A panel of women alumnae celebrate 90 years of hydraulics research

Six women EPFL alumnae will take to the podium on 8 March to discuss the main challenges in hydraulic engineering, as part of an event commemorating 90 years of hydraulics research in Lausanne. We spoke with event organizer Anton Schleiss, a civil engineering professor at EPFL. Hydraulics research in French-speaking Switzerland is turning 90 this year. It plays a strategic role in the country's renewable-energy industry and has changed considerably since Alfred Stucky built the first hydraulics lab in 1928 at what was then the Lausanne School of Engineering - and now EPFL. To mark this anniversary, EPFL's Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory (LHE) and Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) will be holding a special event at the school's SwissTech Convention Center on 8 March. And since that is also International Women's Day, they asked six female Doctoral-School alumnae to be the guest speakers, discussing the state of hydraulics research in Switzerland and internationally. The event will also include videos by other key figures from both business and academia.  LCH director Anton Schleiss is the event organizer. He has headed the lab for 21 years, and was the one who wanted to put the spotlight on women researchers. Schleiss is also the president of the International Commission on Large Dams and advocates academic research that is both practical and competitive on an international level. We spoke with him about this event and his view of the hydraulics industry. Why did you choose female alumnae as the guests of honor for the commemoration?