Associate Dean Sylvie Lorente Joins Governing Body of European Research Council

An expert in thermal engineering, Dr. Sylvie Lorente joined Villanova in 2019 and holds the position of College of Engineering Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Sylvie Lorente, PhD, associate dean for research and innovation at Villanova University’s College of Engineering, has joined the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC). As one of 22 distinguished members of the ERC’s governing body, Dr. Lorente will help set the scientific strategy for the organization, which provides funding for groundbreaking research conducted within the European Union.

Dr. Lorente was appointed to her initial four-year term by the European Commission, with her mandate running retroactively from July 1, 2022.

“The raison d’être of the ERC is to fund exclusively bottom-up basic research without privileging any particular domain,” Dr. Lorente said. “I am thrilled and honored to join the scientific committee of a research body that favors ambitious creativity this way.”

An expert in thermal engineering, Dr. Lorente joined Villanova in 2019 and holds the position of College of Engineering Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She is also a professor (exceptional class) at the National Institute of Applied Sciences, University of Toulouse, France, where she earned her PhD in 1996.

Dr. Lorente’s research, which focuses on flow systems, has made her known around the world. She is the author of seven books, 10 book chapters, and more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, and she is listed among the 2% most cited scientists worldwide.

“This appointment is a tremendous international recognition of the outstanding contributions made to the field of engineering by Dr. Lorente,” said Michele Marcolongo, PhD, the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering.

Established by the European Union in 2007, the ERC provides competitive funding to encourage high-quality research in Europe and support investigator-driven research across all fields. Its Scientific Council includes eminent scientists and scholars who promote creativity and innovative research on behalf of Europe’s scientific community. Council members serve a term of four years, which can be renewed once.

“I am pleased to welcome Sylvie Lorente to the ERC Scientific Council,” said Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. “She will help complement the expertise of the other sitting members, the outstanding female and male researchers who govern Europe’s premier organization for funding frontier research.”