Intervista a Catherine Langlais
Catherine Langlais, you are deputy
director of the R&D department of Saint-
Gobain, a prestigious and challenging
professional position. How did you
become interested in sciences?
In high school, I was interested as much
in the humanities as in sciences. When the
most prestigious Faculty of Engineering,
the "École Polytechnique", allowed the
access to women in 1972, Anne Chopinet
was admitted and this pushed me to try
to do the same. I thought I could practice
a profession in sciences while keeping the
literature for my spare time, the opposite
being more difficult. The following year,
I went to the "École des Mines" of Nancy
where I became an engineer. To motivate
young people to engage into sciences, I
strongly believe in the strength of models
just as much as Anne Chopinet was for me.
Also, when I held positions of responsibility,
I have always strived to be an example, to
show researchers that women can excel in
sciences and take up careers quite similar to
those of men, while having children, if they
wish, and a happy private life.
Which path led you to the research on
materials at Saint-Gobain?
Since the years at the École des Mines,
I have become interested in renewable
energies. I spent the last part of my studies
analyzing solar houses at the CNRS
laboratory in Odeillo, where the huge solar
oven is equipped with mirrors manufactured
by Saint-Gobain. Then I spent a year at
Stanford University in California to get a
Master in Mechanical Engineering. When
I returned to France, solar energy had not
been developed enough to allow me to
find a job there and then I remembered the
well-performing mirrors at Saint-Gobain.
So I applied for a job in this company,
attracted by their research on building
insulation. I was hired as a young researcher
at Isover, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain. My
first studies were devoted to understanding
heat and mass transfer within fibrous
insulators. These works, which led me to
set up several collaborations with French
academic laboratories specialized in porous
media, pursued very concrete industrial
goals. I thus discovered one of the greatest
satisfactions that industrial research can
provide: having to find a solution to applied
problems, relying on a very thorough scientific
understanding of them.
I spent twenty years at the Isover R&D center in France. I appreciated the various positions that were offered to me: team leader, project manager, department manager, etc. I took care with joy of the education of my two children during this period. My husband has always shared with me the daily tasks. I would never have had this career if he had not helped and supported me. In all these years, I have learnt that the quality of the time you spend with your family is more important than its quantity.
I invested a lot in my work, while I learnt to accept that perfection is not always possible! I was then appointed Director of the Research Center of Saint-Gobain in Aubervilliers where I spent eleven years, before taking my current role. During these eleven years and thanks to the work of all the teams, the perimeter of the Center has expanded and its activities, which historically concerned “glass”, have been extended to all those of the group (in particular plaster, concrete and habitat in general). In this growth context, the workforce has grown from 270 to more than 400 people and I was able to contribute to make teams more international (the proportion of foreign researchers rising from a few percent to about 23%) and to the inclusion of more women (29% to 36%).
What are your main appointments and
responsibilities?
Since 2011, I have been in charge, in
particular, of the coordination of the network
of the major research centers of Saint-Gobain
(three in Europe, one in the USA, one in India
and one in China), so as to offer a coherent and
effective model to the different “businesses”.
I also coordinate some cross-cutting research
programs concerning material science.
From 2010 to 2013, I was Vice President of the High Council for Science and Technology, with the task of enlightening the government on all matters relating to the broad guidelines of the nation, in terms of scientific research policy, transfer of technology and innovation. We submitted several reports that did not always have the echo we wished for! For twenty years I have also been a member of the Roberval Prize, prize for books and technology communication, which has the objective of fostering the development of a francophone technological culture. Finally, since 2013, I have been part of the Academy of Technology.
Who were your mentors or models during
this brilliant career?
My mentors were men who believed in
me and have offered me greater and greater
responsibilities. I owe them a lot. I did not really
have any female model during those years
when I was surrounded basically by men. I have
progressed throughout my career thanks to
the people around me, who inspired me with
good examples and identifying the bad ones! I
often say that I learnt as much from my teams
as from my superiors.
Every leader, male or female, has his/her own style and I’m not sure there’s a specific recipe for leading a team. For my part, if I had to list some ingredients, they would be: to have a clear vision of the project and to share it with the team; to listen to others and to help them to succeed; to give a positive example by working hard and striving to reach the excellence; to remain true to yourself knowing your weaknesses and strengths; to love your job and to do it with pleasure.
What are your relations with academic
research?
I did science in industry, but always in
close connection with the academic world,
and in a context of great diversity. Saint-
Gobain has several mixed units with the
CNRS, including that of Aubervilliers. The
directors of the research of Saint-Gobain I have
known have always given great importance
to academic collaborations and to training
through research. In Aubervilliers, 80% of our
researchers have a thesis. Since the end of
the 1970s, the managers of the Saint-Gobain
centers have been encouraged to hire PhDs.
Saint-Gobain also has several Chairs in France (X-ESPCI, École des Ponts, INSA Lyon, Nancy Mines). I have myself contributed to the establishment of an international network of academic partners (Saint-Gobain University Network) whose ambition is twofold: to identify the best international teams in order to collaborate with them, and to make use of these partnerships in order to recruit talented students after their thesis on disciplines of interest for Saint-Gobain. I have always enjoyed meeting and interacting with teams from different continents and of different education. Diversity is a great wealth which brings innovation.
What were your motivations for the
presidency of the SFP?
I am not a doctor in physics, but I have
always been interested in physics and its
applications. For nearly forty years, I have
interacted with great pleasure with many
physicists. Concerning SFP’s presidency, I was
encouraged to accept cordial invitation of
Michel Spiro by Didier Roux and Jean-Claude
Lehmann, who have both joined Saint-Gobain
after a career at the CNRS and who are
familiar with the complementarity of the two
environments.
As for my action at the SFP, I know that I can rely on a friendly and solid team with which I will be able to establish a roadmap. Inspired by the work of my predecessors, I intend to ensure continuity and to capitalize the recognized assets of the Society. Throughout my working path, I think that the links of the SFP with industry could be reinforced (for example by the insertion of young PhD students) and I will focus, in particular, on continuing the actions taken to attract young people, especially young women, towards careers in science (Olympiads, "Mains à la pâte" ...). Finally, my primary concerns are and will be to develop the image and the visibility of the SFP abroad and to attract young members.
Véronique Pierron-Bohnes
CNRS researcher and former President of the
“Femmes et Physique” commission at SFP
Translated from Reflets de la Physique, n° 52
(February 2017) pp. 38-39.