People

Head of the Limb Sounding Unit

Research expertise and interests:

Spectroscopy, Atmospheric remote sensing, Instrument developments, Inverse problems, Atmospheric composition, Ozone layer, Global warming.

Education:

PhD in Physics, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, October 2014
Master degree in Physics, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, June 2005

Ph.D. thesis title: "Development of an AOTF-based hyperspectral imager for atmospheric remote sensing"

Short biography:

Emmanuel joined the ALTIUS team from its inception in 2006. He prototyped various computer models used to test the instrument concept, and verify the mission performance. After ALTIUS officially became an ESA mission, he focused on the development of the satellite data processing chains (up to L2), in all observation geometries of ALTIUS (limb-scatter, solar and stellar occultations), and for several species (ozone, aerosols, NO2). Since 2023, he took over the lead of BIRA-IASB's ALTIUS L2 team.

His experience gained while working for the ALTIUS project led him to a novel atmospheric pollution monitoring imager: the NO2 camera. Inspired by the ALTIUS instrument concept, it is capable of mapping the abundance of NO2 in the air, or in plumes exhausted by large industrial stacks. He is leading the team working on the continuous improvement of the instrument, and deploying it in several air quality measurement campaigns.

In parallel, Emmanuel is an invited lecturer at UCLouvain, teaching the course "Remote sensing of the climate change" to Master degree students in physics, engineering, or geography. He is also supervising Master theses and internships by Master degree students in the "Limb Sounding" group (D41).