Theuniversité Savoie Mont Blanc presidential team

Mareva Sabatier is a university professor of economics, specializing in labor economics, human resources and public policy evaluation. Her research focuses on professional careers, work organization and management, and occupational health. After completing her doctorate in 2000 at the Université d'Auvergne, followed by a post-doctorate at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, she was recruited in 2002 to the Université de Savoie, which became the Université Savoie Mont Blanc in 2015. Following her success in the first competitive examination for the agrégation du supérieur in economics in 2012, she chose to pursue her commitment to the USMB, where she has held a number of responsibilities in academics and research, notably as director of the Economics-Finance department at IAE Savoie Mont Blanc (2005-2008 then 2012-2016) and director of the IREGE laboratory (2016-2020). Mareva Sabatier is also an elected member of the 5th section of the Conseil National des Universités.

A graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques de Bordeaux (1997), David Mélo holds a doctorate in sociology from the Université Bordeaux 2 (director: François Dubet; 2003). Recruited as a lecturer in sociology at the Université d'Orléans (2004), he has been, since 2016, a lecturer in sociology at theUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc and a researcher at the Laboratoire Langages, Littératures, Sociétés. Etudes Transfrontalières et Internationales (LLSETI, EA 3706). His research focuses on transformations in work, organizations and management, with particular attention to subjectivity. In this context, he has been particularly interested in how employees of large companies experience the transformations underway in their work and organizations. This research led to the publication of Les CDI dans la tourmente. Entre loyauté et désarroi (Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2010). He is also interested in the experience of individuals and groups grappling with issues of social justice and equality at work. He was a laureate of the Fondation pour les Sciences Sociales, class of 2018, on the theme "Les mutations du travail".
Elected full member of the Conseil National des Universités (CNU) sociology-demography section (2011-2015), member of the jury for the CAPES externe de Sciences économiques et sociales (2016-2019), he was director of the sociology department atUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc between 2017 and 2020.

Trained in Lille and Grenoble, Jean-François Dreuille, 52, holds a doctorate in private law and criminal sciences from the Université Pierre Mendes-France (Grenoble II) (2002). Recruited as a lecturer at the Université de Savoie in 2003, he was appointed Professor in 2023. He is a member of the Centre de recherche en droit Antoine Favre and specializes in criminal law. His research focuses on contemporary and ambivalent changes in criminal law (HDR 2017), both in substantive criminal law (criminal law of the "enemy", state of emergency, social movements, etc.) and in criminal procedure (significant increase in fundamental rights, notably under the influence of European law). His scientific activities have also led him to explore the penal consequences of the judicialization of mountains.
His commitment to the USMB is reflected in his active role in the creation and management of notarial training courses, as well as the management of the Institute of Judicial Studies and the Law Department. Between 2012 and 2020, he held management positions at the Faculty of Law, first as vice-dean, then as dean, before joining the university's presidential team in 2021 as vice-president in charge of academics and university life.

After completing a thesis in psychophysiology at the University of Lille, Pascal Hot joined theUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc in 2007 as a lecturer in neuroscience. In 2014, he was promoted to University Professor of Neuropsychology. A recognized specialist in affective neuroscience, he conducts groundbreaking research into the links between physiological signals and emotional regulation, earning him the title of Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France in 2019.
Over the course of his career, he has taken on a variety of responsibilities: head of the psychology bachelor's degree, then head of the psychology department, and member of the CNU, psychology section. In 2019, he will become head of the Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition in Chambéry. Highly involved in university life, he has served on various university councils for 12 years. On January 9, 2025, Pascal Hot was elected vice-president in charge of research.

After graduating from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble in 1987, Stéphane Bauzac first worked for the operator France Télécom and then Orange, notably on several major national and international projects. In addition to his technical skills in the field of telecoms networks, he acquired hands-on experience of project management, which he hopes to have passed on to his students! In parallel with his engineering career, from 1995 onwards he worked as a part-time lecturer at the Université de Savoie, and in 99 helped to create the DESS Télécoms et Réseaux (post-graduate diploma in telecoms and networks).
Highly motivated by these teaching activities, he joined the Université de Savoie in 2001 as a lecturer. Attached to the IMEP-LAHC laboratory (renamed CROMA in 2023), he quickly became involved in the management of the program, taking responsibility in 2002 for the DESS Télécoms et Réseaux, then the Master's program that succeeded it. In 2013, he was appointed head of the Electronics, Telecommunications and Networks department of the UFR SCeM. This position has enabled him to strongly develop work-study programs in the fields under his responsibility. At the same time, he was elected to the council of his UFR (2 mandates from 2009 to 2015), then to the CFVU and the CAC from 2009 to 2015.In terms of research, he is currently interested in the development of 5G private networks.

Alexandre Benoit obtained his doctorate from INP Grenoble in 2007 for his work, in the GIPSA laboratory, on the association of visual perception models and image processing. After a post-doctorate at the University of Nantes in the IRCCyN laboratory associated with Orange Labs for the measurement of new-generation screen quality, he joined theUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc in 2008 in the LISTIC laboratory as a lecturer, then as a Professor in 2021. His work focuses on the analysis of data sequences in a variety of fields, including multimedia, astrophysics and industry. He is developing machine learning or Artificial Intelligence approaches specific to data, sensors and targets, with the aim of developing more explainable, frugal models integrating the physics of the domain. Currently, he is exploring the specific branch of decentralized machine learning to address the environmental and societal challenges that machine learning faces in terms of frugality, privacy and ethics. His research work has led to academic and industrial partnerships involving both international companies and startups. He has also been involved in a number of responsibilities, including heading up a professional IT academics program, and steering the IDEFICS project with the LAPP laboratory, which fosters collaboration with the socio-economic world on digital issues.

With a doctorate in science from Lyon's Claude Bernard University, Bernard Caron began his career in 1984 as an assistant at the École Centrale de Lyon. He was recruited as a lecturer at the University of Savoie in 1988 and, after obtaining his habilitation to direct research in 1992, was appointed professor in 1993. Throughout his career, he has pursued his research into the control of non-linear systems applied to mechatronics and then to large physics instruments. Director of the Système Communiquant laboratory for 3 years, he tried to combine his research with that of the laboratory. At the same time, he was head of the Electrical Engineering and Industrial Computing department at the Annecy IUT for 10 years. In 2004, he committed himself to the university as vice-president for six years, firstly in charge of student life, then information technology and educational communication, and finally the information system. He continued his commitment to students as Director of the Service commun universitaire d'information d'orientation et d'insertion professionnelle. In 2020, he was appointed leader of the @spire project and director of the Apprendre department.

A university professor in plant ecology, Geneviève Chiapusio specializes in the effects of environmental changes (climate, pollution) on the physiology and dynamics of plants associated with their micro-organisms. She is particularly focused on original research into chemical defense and communication molecules and their applications, with national and international involvement in this field. Its teaching integrates fundamental and applied aspects of plant ecology, with the involvement of natural area managers and companies. She is also involved in the popularization of science.
After completing her doctorate (2000) at the Université de Savoie and the University of Vigo (Spain), and a post-doctorate in Sweden (SLU, Umea), she was recruited in 2002 to the Laboratoire de Biologie environnementale, which in 2010 became the Laboratoire ChronoEnvironnement at the Université de Franche Comté (UFC). She obtained her Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches in 2013. She managed the Licence 3 and Professional Master internships for 4 years, and was in charge of the Master's program (2004-2008), a Master's program in Environmental Engineering (2013) and the Life and Environmental Sciences department (2006-2013).
In September 2019, she will join the CARRTEL laboratory (Centre Alpin de Recherche sur les Réseaux Trophiques et Ecosystèmes Limniques) at theUniversité Savoie Mont blanc. She will also join the UFR SceM (Sciences et Montagne) as deputy director (2021-2024).

Patrice Mele received his PhD from the Institut National des Sciences Appliqués de Lyon in 1995 on "Scale factors in the analysis of the mechanical behavior of particulate composites", and has been Professor of Materials Chemistry at theuniversité Savoie Mont Blanc since 2006. After completing his doctorate at LMOPS (UMR CNRS Université de Savoie), he pursued his academics and research activities at INSA Lyon, including a position as chemical engineer at Rhône-Poulenc Films in 1995. Appointed lecturer at the University of Reims-Champagne-Ardennes in 1996, he contributed in particular to the creation of a DESS (post-graduate diploma) on the processing and recycling of polymer materials. In 1998, he joined the LMOPS laboratory (UdS), where he obtained his habilitation to direct research on "Relations between the architecture and mechanical behavior of heterogeneous polymer matrix systems". As a member of the LEPMI laboratory (UMR CNRS 5279), he is responsible for various research contracts (ANR, FUI, Interreg) with university partners in France (LMS-X) on modeling the mechanical properties of composites using self-coherent models coupled with the concept of percolation, and abroad (HES SO, Switzerland) on the morphological consequences induced by the geometric reduction of injected polymer parts. He is currently working on materials for energy, in particular on optimizing the performance and durability of PEMFC-type fuel cells, using a mechanical approach, or on understanding the mechanisms involved in replicating microstructures on polymer surfaces to give them new functional properties with various colleagues in the laboratory. Since his appointment to the Université de Savoie, he has held a number of positions, including that of project leader for the creation of the "Packaging and Packaging Engineering" DUT in 2006, then head of this department from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2020, he was Director of the Chambéry IUT, and from 2016 to 2020, he was coordinator of the USMB site. More recently, he is a board member of French Tech in the Alps Chambéry, an association promoting digital development in companies on the site and in the region.

Nicolas Méger graduated from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon) in 2001 with an engineering degree in computer science, having completed the EURINSA European undergraduate program and an Erasmus mobility program in Spain. 2001 saw him join a project under the European Information Society Technologies program to develop research in artificial intelligence, focusing on the extraction of knowledge from data. He obtained a DEA in this field in 2002 and a doctorate in 2004 from INSA Lyon.

In 2005, he was recruited by theUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc as a lecturer in computer science, helping to set up the computer science department at the Annecy IUT and contributing to the work of the LISTIC (Computer Science, Systems, Information and Knowledge Processing Laboratory).

This led to the creation of the vocational degree in IT project management, which he directed from 2007 to 2016, while also being responsible for the department's international relations from 2005 to 2008 and further studies from 2008 to 2011. During this period, he also taught in Spain as part of an Erasmus program. From 2017 to 2023, he set up the Parcours Licence en IUT, an experimental program that foreshadowed the current Bachelor Universitaire de TechnologieBUT. In 2022, with the implementation of the latter, he takes over responsibility for the course focusing on data and artificial intelligence.

From the outset, his research focused on the definition, extraction and selection of spatiotemporal patterns, with the main applications being the unsupervised analysis of satellite image time series and predictive maintenance. He received his habilitation to direct research in 2013 from theUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc , and from 2019 to 2024 he will co-lead one of LISTIC's two research themes, namely Learning, Fusion and Remote Sensing (AFuTé). In 2019, he will be appointed University Professor in Computer Science at the same institution.

In September 2024, he will take over from Laurence Vignollet as Vice-President in charge of international relations.

Nolwenn Le Pierrès is a university professor in energy and process engineering, specializing in sorption systems. Her main research topics are thermal energy storage and heat conversion for thermal upgrading or cold production using these sorption processes. Applications include solar heat recovery and building comfort. Her approach is both experimental, with the development of innovative prototypes, and numerical modeling to improve the performance of these systems. She obtained her PhD in 2005 at the PROMES laboratory in Perpignan, then was recruited in 2006 at USMB, where she defended her habilitation to direct research in 2014. At national level, she was an elected member of the Comité National de la Recherche Scientifique in section 10 (2016-2021) and an elected member of the Conseil National des Universités in section 62 (2011-2015 and since 2024). At the USMB, she was in charge of the Francophonie Mission for the VP International Relations (2017-2020) and deputy director of scientific actions for the LOCIE laboratory (2021-2024).

Claire Salmon holds a PhD in economics from CERDI at the Université d'Auvergne. She was appointed Associate Professor at the USMB in 1999, after a year's post-doctorate at the University of Montreal. Her research at IREGE is at the crossroads of labor economics, development and demography. Between 2013 and 2023, Claire Salmon was Director of IAE Savoie Mont Blanc for two successive terms. She was also vice-president of the IAE France national network, in charge of relations with the socio-economic world (2016-18) and academics (2021-23). She was elected VP of Interdisciplinarity and academics at USMB in 2023 and again in 2025. She is helping to implement the ExcellenceS SHINE (Strategy for Higher Impact oN Ecosystem and society) project and to roll out the actions of the Institut des Transitions.

Trained in Trieste and Besançon, Cristina Vignali holds a doctorate in Italian Studies from the Université de Franche-Comté (2009). Recruited as a lecturer at the Université de Savoie in 2014, she was appointed university professor in 2020. She is a member of the LLSETI. Her research focuses on the perception of the contemporary world on the part of writers, playwrights and filmmakers in twentieth-century Italy, and on the study of literary text through translation. Her commitment to the USMB led to the co-creation of the Double Licence Droit-LEA d'Annecy and the bi-national LEA DIET Master's program. Between 2015 and 2020, she was Director of the LEA Department, before joining the presidential team in 2021 as Vice-President in charge of campus life, culture, CSTI and anti-discrimination.

Étudiant en L3 sociologie, Nicolas Mourgues est actif au sein de la vie universitaire depuis plusieurs années. Dès l’âge de 15 ans, il est élu membre du conseil de son quartier, élu au conseil de vie lycéenne et au conseil d’administration de son lycée, et débute ainsi son engagement pour améliorer la qualité de vie étudiante. En 2023, il est élu vice-président étudiant et est réélu à cette même fonction en 2025 pour un nouveau mandat de 2 ans. « Étudier aux côtés de ses pairs au quotidien, être leur porte-parole au sein de l’équipe présidentielle, et un acteur clé pour défendre leurs intérêts. Le VPE n’est pas le vice-président des étudiants, mais bien le vice-président étudiant. Cette distinction est essentielle, il a le devoir de représenter les étudiantes et les étudiants dans la diversité de leurs parcours, de leurs campus, de leurs situations personnelles et académiques, et de travailler avec toutes les parties prenantes de l’université pour construire un projet structurant. »