Jacques Chirazi

Certified Biomimicry Professional
Founder and Managing Partner

Jacques Edouard Chirazi, Certified Biomimicry Professional has managed the California City of San Diego’s Clean Technology Program since 2007. His focus is to create economic growth while fostering sustainability. One emerging initiative is to bridge cleantech with biomimicry. He develops and supports a clean technology cluster in San Diego. As a critical thinker, analyzing complex programs and policies, he leverages his strong communication skills while collaborating across a diverse range of private, public and non-profit sector groups. With a passion for learning about the natural world and understanding how nature could transform the corporate environment, his long term vision is to create new business models and financial instruments to accelerate the commercialization of biomimetic solutions.  Jacques served six years as Senior Project Manager at Bainbridge Inc., a strategic management consulting firm, which provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies. He currently teaches sustainability courses and clean technology to business students at the University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University. He holds a Masters of Arts from UCSD Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies in International Environmental Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from San Diego State University. Jacques is also a certified Energy Manager (C.E.M.), Renewable Energy Professional (R.E.P.) and LEED-GA.

Jamie Brown

Certified Biomimicry Specialist
Managing Partner
Sustainable Development and Community Credit Architect

Jamie is a sustainable development, community credit and biomimicry specialist in Basel, Switzerland.  She specialises in regenerative financial architecture, or the application of biomimicry to financial system design.  Biological design can inform financial architecture at all levels from community credit to global finance policy.  Jamie unfolds a story of how nature would design a financial system, and is working with the Biomimicry Global Network to put these lessons into practice (link).  She manages the secretariat of its Bio-credits Working Group and administers the biomimicry movement's first prototype bioinspired credit facility, the Biomimicry Exchange Network (BXN). Jamie received the US Presidential Scholar’s medallion from Bill Clinton in 1999.  She holds an MSc with Distinction in Development Management from the London School of Economics, where she submitted a controversial dissertation on "The Root of All Money".  Jamie was Founder and Head of Secretariat for the UNEP Sustainable Energy Finance Alliance, the first convening body in the international system for public finance agencies in the clean energy sector, with a fee-for-service business model.  She developed this from BASE, a non-profit UNEP Collaborating Centre in Basel.  She authored major policy publications for UNEP, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the German federal government (GIZ) on public finance for sustainable energy with emphasis on developing countries. Jamie's earliest work experiences were with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Nicaragua on environmental impact mitigation after Hurricane Mitch, and in Colombia on local governance and democracy building; and in economic development for the New Orleans Mayor's Office under Ray Nagin.  She has over ten years' experience living in developing countries - primarily Kenya, Honduras and Guatemala.  Immediately prior to arriving in Switzerland, she worked in private equity investment for PFI health infrastructure in the UK.  Her website is www.consciousevolution.ch

Patrick Baumann

Certified Biomimicry Specialist
Biomimicry Associate
Entrepreneur and Engineer

Patrick is the founder and owner of the mechanical engineering company Baumann Maschinenbau and is a Certified Biomimicry Specialist.  Very important for him is to take care about our resources, take responsibility for how we produce goods and make products more efficient. One of his goals is to bring the mechanisms, processes and systems that we find in nature into the design and manufacturing process of everyday products to make them more sustainable.  As a mechanical engineer with a masters degree from the ETH Zürich in Switzerland, Patrick has 20 years of experience in industrial designing and project management in textile technology, transportation vehicle and train carriage design, industrial computer tomography and automation of manufacturing processes.  As a drummer, he received a degree from the Los Angeles Music Academy.

Darja Dubravcic, PhD

Managing Partner and Chief Biologist
Bioinspired Projects Coordinator - EPFL Liaison

Darja is a passionate biologists whose ambition is to create connections between biology, technology, economy and social sciences.  Since 2015, she is coordinating all the biomimetic and bioinspired projects at the EPFL, bioinspired.epfl.ch. This includes creating educational projects and courses for students, valorizing and developing research projects and initiating research-industry connections in the field of bioinspired innovations. Her research focuses on social behaviors in microorganisms, within which she studies the problems of competition within a social group and conflict of individual over group interests. Second axe of her research looks at how nature adapts to ever-changing and unpredictable environments. The similarities between nature and business faced problems have been recognized by a multinational investment banking firm AXA, who financed her research (AXA Research Fund). Darja is passionate about the science of creativity which she puts in practice whatever she works on. She is a certified Bio-TRIZ practitioner, mixing together techniques of creativity and a biomimicry approach.  Combining biology, physics and mathematics she obtained a PhD in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Evolutionary Biology (University Paris Descartes, Paris). She also holds a Master's degree in Molecular Biology (University of Zagreb, Croatia) and in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Life Sciences (University Paris Descartes, Paris.

Camille Fong

Environmental Engineer and Biomimicry Associate

Camille graduated with a Master in Environmental Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. She developed her passion for biomimicry during the summer of 2013 while in Berlin, where she was involved in Biomimicry Germany. At the same time, she worked as an intern at Technische Universitat of Berlin in Urban Water Management. She eventually returned to Montréal to pursue her studies at McGill University with a greater interest in this emerging discipline. To share her enthusiasm with the Montréal community, she impromptu organized a conference on biomimicry and engineering at her university in collaboration with Biomimétisme Québec (Biomimicry Québec). Still, she felt the need to learn more about this field. Therefore, she decided to participate to the Biomimicry Student Design Challenge 2013-2014 organized by Biomimicry Institute 3.8 and tied first place with her team Dédale. Her willingness to learn more about biomimicry and the opportunity to enhance her Professional network brought her back to Europe, in Switzerland this time. In the summer of 2014, she became a research intern at Central Environmental Laboratory at EPFL, which ended in her presenting poster on Air Ballast Biomimetic Cargo Ship Design a the Biomimicry Europe - Innovation and Finance Summit 2014 held in Zurich. Camille seeks to find a holistic approach to our modern society problems by integrating biomimicry thinking.

Sylvie Rockel

Project Manager Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of European overseas (BEST) and Biomimicry Associate

Sylvie is a trained bioengineer with international experience in interdisciplinary research in several fields and project management. After a Masters in bioprocess engineering and a PhD in molecular bioengineering she pursued a certificate in management of development projects in order to apply her scientific and technical skills and knowledge in a context of sustainable development. As a keen diver she has also acquired a profound knowledge in marine conservation over the years, in particular coral reef protection and marine debris. Sylvie is currently working as a project manager at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), where she coordinates biodiversity conservation activities in the European Overseas entities focusing on the identification of sustainable investment strategies in these regions based on their site-specific ecosystem profiles. Fascinated by the wonders of nature she ultimately hopes to contribute to sustainable solutions for the problems primarily in the developing world by applying biomimicry approaches through a combination of technology, science and conservation. She is convinced that integrating the ideas and principles of biomimicry early in students’ curricula around the world is crucial to train future generations to think of sustainable development rather than just economic growth as an indicator for improved quality of life. 

PiusLeuba Dit Galland

Associate Professor, Architect, Sustainable Consultant and Biomimicry Associate

A practicing architect, designer and sustainable consultant, Pius is teaching Environental Design ad TonjJi Unversity, Shnghai, School of Design and Innovation (D&I). For more than an decade he has    researched designed and taught in the realm of sustainability human environment. His current focus are urban ecology, biomimicrym sustainable materials, place specific design, sustainable rural development projects and sustainable mobility. projects. Pius is director of the biomimetic desgin lab (BiDL: http://bidl.tongji.edu.cn/) at the D&I and instrumental in the creation of the a Regional Biomimicry Network in China (BCN). 

Tonya Müller, PhD

Mechanical Engineering and Biomimicry Associate

Tonya graduated with an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, focussing on renewable energy and micro-robotics. She acquired her practical engineering skills in technically diverse projects, encompassing thermal, fluid dynamic, electrical and material studies at institutes such as the ETH Zurich; the Paul Scherrer Institute; the Southwest Research Institute in Texas, USA and the Solar Impulse.  Following her fascination for bio-inspired technology and aviation, she completed a PhD in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford. There, she studied the neural mechanisms of flying insects in order to promote bio-inspired solutions for sensor technology and flight control in autonomous systems.  She is passionate about applying her expertise in engineering and biology in order to develop innovative technical processes and products. Her particular interest lies in biological structures, materials, sensors and actuators with potential application in the aerospace industry and the health sector.

Marina Ruta, PhD

Chemical Engineering and Biomimicry Associate

Marina is a consultant and advisor, with over 13 years of experience within academia, industry and international organisations. Passionate about innovation and initiatives fostering environmental sustainability, she found in biomimicry the most adapted framework to innovate according to life-sustaining principles. Through her highly diversified career she managed projects for technology innovation, business and partnership development within the chemicals industry at private corporations such as Dow Chemical, Vestergaard-Frandsen and Novozymes. 

More recently, she focused on developing multi-stakeholder partnerships at international organizations including the World Economic Forum and UN Environment. Her areas of expertise are scientific research, project/partnership management and business development. With natural enthusiasm and energy, she brings excellent analytical, communication and interpersonal skills to her initiatives. She thrives on building communities and connecting people.

Marina is a trained chemical engineer, holds a PhD from the Doctoral School of Environmental Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and an MBA with specialization in International Organizations from the University of Geneva. She is also PMI®certified project manager.the health sector.

Catherine RAssat, PhD

Marine Biologist, Teacher and Chief Biologist

Catherine obtained a PhD in Biological Oceanography at the University of Paris VI working on the influence of environmental factors on marine copepod populations. She redirected her career to teaching environmental sciences at Temple University in Philadelphia, USA.

Fascinated by biodiversity, she became a Nature Guide for the Singaporian Environmental Council, which allowed her to introduce local biodiversity to high schools and corporate organizations (i.e. sustainable committee).

Her interest in Biomimicry has resulted in the development of children's camps in Singapore, focusing on the discovery of fauna and flora and the technologies in life, inviting them to reconsider Nature as a model of inspiration.

Biliana Vassileva

Senior Social Innovation Consultant, Trainer and Coach and Biomimicry Associate - Social Innovation

Her fascination with biomimicry started in 2015 when she was asked to craft a social innovation workshop introducing biomimicry.  In general, Biliana works with mid-sized companies and international organizations that are pursuing innovation and growth and are investing in it. But their internal and external associates lack trust and willingness to work together. Some may be ready to change but others are not, which creates tension rather than productive collaborations. She eliminates the tension and creates constructive working relationships across all silos. Essentially, Biliana builds trust where people can take risks so that the sum of their efforts creates innovative results beyond their individual capacities. 

Biliana is the founder of the Swiss Failure + Akademy, which designs and spreads practical tools to harness the transformative power of failure to accelerate innovation. Life’s Principles are integrated into the tools designed by Swiss Failure+ Akademy.

She holds: MS in Sociology; MA in Leadership, Innovation & Change; Certificate in Executive & Organizational Coaching .