Innovating in nanotechnology is the challenge taken on by Alice Grégoire, an engineer Arts et Métiers, during her Master of Science at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.
A new way to manufacture alumina nanoparticles
The goal of Alice Grégoire’s Master of Science —as an engineer Arts et Métiers— during her Master of Science at Cranfield was to develop a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for manufacturing alumina nanoparticles while ensuring their purity. “This research project was carried out for a company specializing in materials for the aeronautics and aerospace industries, as alumina is used in many fields due to its resistance to extreme operating conditions, such as high temperatures or corrosion,” explains Alice. To this end, the young engineer had access to a research laboratory and various characterization tools.“This work paves the way for the development of a method for producing alumina nanoparticles using molecules that are more environmentally friendly and less expensive than those currently used. Furthermore, this work has identified a way to reduce the temperature required to obtain the final material, and thus to reduce the energy needed for its production, ” Alice emphasizes.
The Professor and Mrs. McKeown Prize for the Best Thesis in Nanotechnology, awarded to Alice for her work.
Alice received the Professor and Mrs. McKeown Prize for the Best Thesis in Nanotechnology, an annual award presented by to the most innovative Master of Science doctoral thesis in nanotechnology at Cranfield University.“I was truly surprised to receive this award, since many other projects were also very innovative! I really appreciated the freedom I had while working on my thesis, thanks to a very supportive advisor. Above all, I’m proud to have been able to show him that he was right to trust me.”
Alice, who decided to continue her studies with a Master of Science Management at ESSEC, is currently a project manager for agricultural tire recycling at Michelin as part of an internship.“My technical background is a real asset for this position, even though it’s in Marketing.”
For this engineer, who chose to study at Arts et Métiers of its "practical" approach, the industrial world is still an obvious choice: "I want to work in an industrial sector, always in connection with materials. I am particularly interested in B2B marketing, as it would allow me to apply my technical and managerial skills and gain a global vision of product development. "
