The 2024 Science Festival
What Are the Best Materials for Making Water Containers?
During “Les Sciences Infusent”, a workshop was held at the Halle aux Sucres in Lille by UMET, supported by the Chevreul Institute as part of the CPER CHEMACT project. Researchers tried to answer the question: What are the best materials for making water containers?
Scientists presented the manufacturing process of plastic objects to the many visitors. They also introduced a more sustainable alternative: replacing plastic with polylactide (PLA).
Currently, this transition is not yet feasible because heat deforms this bioplastic. Ongoing research is therefore focused on improving its thermo-mechanical properties.
Discover the 6th Edition of “Sciences en Bulle”
Sylvain Laforet, a PhD student at the Materials and Transformations Unit, was selected in 2024 to participate at the 6th edition of Sciences en Bulle.
Through a comic titled “Water in All Its States”, he shares part of his research with six other PhD students. During his thesis, “Spatial Alteration of the Asteroid Ryugu: Morphological, Chemical, and Structural Modifications at the Nanoscale,” Sylvain Laforet conducts research on asteroid samples. His work has been carried out at the PCA microscopy hub.
In this comic, he presents his perspective on a controversial topic in the scientific community: the mysterious origin of water on Earth.