The first 10 EDENE doctors
After three years of rigorous work alongside their thesis supervisors and co-supervisors, marked by exemplary involvement in their research projects, the first 10 doctoral students in the EDENE European doctoral programme successfully defended their theses between September and December 2024. Thanks to their commitment, they have contributed to significant advances in the fields of energy and the environment, exploring a wide range of scientific and technological disciplines and paving the way for new perspectives to meet today's societal and environmental challenges.
An original artistic tribute
The French drawers duo Plop & Kankr (Julie Besombes and Simon Baert), renowned for their illustrations in the regional, national and international press, have collaborated with UPPA to make science accessible to as many people as possible through press cartoons and comic strips. For the first 10 EDENE doctors, they have originally illustrated and personified their research, offering a creative and accessible insight into their work.
EDENE Doctors and their Contributions
Above, from left to right :
- Giovana Aibara Paschoal (Polymer Chemistry, IPREM), under the supervision of Didier Bégué and Roger Hiorns, has developed models to understand the influence of the molecular structure of aggregates on the electronic properties of materials. Her work provides a valuable theoretical guide for designing new materials for ideal light absorption in organic photovoltaic devices
- Andrew Wilson (Civil Engineering, LFCR), under the supervision of David Grégoire, has conducted research into innovative and environmentally-friendly cementitious materials by exploring the use of mollusc shells as a sustainable alternative to natural aggregates. His work demonstrated the feasibility of formulating concretes and mortars using aggregates derived from shells, as well as cement without alkali-activated clinker
- Luanna Cavalcanti Rebecchi de Moura (Physico-chemistry of Materials, IPREM), under the direction of Bertrand Charrier and Eduardo José Robles Barrios, has been working on biosourced hydrogels to improve water retention in soil, paving the way for sustainable solutions for agriculture
- Sonia Aït Hamouda (Physics, LFCR), under the supervision of Peter Moonen, has been working on the observation of degradation processes in solid electrolyte batteries using X-ray tomography. She has developed an innovative methodology that combines experimental observations with simulations on a digital twin, giving access to unobservable quantities such as temperature distribution
Top, centre
- Ibtissem Lannabi (Mathematics, LMAP), under the supervision of Vincent Perrier and Jonathan Jung, focused on the numerical simulation of fluid flows at low Mach numbers, modelled by the compressible Euler system. Her work highlights the challenges involved in modifying numerical diffusion to obtain methods that are both stable and accurate for low-Mach flows
Below, from left to right :
- Mohamed Rozki (Physics, SIAME), under the direction of Stéphane Abadie and Denis Morichon, has furthered our understanding of the processes linked to the impact of waves on coastal structures, with practical applications for coastal protection
- Aleksandra Izdebska (Analytical Chemistry, IPREM), under the supervision of Katarzyna Bierla, was interested in the speciation analysis of arsenic compounds and its application to tree samples. In particular, she was able to show that plants exposed to dimethylarsinic acid have a markedly different response from those exposed to inorganic forms of arsenic, mainly in terms of arsenic accumulation in the leaves
- Alba Rodriguez Otero (Analytical Chemistry, IPREM & University of Copenhagen), under the direction of Brice Bouyssière and Jan Christensen, studied silica derived from rice husks as a sustainable adsorbent material for eliminating pollutants from wastewater, proposing practical and ecological solutions for water treatment
- Sofia Roucan (Civil Engineering, SIAME), under the direction of Céline Perlot Bascoules and Antonin Fabbri from the Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'Etat, demonstrated the ability of rammed earth renderings to passively regulate CO₂ concentrations, offering prospects for healthier, more environmentally-friendly buildings
- Aimene Gouasmi (Mathematics, LMAP), under the supervision of Daniela Capatina, worked on the reconstruction of conservative numerical flows in conjunction with the CutFEM method, contributing to better error estimation and accurate conservation of flows for complex elliptical problems.
A Promising Future
These 10 young researchers have marked their time at UPPA in their laboratories by making valuable scientific advances. The UPPA, the Centre for Doctoral Studies, the Exact Sciences and Applications doctoral school, the EDENE programme management team and the programme's partners would like to offer them their most sincere congratulations and wish them all the best for the future. They would also like to express their gratitude to the supervisors and laboratories that have played a key role in the support and success of this research work.
