Cordées de la réussite "Success with science" at Roumanille secondary school in Avignon

On Monday 22 January 2024, as part of a project entitled "Réussir avec les sciences" ("Succeeding with science"), pupils in the LCE section at Roumanille secondary school were visited by their partners from Avignon university: the GREEN and IMBE laboratories.

As part of the "Réussir avec les sciences" (succeeding with science) programme, students in the European Languages and Cultures section at Roumanille secondary school are carrying out a research project in collaboration with the GREEN laboratory and the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE). 

This project enables pupils to work on protocols in English, vocabulary, scientific experiments and to carry out manipulations in English. They are also working on the guidance aspect by discovering the sectors and professions linked to this partnership on the theme of ecological extraction.

The GREEN and IMBE laboratories are both part of the University of Avignon. They specialise respectively in research into eco-extraction and the analysis of ancient objects (colours, materials, etc.) from all over the world. They can be called on to trace the origin, type and colour of these objects to help museums.

On Monday 22 January, the students received a visit from Sandrine Périno, lecturer, and Emmanuel Petitcolas, research engineer, both from the GREEN laboratory, as well as Gérald Culioli, university professor. They discussed the following topics with them:

• University courses: After a general baccalaureate, researchers have studied for three years (Licence). After 5 years of study (Master's), they can continue for a further 3 years (Doctorate) in order to become teacher-researchers after passing a competitive examination.
• Extraction: Extraction is a way of recovering aromas, colours and essential oils from plants and living organisms. There are many methods of extraction, including infusion, hydro-distillation and maceration. The most recent method developed at Labo GREEN is the microwave. It extracts essential oils using waves sent through the plant. This moves the water molecules in the plant, which heat up and extract the oil. This is the fastest method.
• Essential oils: An essential oil is a fluid or thick aromatic liquid. They can come from seeds, flowers, leaves, wood or bark. They are used in various fields: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, perfumes, etc.
• The sea and colours: The marine world represents 70% of the Earth's surface.
  There are three worlds: the terrestrial world, the marine world and the freshwater world.
  Seaweed comes in 3 colours (green, brown and red) that can be extracted. Green is the easiest colour to create, while yellow is the most difficult to master because it loses its colouring in the light.

All the students and their teachers would like to thank the researchers for their collaboration.