Employment Record

2002 to present RITTMO (non profit association); Taking part to national and European research projects on the evaluation of positive and/or negative impacts of soil improvers on soil and the environment

1997 - 2002  Private laboratory; performing analyses for agriculture (routine  measurement of soil microbial biomass; standardization of tests and bioassays for the characterisation of the efficiency of organic soil improvers and growing media)

Expert for French (AFNOR, ASTEE, Ministry of Agriculture) and European (ECN,
CEN TC 223 and 260) working groups

Technology transfer between industrials and academic researchers (organization of open days, conferences, visits to SMEs, redaction of scientific and technical papers

Research Activities

Main research fields:

Organic wastes transformation and reuse in agriculture:

• Agronomic value and environmental impacts
• Economical, marketing and social considerations
• Expert for French (AFNOR, ASTEE, Ministry of Agriculture) and European (ECN, CEN TC 223 and 260) working groups
• Technology transfer between industrials and academic researchers (organization of open days, conferences, visits to SMEs, redaction of scientific and technical papers…)

Information

Dr Laure METZGER graduated in agronomy at the “Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine” in Nancy in 1993 and validated in 1997 her Ph.D. on Soil Science in Lausanne and Nancy on the fate of an herbicide in soil. For 5 years she worked in a private laboratory performing analyses for agriculture where she developed the routine measurement of soil microbial biomass and strongly contributed to the standardization of tests and bioassays for the characterisation of the efficiency of organic soil improvers and growing media.

In 2002 she took part to the creation of RITTMO that is a non profit association supported by founds of the Région Alsace, the French ministries of Research and of Agriculture and the European Union for 50% of the budget to support innovation and perform technology transfer for all topics related to organic fertilisation including the re-use of organic wastes in agriculture. About 70 people or firms are now members of the association RITTMO, in France and the European Union.

Since the creation of RITTMO, Dr. Laure METZGER is taking part to national and European research projects on the evaluation of positive and/or negative impacts of soil improvers on soil and the environment. She is the convener of the ANFOR U44E group working on the standardization of methods for organic mater characterization, the leader of task-force “stability – biodegradability” of CEN TC 223 and she takes part to the WG3 of CEN TC 260 for developing a method of evaluation of organic products’ liming effect.