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“Doctor, tell me about your thesis in 5 minutes!”
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On Wednesday, January 7, 2026, the Fondation ISAE-SUPAERO awarded its Thesis of the Year prizes to five young PhDs in recognition of the excellence and impact of their research work. The prizes, each endowed with €800, highlight the scientific quality and communication skills of doctoral students trained in one of the most demanding doctoral programs in the field of aeronautics, space and complex systems.
A revamped formula to enhance popularization & Thesis feedback
For the 2025 event, the format has been changed to “Docteur, raconte-moi ta thèse en 5 minutes”. This change gives each winner more time to present his or her thesis topic in a clear, accessible and captivating way to an audience of students, researchers and ISAE-SUPAERO staff. This extra time allows PhD students to go into a little more depth than in the previous edition, which took just 3 minutes.
At the heart of the lunch break, this solemn event evolves the tradition of promoting research by combining scientific expertise and communication skills, an essential challenge for young researchers whose ambition is to make their work understandable well beyond academic circles.
Laureates 2025: theses at the service of innovation
The five prizewinners rose brilliantly to this challenge of synthesis and pedagogy. Each shared the challenges, results and prospects of his or her research, testifying to the diversity and excellence of the work carried out within the Institute and its partners. To view photos of the event, click on this link.
Ricardo Rodrigues
“Modeling, robust control and analysis of complex, flexible and non-stationary space missions”.
Thesis directed by Daniel ALAZARD and Francesco SANFEDINO (ISAE-SUPAERO)
Olivier Goux
“Taking into account observational error correlations and variational assimilation of ocean data”.
Thesis directed by Anthony WEAVER (CERFACS) and co-directed by Olivier GUILLET
Antoine Salih Alj
“Radiation effects and electrical properties of an active deep-trench CCD-on-CMOS sensor for high-performance imaging”.
Thesis directed by Vincent GOIFFON and co-directed by Pierre MAGNAN (ISAE-SUPAERO)
Marcel Hinss (Presented by video)
“Human/UAV system interaction and human factors: taking into account the estimation of an operator’s state of fatigue in the design of adaptive interactions for the control of long-endurance UAVs.”
Thesis directed by Raphaëlle ROY (ISAE-SUPAERO) and Anke BROCK (ENAC)
Jean-baptiste Orsatelli (presented by F. Lachaud)
“Methodology for predicting the strength of bonded repairs to aeronautical composite structures.”
Thesis directed by Frédéric LACHAUD (ISAE-SUPAERO), co-directed by Eric PAROISSIEN and co-supervised by Sebastien SCHWARTZ
Promoting doctoral research at ISAE-SUPAERO
The 2025 edition of the thesis awards confirms the importance the Foundation places on high-level research and scientific communication. By extending the format to 5 minutes, the Institute offers young researchers a platform where they can not only present their results, but also open the doors to the world of research to students evolving in today’s academic, industrial and societal world.
A commitment made possible by the generosity of our donors
The 2025 Thesis Awards would not have been possible without the loyal support of Fondation ISAE-SUPAERO donors. Through their commitment, you are actively helping to encourage scientific excellence, promote the careers of young researchers and foster innovation in the aerospace industry. Thanks to your generosity, the Foundation can continue to support the talents of tomorrow and promote academic research at the highest level. Thank you!
More photos of the event here (Photo credit: Louis DERIGON)