Philippe Robin-Jouan graduated from the "Institut National des Sciences Appliquees" of Lyon (France) in 1985 and received his PhD degree in Mechanics at "Ecole Centrale de Lyon" in 1992. He joined ALSTOM T&D in 1993 and is presently head of the Arc Physics Laboratory and of the Scientific Calculation group at the High Voltage Switchgear Research Center (ARC) of ALSTOM GRID, in Villeurbanne, France.

His research areas encompass:
• Arc physics with Numerical and Experimental investigations for the arc behavior,
• Numerical developments with development and validation of models for different physical processes,
• Circuit breaker design: with application of the numerical tools to design high voltage chambers, comparison with tests results, definition and validation of dielectric criteria for the prediction of breakdown.

His main activities includes now:
• Participation to the developments of new platform chambers via numerical simulations (breakdown processes, electro thermal and mechanical analysis,
• Expertise on circuit breaker design, and
• Management of the scientific calculation tools and the IT environment at the Research Center.