engineering

Nicolas Henchoz

Nicolas Henchoz is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nicolas Henchoz rather than just read about it. In short: Nicolas Henchoz (born 1967) is a materials engineer, journalist and art director specialising in innovation processes and design research. He is the founder and director the EPFL+ECAL Lab, a design research centre of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Key takeaways

Nicolas Henchoz belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nicolas Henchoz to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nicolas Henchoz from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nicolas Henchoz (born 1967) is a materials engineer, journalist and art director specialising in innovation processes and design research. He is the founder and director the EPFL+ECAL Lab, a design research centre of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Career Born in Lausanne, Nicolas Henchoz studied materials science at the EPFL and graduated with a diploma in 1991. After training as a journalist, he became science and technology writer in 1992 at the Journal de Genève (now Le Temps). In 1994, he joined Swiss Television, where he collaborated on magazines such as Téléscope. He was in charge of scientific news, and acted as news presenter. In 2000, he joined the presidency of the EPFL, as Patrick Aebischer's deputy for the institution's image and communication. He was involved in the development the Rolex Learning Center. In 2004, Henchoz served as a spokesperson for EPFL, stating that the launch of the university’s new Space Center would give the institution greater visibility and help coordinate ongoing research projects. In partnership with the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL), in 2007 he initiated the creation of the EPFL+ECAL Lab. He was lecturer and visiting professor at ENSCI in Paris, the Royal College of Art in London, Parsons the New School for Design, and the Polytechnic University of Milan. He is also the advisory board member of the MediaFutures project, founded by the European Commission. In 2023, he was the chairman of the art papers of the SIGGRAPH conference. His work has been featured on RTS.

Research Henchoz' research interests focus on the fields of design, technology, and innovation. His interdisciplinary work emphasises the integration of cultural creativity with scientific practices to create innovative user experiences and technologies. In 2010, Henchoz initiated the international design exhibition Sunny Memories, which presented creative ideas for applying a new generation of colored, flexible solar cells developed at EPFL. The exhibition was held at Harvard University and involved students from art and design schools in Lausanne, Paris, London, and San Francisco. At its opening at Harvard University, Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter credited Henchoz as the initiator of the project and acknowledged the EPFL+ECAL Lab’s interdisciplinary approach combining design and innovation. His projects include the digital archiving of the Montreux Jazz Festival and rendering the archive accessible by means of augmented reality. In more general terms, his book "Design for Innovative Technology" discusses the role of design in bridging the gap between innovation and daily life. Integrating digital tools with cultural and spiritual practices, his project "The Ming Shan Digital Experience" blended digital technology and traditional practices like Taoist meditation.

Distinctions In 2011, Henchoz was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, an honor typically awarded to notable figures in cinema, theatre, or literature.

Publications

Books Mirande, Yves; Henchoz, Nicolas (2014). Design for innovative technology: from disruption to acceptance (1. ed.). Lausanne: EPFL Press [u.a.] ISBN 978-1-138-78278-5. Andersen, Marilyne; Rey, Emmanuel; Vetterli, Martin; Aebischer, Jean-Nicolas; Epiney, Astrid, eds. (2019). Exploring: Research-driven, building design. Towards 2050. Zürich: Park Books. ISBN 978-3-03860-132-6. Douillet, Yoann; Collaud, Romain; Groves, Emily; Sonderegger, Andreas; Duchêne, Cedric; Henchoz, Nicolas (2023). Adapting Haptic Feedback for Guided Meditation. The Eurographics Association. doi:10.2312/imet.20231253. ISBN 978-3-03868-233-2. S2CID 264542138.

References

External links Website of the EPFL+ECAL Lab

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nicolas Henchoz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nicolas Henchoz claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nicolas Henchoz before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nicolas Henchoz ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nicolas Henchoz

In research: Nicolas Henchoz appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nicolas Henchoz in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nicolas Henchoz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1967 births, 21st-century Swiss scientists, Academic staff of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nicolas Henchoz outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nicolas Henchoz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nicolas Henchoz means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nicolas Henchoz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nicolas Henchoz in simple terms?

Why does Nicolas Henchoz matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nicolas Henchoz?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nicolas Henchoz.