Back to school with Experimentarium

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experimentariumIt is that time of year once again to get back to school and back to work – the famous ‘rentrée’ has arrived ! The beginning of this month also marked a fresh start for doctoral students participating this year in the Experimentarium. In early September, Pascale Frey-Klett and Annick Brun-Jacob (LabEx ARBRE, UMR IAM 1136 INRA-University of Lorraine) were ready to greet the five young researchers taking part in the second session of Experimentarium in Lorraine.

What is this training about? Experimentarium, originally launched by the University of Burgundy, has been active in Lorraine since 2008 and is managed by the association La Vigie de l’eau, with additional support from INRA, the University of Lorraine and LabEx ARBRE. The aim lies in bridging the link between science and society. Through a series of open-forum discussions and workshops, participating doctoral students present their work and specific areas of research to primary and middle school students. The first phase has started with  laboratory presentations which will be followed shortly by a meeting on October 5 when the doctoral students will visit the Sampigny school and present their research to a dozen or so young school kids anxious to let the discovery begin!

PhD students participating this year represent no less than four doctoral schools — RP2E (Science and Engineering, Processes, Resources, Products, Environment), BioSE (Biology, Health, Environment), SJPEG (Political science, Policy, Economics and Management), and EMMA (Mechanical, Energy and Materials Sciences). The theme common to all – the forest!

The PhD students and their research topics —

  • Maxime Burst  (RP2E)
    Forest-grassland interfaces as conservation elements for plant diversity in terrtories undergoing changes
  • Pierre-Antoine Chuste  (RP2E)
    Study of the sensitivity of Lorraine populations of beech in response to climatic events — What roles does carbon and nitrogen metabolism play in the death of trees?
  • Mathilde Guibert  (BioSE)
    Alterations to chondrogenic phenotypes and pathological mineralization of articular cartilage during osteoarthritis: the role of deregulated Pi/PPi balance.
  • Emeline Hily  (SJPEG)
    Incentive payments for biodiversity conservation — dynamic and spatial  analyses
  • Lucie Speyer  (EMMA)
    Preparation and characterization of macroscopic quantities of graphene.