025^[15]
• Kimberly-Clark Distinguished Lectureship Award, Interpore, 2026^[16]
• 31st Prague Geotechnical Lecture, 2025^[17]
• Doctorat Honouris Causa in Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 2022^[18]
• Doctorat Honouris Causa in Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, 2022^[19]
• ERC Proof of Concept Grant (PoC), Construction & Environmental Biocementation in Real World Applications (CEBREWA ), 2020^[20]
• ERC Advanced Grant, Biogeos, 2018^[21]
• 30th Roberval Award in for the book "Mécanique des sols et Roches"^[22]
• RM Quigley Award from the Canadian Geotechnical Society, 2016^[23]
• "Excellent Contributions Award" of the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, 2008^[24]

• Széchy Lecture, 2024 (The highest award of the Hungarian Geotechnical Society)^[25]
• Eshbach Lecture, 2022.^[26]
• Vienna Terzaghi Lecture, 2021^[27]
• Kersten Lecture at the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), Geo-congress, 2020^[28]
• 12th G.A. Leonards Lecture from the University of Purdue, 2014^[29]
• Vardoulakis Lecture from the University of Minnesota, 2012

• L., Laloui; Rotta Loria, A. (2020). Analysis And Design of Energy Geostructures: 1st Edition: Theoretical Essentials And Practical Application. Academic Press. ISBN 9780128206232.
• L., Laloui; Ferrari, A. (2018). Energy Geotechnics. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-99670-7. ISBN 978-3-319-99669-1.
• L., Laloui; Ferrari, A. (2017). Advances in Laboratory Testing And Modelling of Soils And Shales (ATMSS). Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-52773-4. ISBN 978-3-319-52772-7.
• L., Laloui; Di Donna, A.; Kong, G. (2016). 能源地下结构 Energy Geostructures. China Architecture and Building Press. ISBN 978-7-112-19661-6. OCLC 1051641463.
• Vulliet, L.; Laloui, L.; Zhao, J. (2016). Mécanique des sols et des roches. Presses Polytechniques Universitaires Romandes. ISBN 978-2-88074-961-3.

• Laloui, L.; Di Donna, A. (2015). Géostructures Énergétiques. Hermes science Publications. ISBN 978-2-7462-4577-8.

• Laloui, L.; Di Donna, A. (2014). Energy Geostructures: Innovation in Underground Engineering. Wiley-ISTE. ISBN 9781848215726.
• Laloui, L. (2014). Bio- And Chemo- Mechanical Processes in Geotechnical Engineering. Vol. 63. ICE Publishing. doi:10.1680/geot.2012.63.3.189. ISBN 9780727760531. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)

• Bio-cementation: Transforming Scientific Discoveries into Market Solutions. ENAC Research Day, EPFL
• Bio-cementation: Transforming Scientific Discoveries into Market Solutions. 5th International Conference of Environmental Geotechnology, Recycled Waste Materials and Sustainable Engineering (@ 56 minutes 30 seconds), Warsaw
• In-situ evaluation of the performance of a themoactive underground station, 5th Madrid Subterra, Madrid.
• Sustainable (geo)-energies: From waste storage to renewable energy production, Doctorate Honoris Causa, Cluj-Napoca University, Romania
• Energy Geotechnology: A New Era for Geotechnical Engineering, Kirsten lecture, Minneapolis

• Lyesse Laloui's homepage at the EPFL
• Lyesse Laloui's publications indexed by Google Scholar
• Lyesse Laloui - Scopus index