CERN Accelerating science

Alexia Yiannouli

Alexia graduated as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Surrey, before going on to study for a Master’s in Science Communication at Imperial College London. During her studies, Alexia gained journalism experience writing for veterinary publications such as Vet Record, and worked as editor of a veterinary news site. She co-edited Surrey vet school’s first newsletter, and was co-editor of Imperial College London’s science magazine, I, Science. Alexia joined CERN in August 2021, first as an intern working on the Sparks! Forum and with the Arts at CERN programme, before working as Junior Communications Officer of CERN openlab, and now Science Communication Officer in IdeaSquare. In her free time, Alexia still writes monthly articles for a veterinary magazine, and can be found doing anything creative - from bullet journalling to embroidery.

Catarina Batista

Catarina is a passion-driven innovator and researcher with a strong interest in futures thinking, psychology and societal challenges. After spending the last 4,5 years working as a designer and innovation coach within multidisciplinary teams, Catarina sees herself as a facilitator and connector. Bridging people with intercultural backgrounds, she is able to continously adapt and cooperate in diverse teams, appreciating and embracing everyone’s uniqueness and contributions. With vast life experience in multiple European countries, she is now based at CERN Ideasquare while juggling her MSc Psychology studies at Northumbria University and volunteering work in humanitarian organizations. Catarina is especially intrigued about the intersection between behavior science, design innovation and humanitarian challenges.

Claudia Marcelloni

Claudia Marcelloni is a creative communications professional working at the interface between science at CERN and the public. Having worked in communications and project management related to science for more than a decade now, Claudia has led teams and projects of diverse scope, from being the first communications officer to ATLAS, one of the major experiments at the LHC, to curating and producing larger conferences such as TEDxCERN and the Sparks! Forum at CERN. She was part of the first cohort in Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School in UK, conducting a research on collaborative methodologies for social innovation labs. She is also the photographer behind the books ‘Exploring the Mystery of Matter’ and 'Hunting the Higgs'.

Dina Zimmermann

Dina finished her Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2022. After taking a Design Thinking-course during her studies, her focus shifted away from Civil Engineering and over to Mechanical Engineering. The last summer of her studies, she got an internship as a Product Developer at Laerdal Medical. In collaboration with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering she wrote her thesis on the development of a motor speed control system for a propulsion-assisted sit-ski. After graduation, she joined IdeaSquare as the Prototyping Expert.

Jimmy Poulaillon

Jimmy has a background in sociology and computer science. Before coming to CERN IdeaSquare to do science communication and organise events, he worked in different fields. He was first a developer for several years, then ran a company as a multimedia designer and photographer in the field of sports. After a while, he went back to the university where he studied sociology and political science for five years. He has strong interest in innovation studies and sustainability, and is currently conducting a study about the integration of SDGs in projects and how it could transform people. His fields of expertise are sociology of work and organisations, politicisation, gender, innovation and sustainability.

Laëtitia Veyrat

Laëtitia Veyrat has been working at CERN since 2010, first as a Journalist, then as Communication Assistant and to finish as a Protocol Officer. She has been part of many events at CERN like the Open days, the 60th Anniversary, local events, etc. She is now working as Event Organiser and Executive Assistante at IdeaSquare. She studied Communication with a specialisation in Public Relations in Geneva. What she likes the most is organising events for the team. She also runs her own company as a Personal Shopper.

Laura Wirtavuori

Laura Wirtavuori graduated from the department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University, Finland. She majored in organisational psychology, minored in product development, and worked with entrepreneurship and philosophy education. After graduation, she worked at Aalto University Design Factory researching the future of education, made a stint into consulting, during which she focused on building company ecosystems in Finland, and joined CERN IdeaSquare in spring 2020. Currently she is coordinating the student programmes at IdeaSquare, as well as developing IdeaSquare activities. When she is not at work, she can most likely be found somewhere in the mountains.

Markus Nordberg

Markus Nordberg is the Head of Resources Development of the Development and Innovation Unit (IPT-DI) at CERN, Switzerland. In addition to coordinating multi-disciplinary innovation projects at IdeaSquare, he is also the co-coordinator of the EU-funded sensor and imaging R&D&I initiative called ATTRACT (www.attract-eu.com) aiming at both scientific and societal impact of disruptive co-innovation. Prior to this function, he served 12 years as the Resources Coordinator of the ATLAS project at CERN (www.atlas.ch). He has also served as Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Centrum voor Bedrijfseconomie, Faculty ESP-Solvay Business School, University of Brussels, and as a member of the European Physical Society, Strategic Management Society and the Association of Finnish Parliament Members and Scientists, TUTKAS. He has a degree both in Physics and in Business Administration.

Oday Darwich

Ole Werner

Ole Werner obtained his M.Sc. in Behavioral Change at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands in 2022. Next to his master’s thesis at the ARENA2036 in Germany, he started working at Design Factory Stuttgart. There, he encountered the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN) and the opportunity to apply his knowledge of behavioral psychology in innovation sciences. Via the DFGN, Ole got in touch with CERN IdeaSquare, and is now putting his knowledge and thoughts to work for the innovation space since November 2022. Next to his work, Ole enjoys improv acting, doing sports and photography.

Pablo García Tello

Pablo Garcia Tello Graduated in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain and has a PhD in Material Science by the Basque Country University in San Sebastian, Spain. He was Postdoctoral Associate and Teaching Assistant of Semiconductor Processing Technology in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA. He has worked at Philips and NXP Semiconductors in the areas of Micro/nano-electronics and Biotechnology. He has been also Contracts & Programmes Manager at the Aerospace and Defense Industry Association of Europe. As well he has worked as a Consultant in EU Innovation Programmes for PNO Consultants for private and public sector organisations in the Chemical and ICT areas. He is participating actively in EC Innovation Initiatives and Funding Programmes. His expertise is certified by having published more than 50 scientific papers in top international peer reviewed journals and conferences, and holds more than 10 international patents in the areas of Micro/nanotechnology and Biotechnology. He has received among others the NXP Semiconductors Golden Patent of the Year award. At CERN he has been Knowledge Transfer (KT) Liaison Officer at CERN collaborating to enhance the KT CERN industrial network and relationships. Now he is section head of the CERN EU Office developing new EU funded projects and initiatives.

Tuuli Utriainen