photographist

“I’m working with nanomaterials, more particularly on a new process, based on self-assembling of nanowires, with the aim to integrate them into functional devices. My research deals with the understanding of the materials and their properties – how it is possible to use them and for which applications. It ranges, for example, from the DNA hybridisation probe to the solar cell. My aim is to find simple technologies to incorporate nanometric things with low cost techniques so we do not need to work all the time under microscopes. The nanowires are first dispersed in solution, which is then filtered to form the nanowire sheet – based on both silicon and zinc oxide nanowires. Such a nanowire sheet is as easy to handle as a macroscopic material because it is possible to transfer it onto a substrate, to etch it with standard microelectronic technologies and to use it as a standard thin film. But its properties, that I study, can be really amazing.

Curiosity, creativity, perseverance, tenacity, lots of energy, hard work, good human rapport and desire to move on are necessary skills for research activities, both for women and men. Apart from the cultural obstacles that originate from social stereotypes, women encounter some obstacles from day to day, so that continually they have to provide proof of their experience and expertise.
I contribute to the association for parity in scientific and technical professions (APMST) in Grenoble. It takes action to promote science, to encourage girls to enter scientific fields and to favour course choices for girls as soon as possible. Such actions should begin at the nursery school, where girls and boys are already not considered equal – both in games, activities and even in the children’s literature.”

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