Safa Gharbi and Juan Lorenzo Santana Gonzalez win the 2026 IP Paris 3MT Competition
Six PhD candidates presented their research in English to a non-specialist audience on Thursday, June 4, at Télécom Paris. All were affiliated with laboratories of Institut Polytechnique de Paris.
Two of them stood out by convincing both the audience and the jury with clear, engaging, and accessible presentations:
- Safa Gharbi, a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films (LPICM*) at École Polytechnique, was awarded the First Prize by the jury. Her thesis, entitled "Development of High-Performance Solid- and Quasi-Solid-State Electrolytes Coupled with Sulfur-Infiltrated Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Cathodes for Next-Generation Lithium–Sulfur Batteries", aims to make lithium–sulfur batteries more efficient, safer, and more environmentally friendly by developing new solid electrolytes that enhance their lifespan and energy performance.
- Juan Lorenzo Santana Gonzalez, a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Irradiated Solids (LSI**) at École Polytechnique, received both the Second Prize from the jury and the Audience Award. His thesis, entitled “Looking at the Quantum Ocean”, seeks to understand why and how electrons pair up to form superconductivity—an state where electricity flows with zero resistance—by studying an intermediate and still mysterious phase known as the “strange metal.”
Congratulations also to Julia Castelo Pedrotti, also a PhD candidate at LSI, who placed third in the competition, as well as to Juan José Garcia Cardenas, Joséphine-Agnès Kourouma, and Alireza Sepidbar for the high quality of their presentations.
On to the interuniversity final
The two winners have qualified for the interuniversity final, which will take place on June 25, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Télécom Paris, in the Thévenin amphitheatre.
They will represent Institut Polytechnique de Paris alongside candidates from Université Paris-Saclay and Université PSL.
Register now (free) to support them on June 25 and vote for the candidate you believe deserves the 2026 Audience Award.
* LPICM : a joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
**LSI : a joint research unit CEA, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
