As Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Geneva, Marlyne Sahakian brings a sociological lens to consumption studies and sustainability. She coordinates research projects on energy, food, outdoor spaces, and wellbeing, often working with inter- and trans-disciplinary teams. She co-founded SCORAI Europe and is co-editor of the BUP journal, Consumption and Society.
She publishes regularly in journals related to sociology and sustainability. Her books include Keeping Cool in Southeast Asia: energy consumption and urban air-conditioning (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) and the edited volumes Food Consumption in the City: Practices and patterns in urban Asia and the Pacific (Routledge Studies in Food, Society & the Environment, 2016), and Teaching and Learning Sustainable Consumption A Guidebook (Routledge, 2023). In recent years, she has developed with colleagues the concept of “consumption corridors” which implies upper and lower limits to consumption, while meeting human needs.
Philippe Block is a full professor at and head of the Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) at ETH Zurich, where he co-leads the Block Research Group (BRG) with Dr. Tom Van Mele, and director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) on Digital Fabrication. He studied architecture and structural engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, where he earned his PhD in 2009.
Jean-Pierre Danthine is Honorary Professor at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne – College of Management of Technology) and UNIL (University of Lausanne) and Honorary Director of the Enterprise of Society Center (E4S).
He was previously President of the Paris School of Economics and member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London. He was a member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank from January 2010 to April 2012 and its vice-chairman from May 2012 until he retired on June 30, 2015.
Before joining the SNB, Jean-Pierre Danthine was Professor at the University of Lausanne and Managing Director of the Swiss Finance Institute.
His publications have appeared in Econometrica, the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Finance and other leading international journals.
Dr. Ronita Bardhan is Associate Professor of Sustainable Built Environment, and serves as the Director of Research and Deputy Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. She leads the Cambridge Sustainable Design Group and holds affiliated positions at Cambridge Public Health, and the Department of Computer Science and Technology. Ronita’s research is at the intersection of built environment, climate change, and public health. Her research pioneers data-driven precision prevention design strategies to reduce health and energy burdens in a warming world. By integrating engineering, AI, and social sciences, she develops solutions for decarbonization, climate resilience, and gender equity in the built environment. Ronita is ranked among the top 2% of scientists in her domain and was awarded the Finalist Top 50 Women in Engineering, UK 2024. A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, she is the first Indian faculty member in the department’s history and is committed to empowering women in sustainability leadership.
