Giulia Mollica is CNRS research director at the Institute of Radical Chemistry (ICR). After obtaining a doctorate in chemistry in Pisa, she carried out several post-doctoral positions in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, before moving to France in 2010.

Giulia Mollica has long hesitated between art and science. “I chose chemistry because, in my eyes, it had the right mix of magic and rigor. »

Today, she is interested in the structure of so-called “polymorphic” materials. Like diamond and graphite, polymorphic solids have the same chemical composition but form distinct crystal structures, which give them radically different properties. This phenomenon impacts many aspects of our lives, such as the effectiveness of medications, the constitution of bones in our body, the quality of chocolate, and the formation of limescale.

Giulia Mollica’s work consists of designing original experiments to access the atomic structure of a powder, itself made up of small crystals, and to understand the mechanisms of the formation of these crystals in order to control their structure, and therefore their properties. To achieve this, Giulia Mollica uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). By irradiating materials with light in the presence of an intense magnetic field, the atoms that make up the matter behave like little spies, making it possible to probe the interior of the matter.

Ultimately, Giulia Mollica hopes that her work will help the scientific community achieve what is considered to be the Holy Grail in materials science: modulating the crystalline form of a material according to the desired properties, which would have enormous economic consequences and practical for many applications.

Giulia Mollica likes to pass on her experience so that “young women do not doubt themselves, become aware of their abilities and can decide their future on their own. Woman and scientist, it’s possible! »