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Francois has over 15 years of applied experience working on a range of consulting engineering projects in coastal engineering and the marine renewable energy sector. Francois has managed projects in the fields of coastal hazards, coastal structures, climate change adaptation, physical and numerical modelling, and coastal monitoring.

Francois is also an expert in the field of marine renewables; having managed the installation of a 250 kW pilot device in Victoria and led several large studies related to wave dynamics and wave energy conversion. Francois brings to WRL the combined attributes of a practical engineering background and academic analysis to resolve complex coastal and hydraulic problems. 

Francois is one of Australia’s foremost experts in the application of physical models for analysis of coastal and marine structures, having modelled over 30 coastal and offshore structure projects in the past 10 years, and published many papers on coastal structure physical modelling methods and case studies. Francois’s expertise is in the application of both 2D and 3D physical models for assessing rock and precast concrete armoured structures as well as the measurement of wave loading on rigid marine structures such as platforms, jetties and wharves. 

Francois regularly undertakes desktop and numerical modelling investigations for coastal process, hazards and inundation studies. He has completed desktop based coastal process studies ranging from assessment of small property developments, through to regional coastal climate change vulnerability assessments. Francois’s work extends from Tasmania in the south to Darwin in the north, and includes several projects in the Australasia region. 

Francois is an active member of the marine renewable energy and coastal engineering communities, regularly publishing work in technical conferences and journals. He is a member of PIANC and was also a committee member of the Australian Wave Energy Atlas project in 2015 and 2016. He is an Australian Standard committee member for EL-066 "Marine energy – Wave, tidal and other water currents converters".