French students join the Department for successful placement scheme

The industry-funded placement scheme has been running since 2019, with students from participating French engineering schools, or “Grandes Écoles d'Ingénieurs”, doing their last year’s final project in the department.

Khaled Alimi specialised in Propulsion and Transport during his general engineering course at Centrale Nantes. During the Oxford placement, Khaled joined Professor Felix Leach’s research group to work on the ‘AmmoSpray’ project, investigating the potential use of ammonia as a carbon-free fuel to decarbonise maritime transport, which is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. “I worked mainly on the experimental side of the project to study the effect of heating ammonia prior to injection on the spray behaviour, using a high-speed camera to record the development of the spray inside the injection chamber,” Khaled says.

The experience allowed me to improve my lab skills, especially in learning how to handle a hazardous environment. I was also able to develop my coding skills.

Khaled found that the Oxford placement enabled him to work in areas he was interested in, as well as helping to develop his skillset: “I found the subject of this project very stimulating as I have a strong interest in the maritime sector. The experience allowed me to improve my lab skills, especially in learning how to handle a hazardous environment. I was also able to develop my coding skills, as I had to develop a code to analyse the data we obtained.”

As well as developing practical skills, Khaled found that, on a personal level, he appreciated the ‘Oxford experience’ and learning how the University’s college system works. “I got to explore the city and in particular the University. Whereas the Oxford system tends to group students coming from different background like science or humanities within one college, which I find more effective, this is not the case in France, where engineering students are separated from the rest.”

In September 2024 Khaled's work was presented at the prestigious 3rd Symposium on Ammonia Energy, in Shanghai. “The work was very well received,” Dr Leach notes. “This is a significant achievement for Khaled.”

Under the supervision of Professor Laurence Brassart, Clarisse Audoin developed a model for the behaviour of cathode particles in solid-state batteries. This model incorporates a range of engineering disciplines, including physics, electronics, chemistry, and mechanics. Clarisse’s study focused on the ‘debonding’ that occurs at the surface of the particles and how it impacts battery performance. “We explored several aspects of the problem, such as the coupling between diffusion and stress, the influence of the charging rate, and the addition of a polymer coating around the particle to mitigate the debonding,” Clarisse says.

I was not a specialist in batteries, and I learnt a lot about this field during this placement.. I gained experience on conducting a literature review as well.

Clarisse also developed skills over the course of the placement. "I was not a specialist in batteries, and I learnt a lot about this field during this placement. It also gave me the opportunity to apply what I learnt at school about modelling mechanics. I gained experience on conducting a literature review as well, as it represented a significant part of the work.” 

François Michelon undertook a project to develop a large language model (LLM) interface for Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), under the supervision of Professor Thomas Morstyn and Yihong Zhou, a PhD student in Thomas’s lab.

I have been supervised by smart and interesting people at Oxford University, and I have discovered the research world!

HEMS act as a hub for managing household energy use, coordinating devices such as electric vehicles, heat-pumps, home batteries and smart appliances. This can help reduce energy bills and allow households to earn money from demand-side flexibility services. However, residents often find it difficult to use HEMS effectively, because they require detailed characteristics of the house, its energy devices, and the household’s preferences. Recently, LLMs have demonstrated an outstanding ability in language understanding. Motivated by this, François led work to develop an LLM-based interface that can proactively interact with residents to understand what they want from their HEMS. François has now developed his work into a paper which has been submitted to an academic conference.

“I have learned a lot from this research project,” François says. “It has been such a fantastic experience. I have been supervised by smart and interesting people at Oxford University, and I have discovered the research world! I have learned to read, search, discuss, and write. Oxford is a beautiful and peaceful city. It was a pleasure living in such an environment.”

On the academic side, this is a unique opportunity for talent discovery and opening future collaborations with EDF Energy

The University plans to build on the success of the placement scheme into 2025. Professor Antoine Jérusalem, who supervises the programme, explains: “We have a unique partnership with EDF Energy, who fund this scheme. On their side, they are uniquely open to funding these research projects led by our academics, engaging with the students and academics alike, and by means of the scheme promoting new ideas. And on the academic side, this is a unique opportunity for talent discovery and opening future collaborations with EDF Energy. Everybody wins.”