Session Chairmen and Co-Chairmen: Brief Career Profiles

Session 1 – Approaches to Project Finance (Panel Discussion)

Jean-Michel Devernay completed a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Drexel
University, USA, in 1977. He joined Electricité de France (EDF) in 1979, and was managing major
hydropower rehabilitation projects for more than 10 years, before taking charge of business
development for Asia and the Far East. He has written several papers on power development policies
and hydropower project financing. Mr Devernay was appointed Director, Business Development, of
EDF’s Hydro Engineering Centre in 1994, and Deputy Managing Director in 2002. He has been an
IHA Board Member since 1997 and a Vice-President since 1999.

Session 2 – Hydraulic Machinery - l

Prof. Dr. Hermod Brekke, Emeritus, studied at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. From 1959 to 1987, he was employed at Kvaerner Energy, Norway,
where he was Manager of R&D for 15 years. He was conferred the status of Doctor Technicae in June
1984 at NTNU and appointed Professor of Hydraulic Turbo-machinery at NTNU in 1987. He was
appointed a Member of the Norwegian Academy of Technical Science in 1977, and served as
Hydraulic Machinery Section Chairman for IAHR from 1989 to 1994. He was Chief Delegate for IEC
TC4 for Norway from 1986 to 2005 and won the IEC Award in 2006. Before becoming an Honorary
Member in 2002, he served as IHA Vice President. He has had 155 international papers and articles
published, as well as three compendia at the University. He is a Senior Hydropower Expert working
as a consultant in Europe Africa, America, Asia and Australia.

Session 3 – Hydro Activities in Europe

Øivind Johansen is Assistant Director General at the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy,
in the Climate, Industry and Technology Department. He graduated from the University of Oslo in
1992 with a degree of Master of Law. His previous and current field of work in the Ministry
comprises energy law, including power market regulations, hydropower licensing, watercourse
management and work related to the energy industry and international energy issues. Mr. Johansen
was a member of the Steering Committee of the Dams and Development Project Phase 2 and is an
Observer to IHA representing the Ministry.

Session 4 – Climate Change and Hydrology

Prof Luis Berga is Honorary President of the International Commission on Large Dams, and also of
the Spanish National Committee on Large Dams (SPANCOLD). He is a Full Professor of hydraulic
engineering at the Polytechnic University of Barcelona (UPC). Prof Berga is author or Editor of 28
books or chapters, 75 papers published in Spanish and in international journals, and he has presented
148 papers or reports at Congresses and Symposia. He was awarded the Medal of Honour by the
National Civil Engineering College, Spain.

Session 5 – Financial and Commercial Aspects

Judith Plummer is currently on leave from the World Bank, studying for a PhD at the University of
Cambridge, UK. At the Bank she is a Senior Financial Analyst, and has been responsible for the
Bank's hydropower engagement in India. She was involved in the Bank team working on Nathpa
Jhakri hydropower in India and various other hydro assignments. Before joining the Bank she worked
as a management consultant, specializing in the institutional improvement of utility companies,
particularly in the power and water sectors. During this time she worked on the Lesotho Highlands
Water Project.
Session 6 – Hydraulic Machinery – ll (Low head machinery and operating issues)
John Gummer is Principal of the company Hydro-Consult Pty. Ltd, Australia. He was educated at
London and Bristol Universities, UK. He has more than 40 years of experience working
internationally on major hydroelectric and pumped-storage projects. Previously he was Chief
Mechanical Engineer of the 14 800 MW Itaipu project, on the border of Brazil and Paraguay,
currently the largest operating hydro station in the world. He has acted as a Consultant to the World
Bank and other international agencies, and he is author of more than 40 papers. He is a member of the
Editorial Board of Hydropower & Dams, and an active member of the Steering Committee for the
annual Aqua~Media Hydro Conferences.

Session 7 – Hydro Development in Asia

Chhewang Rinzin graduated from the University of Wisconsin, USA, in 1985 with an Electrical
Engineering degree. He received his Masters in Electrical Engineering from the same University in
2002. He joined the Civil Service of the Royal Government of Bhutan in 1986. Since then, he has
been actively involved in the planning and construction of a number of micro and mini hydropower
plants in addition to be associated with other renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and
biogas. From 1994, he headed the investigations, planning, construction, commissioning and
operation and maintenance of the 60 MW Kurichhu hydro project, which today feeds power to more
than 50 per cent of Bhutan. In 2004, he took over the Bhutan Power Corporation, as Chief Executive
Officer. On the creation of the Druk Green Power Corporation in 2008, he took over as its first Chief
Executive Officer, and he holds this post today. Druk Green Power Corporation is responsible for
managing all hydropower plants fully owned by the Royal Government.

C.V.J. Varma has more than 30 years of experience in the field of hydropower development in India.
Between 1958 and 1968, he worked as an Assistant Engineer for the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board
and was involved in the construction of the Tungabhadra dam and hydroelectric plant. Subsequently he was
involved in the design of hydro projects for the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Board, such as Lower Sileru,
Srisailam and others. In 1997, he became First Governor of the World Water Council’s Board of Governors.
From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Varma served as President of ICOLD (the first Indian, and Asian, to have held this
post). From 2004 to 2006, he was President of the Association of the Electricity Supply Industry of East
Asia and the Western Pacific (AESIEAP), and he was also the first Indian to have been elected to this post.
He hosted the CEPSI 2006 in Mumbai, attended by more than 1000 delegates from 23 countries. He is
currently President of Council of Power Utilities, New Delhi.

Session 8 – Managing Reservoir Emissions (Workshop)

Niels M. Nielsen has worked in the field of renewable energy throughout his 40 year career, mainly in
hydropower, but more recently including the marine energy sector. Niels recently retired from BC
Hydro in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where he managed the Energy Futures and Green Energy
Programmes for Engineering. This included managing JV’s with wind energy and wave energy
developers and assessing the extensive tidal energy resources of Vancouver Island. Since ‘retiring’,
Niels has been working as Joint Secretary of the IEA Hydropower Implementing Agreement with his
wife, Lori. He also provides consultant services in Asset Management and Risk Management, and is
Project Consultant for Lunar Energy. In this latter role, he is responsible for the assessment of tidal
energy sites and resources, and aligning with development companies interested in deployment of
tidal energy. Niels holds engineering degrees from the University of St Andrews, Scotland; Imperial
College and London University, UK; and, the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Session 9 – Beyond the Horizon (Panel discussion)

How can Governments ensure that they are getting best value for their hydro resources

Chris Head is an independent consultant specializing in the contractual, commercial and regulatory
aspects of hydropower. He has advised governments, developers, investors and lenders on projects in
many countries. He is the author of Financing of Private Hydropower Projects (published in 2000)
and of a number of other publications on the contractual and commercial aspects of private
hydropower development. He recently prepared a report for the World Bank on the financing of dams
and hydropower projects, covering such aspects as alternative financing models and the risk-sharing
arrangements between the public and private sectors. He was previously a Director of an international
firm of Consulting Engineers, and he has more than 30 years experience of the planning and
development of water resources and power projects.

Session 10 – Civil Engineering

Dr Yannis Thanopoulos graduated in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of
Athens, Greece. He specialized during post-graduate studies in Hydraulics and Geotechnical in
Grenoble, France, and was awarded his PhD in soil mechanics. He works with the Public Power
Corporation of Greece in the Hydro Development Department, and has 22 years of experience of the
construction of hydroelectric schemes construction in Greece.

Session 11 – Hydro in Synergy with Other Renewables

José Carlos T. Freitas graduated in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the
University of Porto in 1973. His career at EDP began at the Castelo do Bode and Caniçada
Powerplants. After being transferred to the Head Office of the Hydro Division in Porto, in 1983, he
started work on protection systems and automation of power stations. Between 1994 and 2001 he was
the Chief of the Maintenance and Technology Department of CPPE, and from then until now he has
been Deputy-Director of the Hydro Division.

Session 12 – Inga, the Potential Powerhouse of Africa

Michel De Vivo graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Ingenieur
de Saint-Etienne, France. He did post-graduate training at the French Institute of Management and the
Bank of France. Before joining EDF in 1984, he gained engineering experience in diverse areas of
industry, from improving production processes for precision camera lenses, to setting up a statistical
quality control system for the automobile industry, and then developing a continuous steel casting
process for a major steel company. With EDF, his assignments included the role of Maintenance
Director for the dams and 53 powerplants in the southeast of France, and later, working in various
parts of Africa and the Middle East. This part of his career included an 18 month posting to war-
ravaged Lebanon where, in 1994/95, he was responsible for the renovation of severely war-damaged
facilities (eight powerplants, five dams, and their associated infrastructure). Since 2005, he has been
Secretary-General of the International Commission on Large Dams.

Session 13 – Environment
Dr. Cecilia Tortajada is President of the International Water Resources Association; Scientific
Director of the International Centre on Water and Environment, Zaragoza, Spain; Visiting Professor
of the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy, Singapore; and Vice President of the Third World
Centre for Water Management.
She has been an advisor to major international institutions such as FAO, UNDP, CDG, InWEnt, and
has worked in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, North and South America and Europe on various aspects
of water resources and environmental management and governance-related issues. She is currently
working on the formulation of national and international policies for water governance; management
of future global environmental and water-related issues; development of innovative approaches for
poverty alleviation through regional development; and capacity building in the water sector. She is
the Editor of the International Journal of Water Resources Development, and a member of the
Editorial Board of the Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research.

Maria Antonieta Gomez Balandra a biologist, graduated from the National University of Mexico, and
has a Master’s in Environmental Resources, UK; she is also a Fellow of the LEAD International
program. She has been working at the Water Technology Mexican Institute since 1995. She also
worked for 12 years at the Federal Commission on Electricity. She has 20 years of experience on
Environmental Impact Assessment of dams (hydro and water supply), environmental risk assessment,
water quality and hydrobiology studies. She is a lecturer at the National University of Mexico
(Environmental Engineering Master Program), and invited professor of three States and Bolivia. She
is affiliated to professional associations in Mexico, as well as two international ones (IAIA and IWA).

Session 14 – Dam Safety

Michel Poupart is an Independent Consultant on dam safety management. His experience includes a
40-year career at Electricité de France, where he carried out a wide range of activities. He was Project
Manager for several major dams, the most important of which is the Grand Maison rockfill dam, the
highest dam in France at 160 m. For nine years he was Head of the Surveillance and Monitoring
Department, responsible for about 200 dams. In recent years, he was in charge, at corporate level, of
all aspects of dam safety activities, including structural, flood routing and public safety around
waterways, and he wrote the corporate safety policy. He has also worked on several Technical
Committees of ICOLD, and at present is a member of ICOLD’s Committee on Dam safety since 7
years.

Session 15 – Pumped-Storage Projects

Bruno Trouille graduated with an MS in Engineering from the Institut Catholique des Arts et Métiers,
Lille, France. He also has an MS in Industrial Relations from Loyola University, Chicago, USA. He is
a Vice President at MWH, working in the International Projects group. He serves as Senior Project
Manager or Lead Economic and Financial Analyst on power projects, power system expansion
studies, regional market analyses, and project financing. He is a Member of the Chicago Climate
Exchange (CCX) Hydropower Advisory Sub-Committee and the International Hydropower
Association (IHA) Economics and Finance Committee.

Session 16 – Potential and Development in Africa

Mihiret Debebe is CEO of the Ethiopian Power Authority EEPCo. He obtained his BSc in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Addis Ababa, and an MSc in Utility Management from the
University of Strathclyde, UK. He also undertook a number of post-graduate courses in Finland,
Canada, USA, Italy and Austria, on subjects such as sub-station design and construction,
infrastructure, economics and finance. He began his career as Operations Engineer in Generation
Substations and the Interconnected Network, and then worked on hydro projects as Commissioning
Engineer, and subsequently as Project Manager. He has lectured for several years at the Technology
Faculty of Addis Ababa University. He was a Founding Member, and is an Executive Committee
Member of the Ethiopian Electrical and Electronic Engineers Society.

Michel de Vivo (see CV above – Session 12)

Session 17 – Safety of High Hazard Structures

After Fukushima and the BP Gulf Oil Spill, What about Dams? (Panel Discusion)
Dr Harald Kreuzer obtained his academic education at the University of Graz, Austria. He began his
career with Motor Columbus Consulting Engineers, Switzerland, where he headed the Geotechnical
and Dam Engineering Division. Moving to Canada, he served with Crippen Consultants as Chief
Engineer. Between 1983 and 1986 he was the Resident Expert during the construction of the 226 m-
high Francisco Morazán arch dam in Honduras. Since 1991 he has been serving as an independent
consultant on review panels and arbitration boards for hydro projects, focusing on concrete dams,
rock mechanics and dam safety issues. He is Chairman of a Swiss Committee on Risk Analysis, and
was General Reporter for Q76 ‘Risk Analysis’ at the 20th ICOLD Congress in Beijing, China, in 2000.

Session 18 – Pumped-Storage: Technical and Operational Issues

Bruno Trouille (see CV above – Session 15)

Session 19 – Social Aspects

Lori Nielsen is a graduate of The University of Adelaide, The University of South Australia, and
Charles Sturt University. She is currently joint Secretary of the Executive Committee of the IEA
Hydropower Implementing Agreement, with particular responsibility for maintaining the website. Her
interest in hydropower began after moving to British Columbia, Canada, where she conducted
literature research for the EPRI Modernization Guidelines. She went on to carry out technical
research, writing and editing to support research studies and technology reviews for EPRI, CEA
Technologies and Powertech Labs. She researched and wrote a chapter on new technologies for BC
Hydro’s Micro Hydro Handbook; and established databases of stakeholder reports for use in
developing eleven of BC Hydro’s water use plans.

Session 20 – Planning and Operation of Pumped Storage (Panel Discussion)

Gaudenz Koeppel holds a Master in Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology (ETH) Zurich and a PhD in Power Systems from the same institution. During his PhD he
worked with reliability aspects in the context on non-deterministic energy sources (for example, wind,
solar) and optimal combinations with energy storage. After a stay as visiting scientist at the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim he joined Atel Trading in
2007. At Atel Trading he focused on optimisation of hydropower plants and in particular on ancillary
service provision with hydro power plants. Today at Alpiq (founded by the two Swiss power
companies EOS and Atel in 2009) he is responsible for the ancillary service market in Switzerland
and involved in energy economic aspects of new hydro power projects.

Co-Chair: Bruno Trouille (see CV above – Session 15)

Session 21 – Capacity Building: Challenges and Solutions for Africa

Adama Nombre graduated in electrical and civil engineering from the University of Besançon,
France, and the International Institute for Water Resources and Environment Engineering of
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He has worked for 20 years as a Hydraulic Engineer in the Government
Water Resources and Dams Departments. During these years he has been involved in the planning
and implementation of major water resources projects including large and small dams for
hydropower, irrigation and water supply. Since 2001, he has been Manager of a consulting
engineering company specializing in hydraulics and dams, called IFEC. Adama Nombre is Chairman
of Burkina Faso Committee on Dams and Past Vice President of ICOLD for the Africa Australasia
zone of ICOLD.

Session 22 – Taking Care of our Cultural Heritage (Panel Discussion)

Karin Seelos is working as Senior Sustainability Advisor for the Generating Division of Statkraft,
Norway. Besides a German education in business administration, she is a psychology graduate and
holds a Master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Montreal, Canada, with a
specialisation in environmental management. She has worked in various domains related to
environmental management, corporate social responsibility, impact assessment of hydropower
projects, strategic assessment, participatory project planning, sustainability, environment, water
and energy policy, communications, public, governmental and institutional affairs. She has
participated in many international initiatives such as the UNEP Dams and Development Project,
the International Energy Agency’s Agreement on Hydropower, the e7’s working group on social
trust, the World Energy Council’s Handbook on renewable energies and the IHA Sustainability
Guidelines, to name just a few.
For several years, Karin Seelos has coordinated the Environment and Public Affairs Committees of
the International Hydropower Association and is currently coordinating the Industry Reference Group
for the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum. She acts also as the Norwegian representative
in Eurelectic’s Working Group on Environmental Protection.

Session 23 – Tunnels, Penstocks and Gateworks

Biswajit Das graduated in Civil Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta and took post-
graduated studies in Water Resources Development at IIT Roorkee, India, with specialization in
Hydro Power Development and Underground structures. He then had special training from Colorado
Schools of Mines, USA on mechanized shaft and tunnel construction. During his 45 years of varied
and extensive experience in India and abroad, he has identified, formulated, designed and constructed
many hydroelectric projects of small, medium and large capacities, totalling several thousand MW.
He retired in 2001 as Member (Hydro), in the position of a fulltime Board of Director, West Bengal
State Electricity Board, India where he had initiated and implemented many hydroelectric projects
including 900MW Purulia pumped-storage project. He prepared the feasibility reports for the 1020
MW Tala hydro Project in Bhutan (recently completed), the 1000 MW of Wangchu project and the
1200 MW of Torsha project also in Bhutan and about 5000 MW of pumped storage projects in West
Bengal. He is currently the Executive Director of Soma Enterprise Ltd, India, and is involved in
execution and construction planning of major hydropower projects and underground structures
including the Subansiri Lower scheme, which will have an installed capacity of 2000 MW.

Session 24 – Powerplant Safety

Bryan Leyland MSc, FIEE, FIMechE, FIPENZ, is an electrical and mechanical engineer specializing
in power generation and power systems. Bryan’s career started in 1956 as a cadet engineer for the
Auckland Electric Power Board. In 1961 he sailed to Tahiti on a yacht and then on to USA on a
sailing ship. After nine years varied experience he returned to NZ in 1970 to work for Lloyd
Mandeno, one of NZ's great engineers. In 1974 he set up his own consulting firm. The firm merged
with Sinclair Knight Merz in 1998. He retired from Sinclair Knight Merz in 2002 and now acts as a
power industry consultant.
Bryan has extensive experience in hydropower generation and rural electrification. He has worked in
the UK, Middle East, Africa, SE Asia and the Pacific. He was involved in structuring the electricity
industry in Bhutan to maximize its return from exporting large amounts of hydropower to India.
He has been a member of a Panel of Experts assembled to solve serious surging problems at a
hydropower station in Iran. He is also widely experienced in automatic gates for hydropower and
irrigation schemes. He was the IPENZ ‘Communicator of the Year’ in 2001.

Session 25 – Hydro Activities in Latin America

José Rodrigo Rojas Morales is a Biologist; he obtained a PhD in 1998 from Austral University, Chile.
He then moved back to Costa Rica where he began a career in river ecology projects, first as a
consultant and later as teacher and researcher at the Environmental Department of ICE. At ICE he is a
member of a team in charge of studies for the construction and operation of hydro dams, as well as
climate change and renewable energies. During his career he has published about 40 papers in
journals in Chile, Costa Rica, USA, UK and Spain. He has won several international awards from
Austria (LAC-ACCESS), Germany (DAAD, InWent) and USA (Audubon Society and Yale
University).

Session 26 – International Small Hydro Development

Ms Xiaobo Hu is Chief of Division of Multilateral Development at the International Centre for Small
Hydro Power in China, where she has been working for more than 10 years. She joined ICSHP as an
Assistant Programme Officer in the Multilateral Development Division in 2001. Her works include
establishing and expanding contacts with multilateral organizations, coordinating specific project
matters and cooperation in the field of SHP with multilateral organizations. She has a sound technical
and engineering knowledge and understanding of small hydropower systems, as well as practical
experience in SHP project applications. Her professional responsibilities include: the implementation
and management for technical cooperation; training and information exchange; fundraising; and,
capacity building. She successfully completed the first registered hydropower CDM project in China
in December 2005, and has done much research on carbon financing for small hydropower.

Session 27 - Spillways
F. Lempériere has been involved in the design and the construction of 20 large hydraulic structures
either in rivers (Rhine, Rhone, Nile, Zambezi) or offshore. He has studied large tidal plants in four
countries. He is Chairman of the ICOLD Committee on Cost Savings and of HydroCoop, a non profit
international Association.

Session 28 – Operation & Maintenance

Jean Teyssieux graduated as an Engineer from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in France
in 1982. He has acquired professional experience, over nearly 30 years, in the management of all
stages of dam and hydroelectric projects, from feasibility to detailed design and tender documents,
and has been responsible for assistance to developers and supervision of works. He has worked as
Project Manager or Chief Engineer on many major hydraulic works in many countries of Africa, Asia,
Latin America, Australasia and Europe. He joined Coyne et Bellier (now Tractebel Engineering) in
1984 as a Design Engineer, and today at Tractebel Engineering he is Executive Vice President of
Hydraulic Works and the Private Sector. He also serves as a Research Engineer with EFD. He is a
member of the French Committee on large Dams.

Francisco Jorge Coellho da Rocha e Silva graduated in Electrotechnical and Mechanical Engineering
from the Instituto Industrial do Porto/Portugal in1970, and his further qualifications comprised a
management degree from AESE/Navarra/Harvard School (Portugal) and a Strategy Management
course from UNIPEDE (Germany). He has served as a Member of the Board of Directors of
Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (as Portugal’s representative) and Project Manager for the Reabsul
refurbishment scheme at Cahora Bassa. In the past he has been a manager of large hydro plants with a
total capacity of 3900 MW, and has been responsible for the maintenance, refurbishment and
automation of Portuguese plants including the Telecontrol Centre. He has headed cooperation
missions to many utilities in Europe, America and Africa.

Session 29 – Sedimentation Management

Mr Sultan Alam retired as Chief Hydraulic Engineer from Sogréah, Grenoble, France, in 1993. He
now works as a Consultant to various engineering companies in North and South America, Asia and
Europe. He has served on expert panels for The World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a
number of state agencies. His experience includes hydropower, river engineering, reservoir
sedimentation and coastal protection projects, in many countries around the world. He was recently
involved in advising the Brazilian Government on various aspects of the major Rio Madeira scheme.
He is acknowledged as a leading world expert on sedimentation management, and has advised on a
number of important projects around the world.

Session 30 – Small Hydro in Europe

Marko Gospodjinacki, B.Sc., is President of ESHA – the European Small Hydropower Association.
He was the President of the Slovenian Small Hydropower Association for 14 years, while acting as
the expert in the Small Hydropower field, ranging from being an engineer, designer, investor,
equipment producer, small hydropower operator and green power trader. He is the co-author of
several studies on small hydro and has contributed to writing the foundations of the Slovenian Energy
and Water legislation. Since 1999 he is a member of the Governing Board of the Slovenian Chamber
of Energy.

Prof. Bernhard Pelikan is a Professor at the Institute of Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic
Engineering at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria. He
was President of ESHA since June 2004 until 2010. He has worked as Project Manager for feasibility
studies on special projects and master plans relating to various Austrian rivers (including Thaya,
Erlauf, Leitha, Ybbs, Piesting, Kamp, Gurk, and Alm). He also works as an expert on small hydro
projects (on behalf of organizations such as the Austrian Energy Agency and Austrian Federal
Ministry of Economic Affairs), concerning technical and economic aspects, as well as ecological
impacts (for example, residual flow, fish bypass systems). Prof Pelikan’s other activities include being
a: Judgement expert for Hydropower exploitation and Flood protection; a senior expert of the Austrian
Association Promoting Small Hydropower; and, a teacher at Technikum Kärnten and at TGM Vienna.

Session 31 – Communications
Geraldine Schroeder has an MA in History and Musicology from the Universities of London, Giessen
and Berlin (Technical University). Her professional experience includes roles as: a TV Editor, for
ARD and SAT.1, Germany; Senior Consultant on Public Relations at Art d’Eco Berlin; Spokesperson
for Vattenfall Europe Transmission, Berlin, and for Vattenfall Europe; Head of PR/External
Communications for Vattenfall Europe, Berlin; Head of Marketing and Business Development for
WilmerHale, Berlin; and until recently Head of Corporate Communications at Voith Hydro Ltd,
Heidenheim, Germany. Since September this year, she has been Head of Corporate Communications
at Storengy Germany (a GdF Suez company) in Berlin, Germany.

Session 32 – Powerplant Upgrading and Refurbishment

Francis Griffin has a mechanical engineering education, with a fluid dynamics bias, and has been
working in a hydropower consulting business based in the UK for nearly 30 years. He gained
experience working on the design of new schemes in Africa and South Asia, including a number of
years based on overseas construction sites. In addition to new schemes, subsequent experience has
included the refurbishment of existing plants, most notably the Hirakud project in Orissa, India and
the Cruachan pumped-storage scheme in Scotland. He is currently Technical Director for Mott
MacDonald’s hydropower business based in Brighton, UK.

Session 33 – Electrical Engineering

Prof Jean-Jacques Simond graduated in electrical engineering in 1967, and obtained his doctoral
degree in 1976 from EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. Until 1990 he was
working for BBC / ABB, first as R&D Engineer, and later as Head of the Technical Department for
hydro and diesel generators. He has been Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Electrical
Machines of the EPFL since 1990. He is also consultant for international electrical machines
manufacturers and utilities.