The team members.

The members of the group synthesize, characterise and test new organic materials in solar cells, and thermoelectric devices. Our research aims to understand the structure-properties relationships of these new materials, to implement them in devices, to improve their efficiency and to assess their robustness over time. 

The talented team

Dr. Cyril Aumaître
Permanent Researcher
Junior Scientist (CEA)

Cyril received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bordeaux University (France) in 2011, and master’ s degree in polymer science from Grenoble Alpes University (UGA) in 2014. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2017 at UGA under the supervision of Dr. R. Demadrille and Dr. P. Reiss working on Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.
He moved to Québec (Canada) for postdoctoral training with Prof. J-F. Morin and Prof. M. Leclerc at Université Laval on the synthesis of graphene nanoribbons for organic photovoltaic application. He recently joined the STEP laboratory as a permanent researcher in material chemistry. His main research interest focuses on the synthesis of new π-conjugated materials for energy production applications (bulk heterojunction solar cells, thermoelectricity, photocatalysis).

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Lucie Rivet
PhD Student

My name is Lucie RIVET. In 2023, I graduated from the National Graduate School of Chemistry of Montpellier with a degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in the chemistry of materials for energy. In October 2023, I joined the team as a PhD student under the supervision of Drs R. Demadrille and C. Aumaître. The aim of my thesis, as part of the Monopoly project, is to synthesise and characterise of stable non-fullerene acceptor polymers for application in organic photovoltaics. 

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Jhon Arango 
PhD Student

My name is Jhon Galvez Arango. I'm from Colombia, where I obtained my bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Quindío. In 2022, I joined the master of nano-chemistry of the University Grenoble Alpes. Since 2024, I became part of the STEP team, to did a Master internship and I'm starting a PhD under the supervision of Dr. R. Demadrille in the synthesis of new organic dyes for use in dye sensitized solar cells under low light intensities.

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Anass Khodr
​ Post Doc

I’m Anass Khodr, an engineer specialized in materials and nanotechnologies from Denis Diderot Engineering School. I completed my PhD (CIFRE) in Marseille, jointly between the CINaM and IM2NP laboratories, in collaboration with Dracola Technologies, focusing on organic photovoltaics for indoor applications.
In May 2025, I joined Dr. R. Demadrille’s team, where I am working on upscaling dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). My current objective is to establish lab-scale module fabrication procedures to support the development of efficient and scalable DSSC devices.

Yann Kervella
​Research Engineer (CEA)

Yann received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and in physical chemistry from the university of Brest. After working for 5 years in a laboratory of the Grenoble Alpes University (UGA) on materials for OLEDs, he joined CEA in 2005.  He works now on the different projects developed in the team. He is specialized in the synthesis of pi-conjugated molecules and polymers. Yann is also the local contact in charge of the safety aspects in the STEP laboratory.​

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Tatiana Ghanem
​Post Doc

My name is Tatiana Ghanem, I joined Renaud Demadrille’s team in April 2025 to do a postdoctoral fellowship. In November 2023, I obtained my PhD in Molecular and Materials Chemistry at the University of Angers where I mainly worked on the synthesis and characterization of pi-conjugated molecules for organic electronics. In 2024 I joined Pili, a carbon conscious color company, where I worked for one year on the synthesis of bio-based dyes and pigments. And now, I am part of the PIN’S project, in which I will be synthesizing non-fullerene acceptors that will be used in a blend to form organic nanoparticles for H2 photocatalysis.

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Diego Mirani
​PhD student

I am Diego Mirani, I come from Italy where I got my bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemistry at University of Pavia. I joined STEP group in February 2022 for an internship period working on synthesis of additives for dye-sensitized solar cells. Now, since February 2023, I am a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Renaud Demadrille with a project revolving around the synthesis of new photochromic dyes and their application in solar cells with variable and adaptable absorption.

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Giacomo Mazzetti
​ PhD student

My name is Giacomo Mazzetti and I come from Florence, Italy, where I obtained both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Sciences, respectively. My Master’s thesis focused on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) for indoor applications. In July 2025, I joined the STEP team as a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Renaud Demadrille to continue exploring my interest in organic synthesis and the development of innovative photovoltaic devices for low-light environments.
 

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Titouan Dal Gobbo
Student engineer

My name is Titouan DAL GOBBO, I joined the STEP team in May 2023 to complete my 2nd year internship in chemistry, where I also completed my 3rd year in alternance. I am currently a student at the ENSCM to obtain a diploma of chemical engineer in alternance and I continue within the team for three more years to work on the synthesis of organic dyes for applications in solar cells and photoelectrocatalysis under the supervision of Dr. R. Demadrille.

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Claire Bourguignon
​PhD. Student

My name is Claire Bourguignon. In 2020, I obtained a Bachelor degree in Physics and Chemistry at the Sorbonne University and in 2022 I graduated with a Master’s degree in Inorganic Chemistry and Solid-state Physics at Paris-Saclay University. In 2022, I joined the SolHyCat team to work on the preparation and characterization of NiO photo-cathodes for applications in photo-electrocatalysis. I am now a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. M. Chavarot-Kerlidou and Dr. R. Demadrille to work on new robust and efficient molecular photocathodes for the production of solar fuels.

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Antoine Curé
​PhD student

My name is Antoine Curé, I joined the STEP team in May 2023 to do my PhD in materials chemistry. I'm an engineer from CPE Lyon and after a year in the Netherlands at DSM working on polymer synthesis and an internship at EPFL working on the development of perovskite solar cells with Prof. Grätzel, I joined the SYMMES laboratory to do a thesis on polymers for photovoltaics.

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Darzhan Sadvokassova
PhD student

My name is Darzhan Sadvokassova, I joined Renaud Demadrille's team in 2025 to carry out the synthesis of near-infrared absorbing polymers as part of my Master's internship at the University of Grenoble Alpes.  With a Bachelor of Science in experimental chemistry and biology and as a recipient of the 'Make Our Planet Great Again' scholarship, I am passionate about pioneering innovative materials science solutions, particularly in energy, health, and environmental sustainability. From October 2025 onwards, I will be continuing with my PhD studies under the supervision of Dr Cyril Aumaitre.

Past members (PhDs and Post-Docs)

Dr. Antonio Riquelme (Post-Doc)
Dr. Anthony Monmagnon (Master and PhD Student)
Dr. Samuel Fauvel (PhD Student)
Dr. José-Maria Andrès Castan (Post-Doc)
Dr. Anthonin Moinel (Master and PhD Student)
Dr. Valid M. Mwalukuku (Master and PhD student)
Dr. Johan Liotier (PhD student)
Mr. Pawel Veyre (Master and Temporary research Engineer)
Dr. Lydia Cabau (Temporary Engineer, Researcher)
Dr. Gael Heintges (Post-Doc)
Dr. Quentin Huaulmé (Post-Doc)
Dr. Martina Sandroni (Temporary Engineer, Researcher)
Dr. Olivier Bardagot (PhD student) 
​Dr. Magatte Gueye (PhD student)
Dr. Damien Joly (Post-Doc)
Dr. Maxime Godfroy (PhD student)
Dr. Florent Caffy (PhD student)
Dr. Nicolas Delbosc (Master and Post-Doc)
Dr. Zaireen Wan Nisa Yahya (PhD Student)
​Dr. Hervé Muguerra (Post-doc)
Dr. Lionel Picard (Post-doc)
Dr. Frédéric Lincker (Post-Doc)
Dr. Kai Huang (Temporary Engineer, Researcher)
Dr. Eugen S. Andreiadis (PhD Student)​

Past members (students)

Students
Camille Jutard (Master II internship student, PTA-UGA)
Alix Haurez (Engineer School internship student, ENSCPB)
Remi Olivier (Master I internship student, UGA)
Diego Mirani (Pavia University, Erasmus Mundus)
Lorette Fernandez (University Grenoble Alpes, PhD Student)
Don Carl Abou Jaoude (​Engineer School internship student, ENSCM)
Maximilian Brochnow (Master Internship student, Univ. Konstanz Germany)
Margaux Giroud ​(Master II internship student, UGA)
Aurélien Huet (Engineer School internship student, ENSCM)
​Léa Gimeno (Master II Internship student, UPMC)
Alex Li (Master II, Intership student, UPMC)
Gaëlle Berthoux (Engineer School internship student, ENSCPM)
Vincent Goellner (Master II internship student, UGA)
Sébastien Thiery (Engineer School internship student, ENSCM)
Lauric Gaffiot ​(Master II internship student, UGA)
Ramzi Ben Fredj (Engineer School internship student, CPE-Lyon)