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"For as long as I can remember I have always tried to understand how everything works. Passionate about particle physics, I enrolled in a magister's degree in fundamental physics so that I could go to CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics) and, preferring the sea to Switzerland, I did a thesis on fluid mechanics on the Trajectory prediction of submerged bodies. During my thesis, I did a considerable amount of numerical modelling. I then worked on coastal engineering projects and on new methods of the acoustic measurement of sediments. Since 2012, I have been a lecturer and researcher in coastal physics, undertaking numerous measurements on beaches to understand the mechanisms underlying the movement of the sand. I also tudy the dynamics of small pebbles at the bottom of the ocean. When we use mathematical modelling, the sand does not come back to the beach, but in reality it does! I am working to understand this accretion phenomenon: through whih physical mechanisms does the sand return to the beach?

Human beings live in the moment, disregarding the rhythms of nature. The long term is extremely important. With nature, one must plan things from the outset, be somewhat wary! Thanks to the work of my team, I hope that we can minimise the impact of coastal protection structures. We are analysing the acoustic inversion: we send an acoustic signal into the water, which is reflected by all the particles present and, depending on the strength of the captured signal, we determine the concentration of these particles in the water. When I went on research leave, it was amazing, it was almost as if there was a fireworks display going off in my brain. I was full of ideas. Currently, a researcher's job is to seek funding and we no longer take the time to really and fully contemplate our work. This race for funding and publications is detrimental to our ability to innovate, not to mention the increasing administrative tasks."

France Floc'h,
Senior lecturer in Coastal Physics, University of Western Brittany

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