Consortium

Wilfried Uhring, coordinator of the VitiSense project, is a specialist in optical sensors for ultrafast imaging and in sensors for time-resolved fluorescence measurement. This optoelectronics expertise is complemented by skills in NMR, which will also enable him to contribute to the development of portable MRI.

Morgan Madec is a professor at Télécom Physique Strasbourg, where he has been teaching since 2008. A graduate engineer of the school in micro- and nanoelectronics, he completed in 2006 an industrial PhD (CIFRE) on the design of an optoelectronic processor for tomographic image reconstruction. His research focuses on compact modelling of integrated microsensors (magnetic tunnel junctions, Hall-effect sensors), modelling of multi-gate transistors, and the adaptation of microelectronics design tools to synthetic biology.

Luc Hébrard

Léonard Heywang has been a PhD student in microelectronics at the ICube laboratory since August 2026. His thesis focuses on the design of a multi-channel time-resolved photon counting system for environmental applications and quantum technologies. A graduate of the Master’s programme in Electronic Systems and Microelectronics (SEME), he previously worked on improving a photon counting system implemented on an SoC-FPGA.

Benjamin Levarlet is an engineer.

Prof. Dr. Volker Bucher is the Head of the Institute for Microsystems Technology (iMST) and Professor of Surface Technologies in Microsystems Technology. He holds a PhD in applied physics from the University of Tübingen. He worked at NMI Reutlingen and in industry before joining HFU in 2014. His research covers atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma processes, as well as coatings and encapsulation for medical devices and active implants.

Dr. András Kovács is the Deputy Head of the Institute for Microsystems Technology (iMST) and leads its Core Facility and laboratories. His research covers porous silicon and optical multilayers, terahertz metasurfaces and microcoils for non-destructive testing, as well as MEMS sensors and miniaturised spectrometers. In VitiSense, he contributes his expertise in sensor microsystems and optics to the development of the compact sensor devices.

Mohammad Al Refaai is a research associate at the iMST with a master’s degree in Micro Medical Engineering from Hochschule Furtwangen. In his master’s thesis within the DiaKat+ project, he optimised a semi-automated setup for sensor balloon catheter prototypes and developed a cleanroom dip-coating process for thin-walled silicone elastomer tubes. In VitiSense, he contributes to miniaturising the devices and making them withstand outdoor conditions.

Dr. Julien Petit is a research associate at the Institute for Microsystems Technology (iMST) and has several years of experience in the following research areas: micro- and nanotechnologies, MEMS, microfluidic systems, systems integration, material characterization using FIB-SEM and various detectors, and photonics. He holds a Ph.D. in optofluidics from the University of Bordeaux (France).

Julie Chong is a full professor specialising in the interactions between the grapevine and its beneficial or pathogenic microorganisms. Her research focuses on the value of mycorrhizal symbioses in grapevines and on trunk diseases: tolerance factors in the plant and aggressiveness factors of the fungi associated with this decline.

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Christophe Bertsch is a full professor specialising in grapevine pathology, in particular decline caused by trunk diseases. His research focuses on the mechanisms by which the associated pathogens degrade wood and on the development of sustainable preventive and curative protection methods. He supports the project and liaises with the wine profession.

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Marc Lollier is an associate professor specialising in soil biology. His work focuses on the remediation of vineyard and agricultural soils through bioremediation and phytoremediation, and on the agronomic impact of organic matter inputs. He supports the project, provides experimental assistance and contributes to data analysis.

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Yann Leva is a research engineer in biological techniques, specialising in plant physiology. He supports the project, provides experimental assistance and implements the technical equipment.

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Manon Jouanlanne is a research engineer with a PhD in materials physics. She has expertise in imaging and data processing applied to complex systems. She contributes to the development and validation of plant imaging and optical measurement technologies, combining data analysis with field trials.

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Katja Herzog heads the “Sensor-based phenotyping” team. Her expertise in sensor-based grapevine phenotyping enables her to act as the interface between sensor development and viticulture.

In addition to developing and implementing new sensor- and AI-based methods for objective and precise grapevine phenotyping, her research focuses in particular on Botrytis bunch rot and sunburn in grapes. Her team aims to identify the key phenotypic traits and molecular bases that predict berry resilience to Botrytis and abiotic stress.

Katja Herzog coordinated the Interreg project “WiVitis”, which ended on 30 April 2026.

Learn more: Development of automated phenotyping methods (JKI website)

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