Frédéric Thévenet, IMT Lille Douai – Institut Mines-Télécom We spend 80% of our lives in enclosed spaces, whether at home, at work or in transit. We are therefore very exposed to this air, which is often more polluted than outdoor air. The issue of health in indoor environments is thus associated with chronic exposure to pollutants and to volatile organic …

The original version of this article was published on The Conversation.  By Abdelhak Maachi and Rodolphe Sonnier, IMT Mines Alès. Despite the recommendations of IPCC experts, who in 2018 recommended that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 40 to 70% by 2050 in an attempt to limit the impacts of the climate crisis, global CO2 output increased by 0.6% in 2019. Among the efforts made …

Electronic textiles is a multidisciplinary field which is not limited to the characterization and development of novel materials and devices. The field also targets technologies related to the interconnection of electronic functionalities leading to smart networks and to the development of hybrid approaches integrating flexible devices with traditional solid‐state electronics. Furthermore, unlike other emerging technologies, electronic textiles are, in part, …

As required by environmental transition, materials of the future must be “greener”. Bioplastics in particular have become a main focus of attention, and are often presented as the solution to the pollution caused by the plastics we use every day, which can take hundreds of years to decompose. Patricia Krawczak, a researcher at Mines Douai, studies these new polymers. Yet …

Composite materials are increasingly being used in industry, especially in the transport sectors (automotive and aeronautics). These lightweight and multifunctional materials have great potential for limiting environmental footprint, and will play a major role in the materials of future. At Mines Douai, Chung-Hae Park is contributing to the development of high-performance and economically viable composites. A distinguishing feature of these …

In the race towards renewable resources, biomass could well have an important role to play. Biomass includes organic matter derived from living organisms, particularly plants, which have more to offer than you might think. Patrick Navard is a researcher in materials at Mines ParisTech. Following his presentation at the “Materials: realities and new frontiers” symposium, organized on March 30-31, 2016 …

As a major component of the Industry of the Future project, additive manufacturing — or 3D printing — is leading to ever-increasing research on materials. Researchers at Mines Douai seized on the opportunity to explore this line of research a little over two years ago. Today, the many requests the school has received for research partnerships show the importance of …