The French Connection
For the last several years, the CAER has
participated in a student exchange program
with a materials engineering school called
the ESIREM at the University of Burgundy in
Dijon, France. Each year in February a small
group of French students arrive at the Bluegrass
Airport looking somewhat tired and bewildered.
CAER representatives greet them and take them
to their lavish student apartments here at
the University of Kentucky. After recovering
from their initial shock, the students sleep
about 24 hours and head to the university
with the CAER's personnel representative who
helps them untie the red tape that could easily
bind them together as they negotiate administrative
procedures.
When they finally reach the lab, they are
assigned a mentor/supervisor who trains them
and guides their work for the next five months.
Because these are materials science students,
they tend to work in the Carbon Materials
and Clean Fuels and Chemicals Groups.
Over the years, the staff has come to adopt
each set of "French kids." One of
our engineers actually sold them his car.
Now, each new group buys it from the group
who owned it the previous year. When the students
are away, it is housed behind the lab and
staff members take turns starting it occasionally
and maintaining it.
The first year of the program, the director
picked the students up at the airport and
discovered when they arrived at their apartments
that they had no bed linens or towels. He
called his wife, who took their children's
bed sheets and quickly came over to set them
up. Looking over the collection of household
items that have been handed down from one
group to the next, I see my grandmother's
frying pan, our librarian's mop, a television
from one of the scientists, and miscellaneous
odds and ends. When last February's ice storm
knocked out most power in Lexington, one scientist
who lives in Frankfort, gathered the students
up and brought them to his house to live for
a week!
The cross-cultural exchanges work both ways.
Last year one of the students taught my then
eight-year-old daughter to make crepes. The
student said, "In France all children
know how to make crepes." Now my daughter
makes both dinner and dessert crepes for us
- and currently wants to be a pastry chef
when she grows up.
In addition to bringing a better understanding
between our institutions of higher learning,
the program has made parents - or at least
ambassadors -- of many of us at the lab.
The students leave in June, returning to
France with both professional and personal
stories that they will always retain. The
following September they deliver presentations
on their work to their advisors, faculty members,
and the department chair. This is their last
step toward graduation.
Their experiences may best be described in
their own words. Click below to read what
the 2003 students have to say about their
time here so far.
Marybeth McAlister
Emilie Chenu
Francois Liblin
Bruno Nasone
Ouria Slimane
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I'm working on fuel cell reformers during my internship at the CAER. The aim of my study is to find the most
efficient and cheapest metal, which is able to catalyze the water gas-shift reaction. This reaction transforms
the carbon monoxide produced at the same time as the hydrogen in carbon dioxide. So in order to know the best
metal, we use the BET method to determine the best surface area.
I'm from a little town near Paris named Saint-Chéron. I lived there for 20 years. Then I left it in order to
do my studies in Dijon (3 years), just before coming here. After finishing my work in Kentucky, I'm going to
complete my education with one more year of study in business management.
The biggest adjustment to America was the size of all things, because here all things are bigger than in France.
It's why US is so impressive.
I'm Francois Liblin, I will be 23 years old on May.12th. I come from France where I live in a little village
near Saintes, in Charente-Maritime. It's about 40km from the Atlantic Ocean, and 30km from the famous town of
Cognac. Since September 2000 I have been in Dijon, in Burgundy, a famous region for its wines, in order to study
material sciences and will graduate as an engineer in October, 2003. But in order to graduate I have to do an
internship.
That's why I'll be at the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) in Lexington, Kentucky from February.5th to
June.30th. I'm working on the surface treatment of nanotubes by steam or chemical activation. Specifically, I have
to do experiments to find the best way to achieve a high surface area and specific components on the surface of
the nanotubes. Working in this place is very interesting because nanotubes are new for me, but I try to use my
competencies and share my experiences with a great team to finish this project.
Otherwise, I'm very happy to study and to live in the USA, and in Kentucky, the Bluegrass State. And even if
sometimes I miss my family and my friends from France, everyday I try to enjoy life in the USA because there are
a lot of things to do here. For example I went to watch horse racing for the first time at Keeneland, to a hockey
game to support the "Man O' War", and to a Mexican restaurant. And in fact I met very nice people at work, in
Commonwealth Village where I live, and in bars and in clubs as well. In April I was in Chicago and had very good
time. It was unbelievable to be in this town because when I was younger I couldn't imagined that one day I would
be in one of the tallest towers of the world, looking like a child at the billions of points lighting up Chicago
at night.
And I have a lot of projects for the 90 days that I will have to live in the USA. I plan to go to Mammoth Cave
in Kentucky, to see the Statue of Liberty in New York, and to visit the Capitol in Washington D.C.
Thank you USA for being so nice a country!
I work with the clean fuels and chemical group.
My supervisor is Mark Crocker and my project
deals with desulfurization for fuel cell processing.
The fuel cells' catalyst (platinum) doesn't
allow sufficient amounts of sulfur. More specifically,
I study the characteristics of anionic clays
that are known to be carbon dioxide sorbent
and consequently may work well for sulfur.
I come from Quimper in Brittany on the west
of France near the Atlantic Ocean. I am here
for my internship thanks to my engineering
school in Dijon, ESIREM.
When we arrived in Kentucky we received an
exceptional welcome from all the staff, especially
Rob Spicer and Dennis Sparks, who welcomed
us at the airport after midnight! We had missed
our airplane at Atlanta earlier that day,
so we were very late. In the time we've been
in Kentucky, we have known a special climate,
especially the ice storm two months ago and
now we have a climate which can be compared
to the summer climate in France.
We live in a student residence where we have
met a lot of people from other foreign countries
and we share our different cultures: it's
a human experience. Because of these things,
the adaptation was easy for me and even though
I obviously miss my family and my friends,
I really enjoy Kentucky. At the end of my
internship, my friends and I will travel around
the U.S. for three weeks. When I go back in
France I will look for a job as an engineer
in the field of research and development in
materials.
I'm completing my internship in the Carbon Group at the CAER. The broad objective of my project is to determine
whether the introduction of Fuzzy Fibers (quartz fibers on which carbon nanotubes grow) into a polymer matrix
would have a significant effect upon its physical properties. The study is carried out by fabricating varying
concentrations of Fuzzy Fibers with epoxy resin and characterizing them.
I come from France. I used to live in a little town called Montbrison with my family, but three years ago I
left in order to go to Dijon for my studies. I'm an engineering student in Materials Science at the University of
Burgundy in Dijon. In order to graduate, I must do an internship for five months. I chose to do it here because I
think this is a good opportunity for me to improve my knowledges in polymer composites and my English skills, but
it's also a good opportunity to discover another culture.
Actually, I do not know yet what I want to do later. After my internship, I will go back to France and look for
a job there. I'm very interested in research, so I would be very happy to find a job in the field of polymers,
where I could do research and development new materials.
I'm glad to be here in Bluegrass Country. Everybody is very kind, and very helpful to me. I've met nice people
at work and in the Commonwealth Village, the residence where I live. There is always something to do here. I went
for the first time to the horse races at KEENELAND and to a hockey game to support the Lexington Team, Men o'War.
I also went to Chicago. It was wonderful even if the weather was cold. I was very impressed because everything is
much bigger than in France. Even walking down the street is impressive because of the skyscrapers surrounding you.
I went to the highest level of the second tallest building of the world. All the lights of the city were on, and
the view was splendid!!!
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