The School is very proud to have its first CNRS medalist! This distinction, which crowns the research work of a young researcher specializing in their field, is a wonderful recognition of Romain Quey’s work on the deformation of polycrystalline materials. It is also a remarkable achievement for IMT, Mines Saint-Étienne, and the Georges Friedel Laboratory, UMR CNRS 5307.
Romain Quey is a CNRS research fellow at the Georges Friedel Laboratory, a joint research unit of Mines Saint-Étienne / CNRS, UMR 5307 (Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences, INSIS), in the Physics and Mechanics for the Metallurgy team, part of the Materials Science and Structures Center (SMS) department.
“Each year, the awarding of CNRS medals celebrates the researchers and staff who make exceptional contributions to the institution’s dynamism and reputation. The Bronze Medal rewards initial research that establishes a researcher as a specialist in their field and a member of a CNRS laboratory.”
This distinction crowns Romain Quey’s three flagship activities:
- His scientific research on the deformation of polycrystalline materials, which involves 3D observation, numerical simulation, and the modeling of the evolution of polycrystalline microstructures under large deformations.
- The software development of his research, through the polycrystalline microstructure generation and meshing software Neper.
- High-level partnership research conducted with national and international research teams, on topics ranging from rock fracture to thermal transport in nanomaterials.
“This distinction represents encouragement from the CNRS to pursue research that is well underway,” as evidenced by his career at the school:
- Romain Quey obtained a Master of Science in Engineering (Research) in materials science and engineering at the school, then prepared his thesis at the SMS center, entitled “Monitoring microtextures in aluminum during large hot deformation” under the supervision of Julian Driver, and defended in 2009.
- After completing two years of postdoctoral research, including one at Cornell University (USA) and one at CEA Grenoble, he was recruited in 2011 as a CNRS research fellow at the Georges Friedel Laboratory.
- In 2015, he received the Jean Mandel Prize, awarded by École Polytechnique and Mines ParisTech, for “his original work on the evolution of polycrystalline microstructures in metals under large deformations.”
- In 2015, he also obtained ANR young researcher funding for his project “3DPLASTICITY” (a 3D study of plasticity in deformed polycrystals based on diffraction experiments and crystal plasticity simulations).
- Since 2018, he has been a partner in the European ERC Advanced Grant project “M4D, Materials in 4 dimensions.” The project deals with the 3D monitoring and analysis of the evolution of polycrystalline microstructures during conventional processing or additive manufacturing.
- He is also the Deputy Director of the GDR “Recrystallization and Grain Growth” and organized the first annual meeting at the school in June 2018.
We extend our warmest congratulations to him for this achievement and for his career, which fully contributes to the national and international reputation of IMT, the School, and the Georges Friedel Laboratory.
