Gilles Billen

Gilles Billen got his PhD at the Free University of Brussels in 1976, where he later headed the Group of Aquatic Environmental Microbiology for 15 years. He was mostly active in studying microbial processes in estuarine and marine areas, in connection with the cycles of carbon and nutrients. In 1997, he moved to Paris, and joined the CNRS, for taking, until 2007, the direction of the National Research Program on the Seine river (PIREN-Seine). He played a leading role in the development of biogeochemical modelling tools, aimed at testing scenarios for water resources management. He also participated in various international forums, such as the SCOPE-UNESCO Global NEWS program and the NinE (Nitrogen in Europe) ESF Network, and participated to the editorial team of the European Nitrogen Assessment. He is now conducting interdisciplinary research on agro-food systems, developing, among other things, future scenarios for feeding France, Europe and the World with agro-ecological agriculture using no synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.