Dominique Langevin (; born 24 July 1947) is a French researcher in physical chemistry. She is research director at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and leads the liquid interface group in the Laboratory of Solid State Physics at the University of Paris-Sud. She was the Life and Physical Sciences Panel chair for the European Space Sciences Committee of the

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that promotes the highest quality science ...

from 2013-2021. Langevin studies liquid interfaces and

interfacial rheology Interfacial rheology is a branch of rheology that studies the flow of matter at the interface between a gas and a liquid or at the interface between two immiscible liquids. The measurement is done while having surfactants, nanoparticles or other sur ...

, the flow of matter at interfaces between liquids, or between a liquid and a gas. She is particularly interested in foams and emulsions and has made significant contributions relating the mechanical properties of interfaces to the stability of foams and emulsions. She has had a major role in bringing together scientists and mathematicians from multiple disciplines to develop the field of foam and emulsion science. Her books include ''Light Scattering by Liquid Surfaces and Complementary Techniques'' (1992) and ''Emulsions, microemulsions and foams'' (2020).

Early life

The daughter of Maurice Cruchon and Jacqueline Maujean, she was born Dominique Anne-Marie Cruchon in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

. In 1969, she married Michel Langevin.

Education

She received a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from the women's École Normale Supérieure (ENS Sèvres) in Paris, and did a third-cycle thesis at the Laboratory of Hertzian Spectroscopy, supervised by Marie-Anne Bouchiat. Langevin conducted post-doctoral research at the

Pierre Gilles de Gennes Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (; 24 October 1932 – 18 May 2007) was a French physicist and the Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 1991. Education and early life He was born in Paris, France, and was home-schooled to the age of 12. By the age of ...

laboratory at the Collège de France.

Career

During the 1970s, Langevin established the

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...

group at the École Normale Supérieure. During the early 1990s, she established the "Films de tensioactifs flexibles" research group. From 1994 to 1998, Langevin was director of the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal in Bordeaux. She was president of the European Colloid and Interface Society from 1992 to 1993.

Research

Her areas of research have included the experimental study of soft matter physics, including the surface of

liquid crystal Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. T ...

s, mixtures of surfactants and polymers, the effects of nanoparticles on foams, foam drainage and soap film drainage, and the

surface rheology {{more references, date=November 2011 Surface rheology is a description of the rheological properties of a free surface. When perfectly pure, the interface between fluids usually displays only surface tension. But when surfactants are adsorbed on ...

of ultralow tension surfactant-oil-water systems. Langevin has made significant contributions relating the mechanical properties of interfaces to the stability of foams and emulsions. Her work has broad application in industry and medicine, relating to preparation of foods and medicines, detergents, construction materials, fire-fighting, mineral extraction, recovery of pollutants, and nuclear waste treatment. She has also worked with the European Space Agency (ESA), leading an international team to study the behavior of foams in

microgravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...

, in the FOAM-C (Foam and Optics Mechanics–Coarsening) experiment.

Awards

Langevin has received awards including: * 2012, Kasha Mittala (Kash Mittal Award) for Surfactant in Solution Science * 2012, Overbeek Gold Medal,

European Colloid and Interface Society European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

(ECIS) * 2009, European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation, European Commission * 2006, Légion d’honneur * 2005, L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, "For her fundamental investigations of detergents, emulsions and foams". *2002, CNRS silver medal, Centre national de la recherche scientifique * 2004, of the Société Française de Physique and the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft * 2001, Elected, Academy of Europe * 1991, Grand prix de l’Académie des Sciences

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langevin, Dominique French physical chemists 1947 births Living people French women chemists L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates 20th-century chemists 21st-century chemists 20th-century French scientists 21st-century French scientists 21st-century French chemists 20th-century French women scientists 21st-century French women scientists