
Dr. Catherine Bessada
Directeur de Recherche CNRS, CEMHTI-CNRS UPR3079
email: catherine.bessada@cnrs-orleans.fr
Catherine Bessada graduated in Physical Chemistry in Paris Sud University where she obtained her PhD in 1988. Then, she got a CNRS position in Orleans, and obtained her HDR degree in 2004. She is now director of research and director of the CEMHTI laboratory (for Extreme Conditions and Materials: High Temperature and Irradiation) since 2013. She is also involved in the National Committee of the CNRS since 2016.
Her current activity is focused on molten salts speciation combining high temperature NMR, EXAFS and molecular dynamics, for application in nuclear energy (waste recycling by pyroprocessing, MSFR), solar energy and thermal storage, aluminium electrolysis, measurement of self-diffusion coefficient by pulse field gradient NMR up to 1500°C and more generally in the development of new experimental tools for molten salts and application to industrial processes.
She has published more than 150 publications and gived more than 300 communications in scientific events, oral and poster, including 30 invited conferences. She has directed and co-directed 21 PhD students, and 10 postdocs.