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Sujie Yu, a doctoral student at PSL University in Sophia-Antipolis (France), carried out a research visit in Multifunctional Materials Design (MMD) research group in October-November 2024 during which she focused on exploring sound insulation by cellulose-based aerogels. 

Noise pollution is seen as one of the major challenges of our modern life due to adverse health effects of noisy environment. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce human exposure to excessive noise to protect the wellbeing of populations. “Most commercial absorption materials not only contribute to environmental pollution during production and use but also pose health and safety risks to humans,” says Sujie, “And it is urgent for us to develop new porous sound absorption materials that are durable, safe, lightweight and thin while providing absorption capacities equal to or even exceeding those of current commercial acoustic materials.”

Talking about the research methodology, Sujie mentioned that it all started with the preparation of aerogels in her French lab via supercritical carbon dioxide drying. The samples were then brought to Finland to be tested in Aalto Acoustics Lab using the 3-microphone impedance tube equipment: “It is a super nice device for testing acoustic properties, and I have learned a lot through this experiment.”

Sujie emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the study as in her lab at PSL the research focus is on a totally different area: “Interdisciplinarity is very important in my research. Prof. Jaana [Vapaavuori] in MMD group is focused on developing new materials and also preparing aerogels, so I can compare different properties between our two groups, and in Tapio’s group [‘Virtual Acoustics’ group led by Prof. Tapio Lokki] we did something totally different from my previous experiment.”

This kind of collaboration, according to Sujie, provides a great opportunity for acquiring new knowledge and learning new skills, expanding her vision on research work in different labs and showing new perspectives on problem-solving. It is also a great way to learn more about a different culture. 

Valuable lessons of being a researcher 

One of the biggest lessons for Sujie relates to lab work, particularly to the safety and accuracy of lab tests: “Safety is always the most important aspect when carrying out experiments. Previously, I experienced injuries from lab accidents, underscoring the importance of proper precautions. Moreover, our experiments should be accurate to ensure that the results are reproducible by other researchers.” 

Sujie also highlights the value of critical thinking, especially when interpreting results and writing scientific articles: “That’s what my supervisor Prof. Tatiana Budtova always told me - not just working but also thinking critically about what we are doing and why.”
 

Contact information

Sujie Yu
Email: sujie.yu@minesparis.psl.eu