Dusan Licina is a very promising young researcher who has already gained an outstanding international reputation. His research is centered on sustainable and healthy built environment, with emphasis on the following themes: air quality in buildings, ventilation systems, room air distribution, human exposure to airborne pollutants, the dynamics and fate of pollutants in buildings, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency. He completed a joint Doctorate degree at the National University of Singapore and the Technical University of Denmark. Before that, he completed his MSc and BSc degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Belgrade. Recently, he was a postdoc at the University of California Berkeley, and then moved to New York to work on the development of the first rating system that focuses exclusively on the impacts of buildings on human health and wellness.

Dolaana Khovalyg’s research focuses on the development of energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems for buildings, the advancement of personalized control of the indoor environment, and the improvement of occupant comfort. Dolaana Khovalyg graduated with the highest distinction from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI), undertook a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and was then a post-doctoral fellow at the Denmark Technical University (DTU) in Copenhagen.

Marc Vonlanthen studied physics and mathematics at the University of Fribourg. He then obtained his PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Geneva. After that, he joined a small firm in Bern called Meteotest. Meteotest is active in the fields of weather forecasting, climate, environment and informatics. Marc remained there for two years, leading wind energy and data analysis projects. Today, his research interests focus on energy transition and climate warming consequences and adaptation.

Dimitri Torregrossa obtained a PhD in electrical engineering in 2010 and a post-doc during 2012-2016 on the ageing of electrochemical storage devices at EPFL. Passionate about renewable energy and energy storage, in 2017 he joined the ENERGY Institute and focused his research activities on second-life battery storage. Over the past seven years, he has worked and collaborated with several industrial partners, such as Leclanché SA, Arts Energy, Nesscap, Maxwell, Romande Energie, and Services Industriels de Lausanne.

Anton Sentic is an early-stage researcher who has made his first post-PhD stop in Fribourg after studying at the University of Graz, Austria, where he focused on environmental management systems and repair and re-use in the context of waste management. He also attended the University of Greenwich in London, UK, where he undertook his PhD project, executing a transition studies analysis of combined heat and power technologies in the UK, focusing on internal structural and functional factors and external barriers influencing the development and dissemination of the technology. At the smart living lab, Anton’s research interests are twofold: a focus on the transition of energy systems towards more decentralized models and the development of innovative business models is complemented by his interest in the role of experimental innovation environments, such as a living lab, in broader transformative processes in socio-technical systems.

In 2009, Christian Ritzel secured his diploma in economics at the University of Kassel. Afterwards, he successfully completed a Master’s degree in Sustainable Economics and Management at the University of Kassel in 2013. He then conducted a doctoral thesis on “Agro-food trade with developing countries” at the Swiss Federal Research Institute Agroscope in Taenikon, in cooperation with the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. His intrinsic interest in the topic of sustainable development provided the motivation for his application to the iimt and the smart living lab project.