Hello, I am Lucien Roach. I am a CNRS Research Scientist at the Laboratoire de Chimie within the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon.
The main focus of my current research is the biomimetic use of soft matter to create structure in inorganic materials. I’m am particularly interested in developing new approaches inspired by diatoms. Diatoms are single-celled algae with exterior cell walls made of intricately patterned silica called a frustule that are reproduced accurately between generations with feature sizes spanning several orders of magnitude. I want to use the biomolecules associated with diatom biomineralization to develop new materials science approaches to produce nanostructured materials.
I also have research interests in:
Nanomaterials & Optical Metamaterials: Investigation into core-shell particles, plasmonic systems, and Mie-resonant structures. Work in this domain explores directional light scattering, optical response optimization, and the bottom-up fabrication of meta-atoms for advanced photonic and infrared applications.
Machine Learning-Assisted Synthesis: Implementation of automated and data-driven methods—including thermodynamic modeling and machine learning—to guide the continuous flow synthesis of nanomaterials.
Colloid & Interface Science: Exploration of self-assembly phenomena, solvent dynamics, and surface modification techniques (including silica-coating and surfactant control) to dictate the morphology, spatial organization, and stability of inorganic and metallic nanomaterials.