Staff scientists
Andrei Khodakov
Director de recherche CNRS
Andrei Khodakov graduated from the Moscow State University in 1987, received his PhD degree in 1991 from the Russian Academy of Sciences and his Habilitation (Dr Sci.) degree in 2002 from the University of Lille. In 1992-1999, Dr. Andrei Y. Khodakov acquired experience in top academic and industrial institutions in the United States (UC Berkeley, LBNL, Sabic Technology Center), in France (IFP, ENSCP, LURE) and in the UK (University of Edinburgh, UMIST). Currently Dr Khodakov is a Senior CNRS Research Director and Head of Catalysis for Energy research group in the UCCS CNRS laboratory in the University of Lille. His research interests cover catalyst and reactor design aspects for conversion of fossil and renewable feedstocks, reaction mechanisms and kinetics, in situ and operando techniques. The most important scientific achievements are in the field of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (synthesis of fuels, light olefins and oxygenates) as well as in the field of activation of paraffins.
Vitaly Ordomsky
Charge de recherche CNRS
Vitaly Ordomsky received his MSc (2006) and PhD (2009) degree from Moscow State University in the field of application of zeolite materials in catalysis. He was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Eindhoven University in the Netherlands, working on biomass conversion using heterogeneous catalysts. Afterwards, he received a permanent position as a researcher in 2013 at the CNRS (France) in the Energy group of Lille University working in C1 chemistry. From 2016 to 2019 he was CNRS researcher in E2P2L laboratory in Shanghai. His main research field is development of new nano-materials for sustainable chemistry.
Mirella VIRGINIE
Associate Professor
phone: + 33 3 20 43 69 52
Office: C3 Lille University
Mirella VIRGINIE obtained her MSc in 2007 on the topic of ethanol steam reforming before to obtained her PhD degree in 2011 in the field of catalytic tar reforming produced during biomass gasification, in Laboratoire des Matériaux, Surfaces et Procédés pour la Catalyse from Strasbourg University. She acquired experience in the fields of catalytic membrane reactor during her postdoctoral research in Département des Sciences Analytiques of the Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien Strasbourg.
Currently Dr Virginie is an Associate Professor in the UCCS CNRS laboratory in the University of Lille. Her research interests cover designing of heterogeneous catalysts for Fischer-tropsch synthesis and Dry methane reforming, biogas valorization, kinetic modeling, and effect of H2S as impurities.
Invited Researcher
Dr Olena VOVK
Dr. Olena Vovk graduated at the Chemistry Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1988. From 1988 she worked at the Institute for Single Crystals of NAS of Ukraine (Kharkiv) in field of material science (solid-phase synthesis of complex oxide materials, transparent ceramics, materials for laser and optoelectronic technique, and their characterization, materials processing). Ph.D. degree in material science she received in 2006. From 2014, she worked as a senior researcher at the laboratory of optical and laser crystals.
In the beginning of 2023 she joined SusCat research group as invited researcher in the frame of the program PAUSE – ANR Ukraine, Multiprobe project. Her research interests involve of synthesis of catalytic materials for catalytic hydrogenation of CO and CO2 and investigation their characteristics.
Visiting Scholar
Dongqin BI is from Henan, China. She obtained her PhD degree in 2012 from Zhejiang University. At present, she is a visiting scholar in the UCCS CNRS laboratory, and her research field is the photocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide in water.
PostDoc
Geqian Fang
PostDoc
Geqian Fang received his master's degree in 2019 from Zhejiang University of Technology, where he conducted research on the upgrading of biomass ethanol to n-butanol using MOFs based multi-functional catalysts. In 2023, he obtained his Ph.D. degree from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, focusing on the design and synthesis of single-atom catalysts (SACs) for methane conversion. His research interests cover the rational tailoring of novel and highly efficient nano and atomic scale supported metal catalysts for converting energy molecules (light alkanes, alcohols, etc.) into high-value-added chemicals. Currently, he is a post-doctoral researcher at the UCCS CNRS laboratory, specializing in the conversion of methane using photo- or photo-thermal catalytic approach
PhD students
Ana Katiuce Fellenberg
PhD student
Ana is originally from Iraí, BR and earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó (UNOCHAPECÓ) in 2013. Ana performed master research in carbon membranes and gas separation at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). At the same time, she also was a student representative of the graduate program in chemical engineering (PPGEQ) at the university. Her current research with Dr Andrei Khodakov and Dr Gang Ji is focused on the nanoconfinement for production of platform molecules from biosyngas with enhanced selectivity.
Yinghao Wang
PhD student
Yinghao Wang comes from Jiangsu, China. In 2017, he obtained his bachelor degree in materials chemistry at Soochow University. In 2022, he earned his master's degree of Physical Chemistry-Heterogeneous Catalysis at Yunnan University working on design and synthesis of metal catalysts for hydrogenation-hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to biofuel. Since 2022, he pursues PhD and performs research about methane photoelectrochemical coupling under the supervision of Dr. Andrei Khodakov. His project at UCCS focuses on direct chemical conversion of methane to value-added chemicals and fuels.
Massimo Corda
PhD student
Massimo Corda obtained his master's degree at Cagliari University (Italy) in September 2020. From October 2020 to April 2021 he worked at Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany) on the synthesis of metal oxides nanoparticles as heterogeneous catalysts for biomass valorization. In September 2021 he joined UCCS as a PhD Student. His current work focus on new nanostructured catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to light olefines.
Mỹ Nghệ Trần
PhD student
My Nghe comes from Binh Dinh, Viet Nam, which is the hometown of Quang Trung Emperor. He obtained his bachelor degree of Chemistry from Quy Nhon University (2017) and diploma certificate of Biotechnology from Chisholm Institute (2019). Afterwards, he graduated from Gachon University, South Korea with his master degree of Nanophysics (2021). His master thesis focused on the 2D Titanium Carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene for photocatalysis and gas sensor applications. From September 2021, as a PhD student, he participated in the UCCS and IEMN groups, under the supervisions of Professor Vitaly Ordomsky and Professor Bruno Grandidier. His research centers catalytic reactions of water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) splitting to produce hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), respectively.
Yevkeni Wisse
PhD student
Yevkeni orginates from the Netherlands and he obtained his bachelor's degree in 2020 and his master's degree in 2022, both at Utrecht University (The Netherlands). His master's researchproject involved the utilisation of novel spherical lanthanide-doped LaOCl particles for in-situ nanothermometric applications during polymerisation. After his researchproject, he did an internship of six months at Dow Chemicals (Terneuzen) and was subsequently hired on a temporary assignment. In September 2023 he joined UCCS as a PhD student under the supervision of Vitaly Ordomsky. During his PhD he will be focussed on the development embryonic zeolites for the efficient conversion of CO2 towards value-added chemicals.
Ernesto de la Torre
PhD student
Ernesto de la Torre is a PhD student, working on conversion of methane by electro(photocatalysis) under the supervision of Dr. Vitaly Ordomsky. Previously, he obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering from San Francisco de Quito University in Ecuador. Subsequently, Ernesto obtained his master's degree in the SIP – Sustainable Industrial Processes – Chemistry course Specialty: CP (Catalysis and Processes) from École Centrale de Lille in France. In this master's internship he worked on the research topic of synthesis of gold nanoparticles stabilized by cyclodextrin based systems and their use in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol under the supervision of Dr. Sébastien Noël (UCCS Artois).
Vladislav Butenko
PhD student
Vladislav Butenko, originally from Russia, obtained his master's degree from Novosibirsk State University in 2023. During his master's studies, he focused on investigating the activation of cobalt-containing oxide systems in catalytic processes for boron-containing hydrides dehydrogenation, a research effort conducted in collaboration with the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis. Сurrently, Vladislav is pursuing a PhD, under the guidance of Jeremie Zaffran and Vitaly Ordomsky, with a research focus on the photo(electro)chemical carboxylation of organic compounds.
Duc Manh Nguyen
PhD student
Manh Nguyen comes from Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam, where Phở Bò, a kind of beef noodle soup, is very famous. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Hanoi University of Science and Technology in 2020. After that, he earned his master’s degree in chemistry at University of Rostock/Leibniz Institute for Catalysis, Germany in 2022. His master thesis focused on synthesis of TiO2-based photocatalysts for VCOCs removal. Following the completion of his master, he spent a year working as a researcher at Energy and Environmental Division, Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology. In November 2023, he joined UCCS to pursue his PhD. Under supervision of Professor Andrei Khodakov, his current work focuses on development of highly efficient photocatalysts for methane conversion towards ethane or carbon monoxide and investigation of catalysis mechanisms by using state-of-the-art characterization techniques."
Visiting PhD student
Michele Bigica
PhD student
Michele Bigica is a Ph.D Student of Chimica Industriale (XXXVIII cycle) at Università degli Studi di Milano. In particular, the Ph.D. is an Industrial Scholarship, co-funded by RSE S.p.A.The project is titled “Development of catalytic conductive materials composed of carbon and hydroxyapatite for electromethanogenesis processes” and it is focused on the synthesis of new composite materials for the prodouction of methane from carbon dioxide. Currently, he is a visiting student at CNRS of Université de Lille for his abroad period of six months.
He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Chemistry at Università degli Studi di Milano in December 2020, working on a review thesis (due to the Covid-19 restrictions) titled “CATALIZZATORI CON PROPRIETA’ ACIDE WATER-TOLERANT: CARATTERIZZAZIONE DELL’ACIDITA’ SUPERFICIALE E APPLICAZIONI NELLA CONVERSIONE DI BIOMASSA” under the supervision of Professor Antonella Gervasini and Doctor Sebastiano Campisi.
The Master’s Degree Thesis was supervised by Professor Gervasini and Doctor Campisi too. He worked on “NEW GREEN TERNARY ACIDIC SOLIDS FOR THE HYDROLYSIS OF CARBOHYDRATE BIOMASS”, obtaining the Degree in September 2022.
Alumni
Yong Zhou (postdoc 2021-2023) - research position in Dongguan University of Technology, China
Chunyang Dong (postdoc 2021-2023) -postdoctoral position in the University of Hong Kong
Sergei Chernyak (postdoc 2021-2023) - postodoctoral position in the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands
Di Hu (PhD student in 2019-2022) - Associate Professor, Hubei Normal University, China
Anoop Chakkingal (PhD student in 2019-2022) -PhD defense in Sept. 2022
Deizi Vanessa Peron (PhD student in 2015-2019, postdoc 2019-2022) -Research Engineer in Total Energies
Alan Josue Barrios (PhD graduation in December 2021) -Research and Innovation Engineer in ADISSEO
Debora R. Strossi Pedrolo (PhD graduation in December 2021)- Public Officer, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Qiyan Wang (PhD graduation in September 2021), researcher position, Advanced Intelligent Manufacturing & Nano Opto-mechatronics & Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, Zhengzhou University, China
Sara Navarro-Jaén (Postdoc in 2019-2020) -postdoctoral research position in KU Leuven, Belgium
Melissa Rodrigues de la Rocha (PhD graduation in April 2021) -chemical engineer, Sinodos Chemistry consulting company
Dan Wu (PhD graduation in December 2020) -2021 Winner of Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad, professor-level researcher position at Zhengzhou University, China
Shaohua Xie (Postdoc, 2018-2019)
Feng Niu (PhD graduation in 2019)- Post doctoral position, China
Bang Gu (PhD graduation in 2019) - Assistant Professor, Yunnan University, China
Xiang Yu (Max) (PhD graduation in 2019) - Postdoctoral Researcher in the Shenzhen University, Guangdong, China
Camila Gomes Flores (PhD graduation in 2019) -Research Engineer in H.B. Fuller, France
Alexandre Antônio Bento Carvalho (PhD graduation in 2017) -Researcher at Calistair company, Paris, France
Cathy Brabant (PhD graduation in 2017) - Chemistry High School Teacher, France
Guanfeng Liang (Postdoc in 2017) - Associate Professor, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Renata de Carvalho Teles Bertotto (stay in 2016-2017) - quality analyst, Castertech Fundição e Tecnologia, Brazil
Yanping Chen (Postdoc in 2016-2017) - Staff Scientist, Micro-, Nanoreactor and Reaction Engineering Group, State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, Dalian, China
Nuno Batalha (Postdoc, 2016-2017), CNRS Researcher, Lyon, France
Tong Li (PhD defense in 2016) -Researcher, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, CAS, China
Marine Gaillard (PhD graduation in 2016) - Project Leader in S3D Engineering, France
Janice Botelho Souza (Sandwich PhD in 2016) - Full Professor, Universidade La Salle, Brazil
Charles Bonnin (PhD graduation in 2016) – Research Engineer, IFP-Energies Nouvelles, France
Yuan Luo (Postdoc 2014-2016) -Development Engineer at ILS, Berlin, Germany
Mengnan Lu (PhD graduation in 2015) -Researcher, China Energy Group Co. Ltd. Beijing Lucency Enviro-Tech Co. Ltd, China
Kang Cheng (PhD graduation in 2015) - Associate Professor, Xiamen University, China
Vijayanand Subramanian (postdoc, 2013-2015), Professor, India
Benoit Legras (postdoc, 2013-2015)
Diego Alexander Pena Zapata (PhD graduation in 2013) - Catalyst technologist for heavy ends processing, Axens, France
Guilherme de Souza (Sandwich PhD in 2012-2013) -Coordinator of the Technical Advisory of the Secretariat for the Environment and Infrastructure of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Jie Zhang (Postdoc in 2012) - Associate Professor, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute,CAS, China
Majid Sadeqzadeh (PhD graduation in 2012)- Senior Process Engineer at Johnson Matthey, UK
Alan Jean-Marie (PhD graduation in 2010) - Senior Scientist, Matière & Energie, Altran Research, France
Héline Karaca (PhD graduation in 2009)
Jingping Hong (PhD graduation in 2009) - Full Professor of South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, China
Jerome Anfray (PhD graduatiion in 2005), Research Engineer, TotalEnergies
Mickael Brémaud (Postdoc, 2004-2005), engineer, EureCat, France
Jean Sebastien Giradon (PhD graduation in 2005) - Associate Professor, University of Lille, France
Pascal Fongarland (Postdoc, 2003-2005), Full Professor, CPE, Lyon, France
Anatoly Lermontov (Postdoc, 2003-2004)