Innovation through collaboration: Bouabid Misski and his research between LUSAC and CERAMATHS
An academic career marked by a passion for materials
Bouabid Misski, 27, is a PhD student of Moroccan origin whose academic career reflects a deep passion for advanced materials. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in fundamental physics in 2020 in Morocco, he continued his studies with an IPMA master's degree (Engineering and Physics of Advanced Materials) at the Mohammedia Faculty of Science and Technology FSTM in 2022. His final-year project focused on the synthesis and elaboration of EVA/graphene-based nanocomposites. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Caen Normandie, in the LUSAC laboratory, where he is working on lead-free KNN-based piezoelectric ceramic materials, reinforcing his commitment to scientific research.
"I was immediately fascinated by this field, as it offers many possibilities for innovating and developing new materials," he confides. This fascination led him to undertake a thesis, which he began in Morocco before pursuing in France, in Cherbourg, at the Laboratoire universitaire des sciences appliquées (LUSAC), where he found an environment conducive to his research.
A thesis focused on materials optimization
The core of Bouabid Misski's research is based on a major technical challenge: reducing the sintering temperature of an alternative material: KNN. This material, characterized by the volatility of its alkaline elements, poses a particular challenge. Indeed, these elements are likely to evaporate at high temperatures, thus compromising the properties of the final material.
"We're looking to lower the sintering temperature to preserve these alkaline elements," he explains. This approach could not only improve the material's stability, but also pave the way for innovative applications.
Fruitful collaboration between laboratories
Bouabid Misski has chosen to conduct his research at the CERAMATHS laboratory, in collaboration with LUSAC in Cherbourg. This synergy between the two structures gives him access to complementary equipment, essential for his piezoelectric analyses. "My thesis supervisor knows the CERAMATHS team very well, especially the DMP section, which has equipment that we don't have at LUSAC,". Conversely, LUSAC offers resources that CERAMATHS does not possess, creating a mutually beneficial exchange.
Promising applications: gas sensors and actuators
The samples developed by Bouabid Misski could find a variety of applications, depending on the properties obtained. The main objective is the use of these materials as gas sensors, essential devices for detecting and measuring the presence of gases in various environments. These sensors play a key role in fields such as industrial safety, environmental monitoring and medical research.
.Other applications could emerge, such as actuators which underlines the versatile potential of this research.
A word of advice for future doctoral students: be patient!
When asked about the qualities needed to succeed in a thesis, Bouabid Misski insists on one word: patience. "Research is a long and complex process, but each stage brings its own share of discoveries and satisfactions," he concludes enthusiastically.