Teaching Activity

  • Teaching through research

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  • Teaching in separation techniques

The teachings in which I participate mainly concern chromatographic techniques coupled or not with mass spectrometry, as well as spectroscopic methods (vibrational, electronic or rotational). These activities are divided into lectures, tutorials and practical work. I try to particularly develop the practical aspect of teaching in separative sciences, especially at Masters 1 and 2, which I think is an essential point to give our students a major advantage. Most of our students are unfamiliar with the latest generation of analytical devices (GC, UPLC, MS), which can be prejudicial to them when looking for internships and practicing their first internships.

Thus with two colleagues, I obtained an educational investment fund (FIP, 40 k€) for the purchase of a first GC-MS dedicated to practical work of the 1st and 2nd year "Analyses Chromatographique et Spectroscopiques" (ACS) master's degree. So I set up this system in 2017 and developed the first practical work on this device for the M1 ACS. Subsequently, with a spectroscopist colleague, we grouped together in the same room the spectrometry and chromatography devices, to develop the existing practicals for the M2 ACS by crossing the GC-MS and FT-IR techniques, so as to put our students in the conditions where they could be during their internship.

In addition, I try as much as possible to use the developments I make in my research to make them available to students. So, I have set up labs for the M2 ACS on my research GC-MS devices. This approach allows students to discover devices and techniques that are new to them, or that they have only dealt with theoretically. Thus, they can perform practical work on a GC-orbitrap, on gas or headspace injection devices, use a cryogenic trap at the GC or even use a GC pyrolysis oven. . I would also like to develop experimental practice in UPLC with SPE online, however the number of hours is limited.

Due to my interactions with companies, I bring in two persons from ThermoElectron (2 hours each) to present the technique of orbitrap on the one hand, and the different GC sampling techniques. These two courses allow students to interact with professionals and prepare them for their future internship. Finally on this separative technical part of my teaching, always with my contacts in the industry, I try to set up a practical discovery of the systems conventionally used in the analytical chemistry laboratory by showing the students the different parts of an analytical system on devices that no longer work.


  • Teaching in Astrobiology

I have set up a course to introduce exobiology to our L3 students. Students are generally fascinated by this theme, but misunderstand it or have a distorted view of it by the media. My objective was therefore to set up a course allowing them to discover the different aspects of this theme and to demystify a large number of prejudices.


  • Involvement in scientific dissemination

I participated in the development of aspects of scientific dissemination to primary and secondary school students by investing in the Maison des Sciences of the University of Aix-Marseille. I thus took up existing workshops and developed new ones, to show these students that science, and in particular chemistry, are not abstract concepts, but that they are present around us on a daily basis. So with everyday elements, we set up fun and easy experiments to set up so that they can redo them at home in some cases. I think this approach is very interesting to awaken these young people to Science.