Prof. Dr. Michael Pfister

Haute école d’ingénierie et d’architecture (HEIA-FR, HES-SO), Switzerland

My Profile

About

Michael Pfister graduated in Civil Engineering from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in 2002. He then joined the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) as a research- and senior-assistant, and obtained a Doctorate in Sciences in 2007. In 2010 he joined the Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) of EPFL, as a Research and Teaching Associate, continuing his research activity mainly focusing on spillway hydraulics and high-speed two-phase air-water flows. The School of Engineering & Architecture Fribourg (HES-SO) appointed him in 2016 as Professor for Hydraulic Engineering. He was responsible for research on high-speed two-phase flows, Piano Key weirs, urban drainage structures, and for wave dynamics.

Career Type:

Practitioner/Engineers

Organization Type:

Companies and Enterprises

Expertise Fields/Interests:

Major Achievements:

Technical Committees

Committee Name
Committee on Hydraulic Structures
Committee on Experimental Methods and Instrumentation
Committee on Fluid Mechanics

IAHR Position

Committee Name	Position	Start Date	End Date
Committee on Hydraulic Structures	Member	2015-10-06	2017-08-22
Committee on Hydraulic Structures	Member	2012-01-01	2015-10-06

My Papers and Presentations

Title	Year
Modelling of the thermodynamic regime downstream of Rossens Dam during two floods	2024
Blocking Probability of Individual Logs at Racks in Rivers	2023
Optimal Hydraulic Design of Supercritical Bend Manholes	2023
Effect of Blocked Driftwood on the Hydraulic Performance of a Gated Standard Weir	2022
Bottom Pressure Characteristics in a Stilling Basin Downstream of a Stepped Spillway for Two Chute Slopes	2020
Effect of building overtopping on induced loads during extreme hydrodynamic events	2020
Hydraulics of Swirling Flows Along Vortex Drop Shafts	2020
Experimental and Numerical Study on Wave-Impact on Buildings	2019
Hydraulics of a Physical Model of Supercritical Vortex Drop Shaft	2019
Supercritical flow in junction manholes under invert- and obvert-aligned set-ups	2019
Which Phase-Detection Intrusive Probe to Use in High-Velocity Air-Water Flows?	2019
Influence of Density of Large Stems on the Blocking Probability at Spillways	2018
Spillway Blockage Caused by Large Wood in Reservoirs	2018
Effect of an abrupt slope change on air entrainment and flow depths at stepped spillways	2017
Time-based failure analysis of compressed riverbank riprap	2017
Effect of deflector aerator on stepped spillway flow	2016
Example of Wave Impact on a Residential House	2016
Experimental study of large scale plunging jets	2016
Piano Key Weir for Enlargement of the West Fork of Eno River Reservoir	2016
Shock Wave Patterns in Supercritical Junction Manholes with Inlet Bottom Offsets	2016
Waves Generated by Ship Convoy: Comparison of Physical and Numerical Modeling with in-Situ Measurements	2016
Head Losses in Sewer Junction	2015
Labyrinth Weirs: Developments Until 1985	2015
Scale Effects in Modelling Two-Phase Air-Water Flows	2013
Stepped Spillways: Technical Advance from 1900	2013
Time Dependent Failure Analysis of Compressed Riprap as Riverbank Protection	2013
Air Concentration Characteristics of Drop-and Deflector-Generated Jets	2009
Effect of Control Section on Stepped Spillway Flow	2009
Historical Advance of Chute Aerators	2009
Air Transport Downstream of Chute Aerators	2007
Step Aerator and Spray Reduction for Stepped Chutes	2007

My Videos

Title	Year

IAHR Awards

IAHR Awards	Date
Willi H. Hager JHR Best Reviewer Award	2018