Sustainable energy at the heart of our 10th SLEIGHT Science Event

From July 3, 2023 to July 6, 2023

SSE #10: Döme Tanguy (Institut Lumière-Matière - UCBL, CNRS) giving a course on the effects of hydrogen absorption by metallic surfaces - UJM

Summary of our 10th scientific event in Saint-Etienne

Energy efficiency has been at the heart of the public debate for decades and researchers are working on innovative solutions. Surface engineering takes a key role in determining the success of sustainable technologies: photovoltaic and thermal solar panels will play a significant part in energy transition as well as hydrogen, a promising energy carrier from a sustainable source of energy.

For our 10th SLEIGHT Science Event, held from July 3rd to July 6th, 5 scientists from renowned French labs and industrials from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region presented their work during 12h of conferences. Specialised in solar and hydrogen-based research and technologies, the speakers addressed various themes:

The functionalisation of surfaces so they can develop more clean energy-friendly properties
The enhancement of photovoltaic surfaces to improve the energy production
The design of metasurfaces to control the directivity, the spectrum and the polarization of incandescent sources

SLEIGHT Science Event

Award ceremony : Pascal Giraud (Hubert Curien lab) receives the best presentation prize from Andras Borbely (LGF), Pierre Chavel (IOGS), Florence Garrelie (Hubert Curien lab) and Yves Jourlin (Hubert Curien lab) © UJM

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Quentin Courbon (CIMES hub) introudicng Bertrand Nicolet (HEF Groupe) and Jacques Pourcher (SOFIPLAST) © UJM

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Julie Dutems (Hubert Curien lab) got her PhD during the SSE10 - Her (left) and her thesis jury © UJM

SSE10_Julie Dutems et jury
SSE #10: Döme Tanguy (Institut Lumière-Matière - UCBL, CNRS) giving a course on the effects of hydrogen absorption by metallic surfaces © UJM

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Participants of the SSE10 visited the Saint-Etienne football club stadium (ASSE), Le Chaudron

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Engineers from the Manutech-USD technological platform presented how femtosecond laser processing can provide solutions for research labs and the industry. CIMES, the competitiveness cluster dedicated to the Creation of Integrated MEchanical Systems in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes area, talked about its GEMSTONE European project on green transition in the manufacturing sector. They invited two of their members to talk about their take on the problematic of Sustainable Surface Engineering: HEF Groupe (replacement of chemical engraving by laser engraving) and SOFIPLAST (bio-based stripping/cleaning solution for surfaces.

Participants of the SSE10 had the opportunity to discover “Le Chaudron”, the Saint-Etienne football club’s stadium, during the Social Event. They visited the team’s museum (Musée des Verts) and all - students, guest speakers and researchers – enjoyed a nice cocktail at the end of the day.

6 PhD students and post-doctoral fellows participated in the Young Scientists Session, where they presented the advancement of their research project. Pascal Giraud, PhD student at the Hubert Curien lab oratory (UJM, IOGS, CNRS), was awarded the best presentation on Wednesday 5th for his presentation on “Plasmonic optical switch for hydrogen detection for very low concentration”.

To end the scientific week, Julie Dutems , former PhD student at the Hubert Curien lab, defended her thesis and got her PhD for her work on the COUPLES research project (Thin passive films characterization by surface plasmon resonance). The project was funded by the Manutech-SLEIGHT Graduate School. Congratulations to her!

The Manutech-SLEIGHT Graduate School would like to thank the Telecom Saint-Etienne teams (IT and building logistics teams) for their help, Christophe Gravier for his support, and Saint-Etienne Métropole for hosting cocktail and lunches.