This project will finance the urgent acquisition of experimental means for 20 PhD students who lost their working tools in the fire of their research laboratory in Grenoble, France. At this stage, their research work has come to a standstill because their equipment burned out. They are working in areas such as climate change, the environment, energy transition, prevention of natural risks, and health.
On Feb. 23, a criminal fire severely damaged the building which housed the experimental devices of the 3SR laboratory. Most of the scientific equipment was destroyed and the building is unsafe. More than 100 laboratory staff have seen their activities and investment over decades reduced to nothing. The immediate human impact is the suspension of more than 20 PhD theses and post-docs left without experimental resources. This seriously compromises the completion of the PhD graduations.
The impacted theses contribute to the advancement of science in areas such as climate change, the environment, energy transition, natural hazard prevention and health. They are blocked when they could lead to major advances and save lives. In view of the urgency of the situation, this project will make it possible to finance the acquisition of laboratory equipment and experimental means so that the PhD students can resume their research work as quickly as possible.
For example, the PhD theses in progress will: feed climate change models by means of snow dynamics; spot areas where the soil structure presents deadly risks of torrential sludge in case of heavy rainfall; work with Haiti NGOs to build earthquake resistant structures inspired by traditional techniques; replace plastic materials by biosourced materials; clean up domestic water through biofilms; design biocompatible artificial vibrators that give speech back to voiceless patients.
