Christophe was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Nantes in 1992. After 4 years professional experience in geotechnical engineering consulting services, Christophe went back to the university and was awarded a Master of Science from the University of Nantes in 1998, and a Master of Engineering from the Ecole Centrale de Nantes in 1999 with a final dissertation about the assessment of the stress state in centrifuged sand sample by in-flight cone penetrometer tests. Christophe was then awarded a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from the Ecole Centrale de Nantes in Nov. 2002 for a dissertation on: “Physical and numerical modelling of a cantilever wall - Application to the study of wall foundation interaction” (Supervisor Dr. Jacques Garnier, Director of Research, Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées).

Christophe joined the University of Western Australia in July 2003, where he rapidly took a leadership role in managing and developing the centrifuge facilities, creating in 2016 the National Geotechnical Centrifuge Facilities (NGCF), an internationally recognised physical modelling facility that is servicing the academic community and the international offshore oil and gas and renewables industry. Christophe saw rapid promotion to Professorial Research Fellow in 2010 and Professor in 2014, while holding positions of NGCF Director from 2003 to 2017, Deputy Director (2010-2017) and Director (2017-2021) of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS), Founding Director (2017-on-going) of the Wave Energy Research Centre (WERC) now Marine Energy Research Australia (MERA), and Head (2018-2022) of the Oceans Graduate School (OGS).

Since October 2022, Christophe is the Director of the UWA Oceans Institute, leading a group of 350 researchers across ocean engineering, marine science and social and economical science associated to the ocean. Over the last 10 years Christophe has focused his research effort on renewable energy and is championing the development of offshore renewable energy in Australia engaging with industry, local, state and federal governments. He is leading the Albany M4 wave energy project, the first fully open-access wave energy project in the world that sees the design, manufacturing, deployment, operation and decommissioning of a 24 m long, 48 t wave energy converter in King George Sound in Albany, WA.

Christophe has occupied several leadership roles within international scientific bodies, including Chair of the technical Committee on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (2010-2014), Chair of the International Conference in Physical Modelling in geotechnics (2014), Co-Chair of the International Conference on Ocean Energy (2024) and Vice-Chair of the Technical Collaborative Programme Ocean Energy Systems within the International Energy Agency (since 2022).

Director, UWA Oceans Institute

Head, Oceans Graduate School

Director, Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems,

Director, Marine Energy Research Australia (formerly Wave Energy Research Centre)

Offshore renewables

Christophe has raised and managed over $15M of industry funding and over $46M of government competitive funding. Industry funding include notably significant research projects in the North West Shelf, Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. Christophe has led large competitive funding initiatives, including a $1M grant with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, a $1.5M grant with the Australian Research Council to establish the National Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility and recently, a $4M grant with the WA State Government to establish the Albany Wave Energy Research Centre. Christophe has also played a leadership role in the establishment and development of the $14M ARC Centre of Excellence in Geotechnical Science and Engineering, and of the $10M ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub in Offshore Floating Facilities.

Christophe is collaborating with multiple academic institutions worldwide, including Oxford University, Plymouth University, Oregon State University, C-Core Canada, University of Sydney, University of Tasmania, and with multiple industry partners, especially in the ocean renewable energy space.

23 PhD Students (15 completed), 4 Master students and over 24 honour students

• Ocean renewable energy
• Physical modelling
• Anchoring systems
• Soil characterisation
• Soil-structure interaction