Virgile Thiévenaz

CNRS researcher
Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, ESPCI Paris
E-mail : virgile /at/ vthievenaz.fr
Last update on 02/12/2024 at 15h09 (CET)

Welcome to my website!

I am a physicist, specialized in fluid mechanics and soft matter, CNRS researcher at ESPCI's PMMH laboratory, in Paris, France. My research interests include flows of complex fluids, freezing at the capillary scale and plant physics.


Plus belle la mécanique — Beautiful Mechanics
26 November 2024

On November 26th, 2024, I received the Scientific Photography Award in the contest Plus belle la mécanique (Beautiful Mechanics), organized by the Association Française de Mécanique and the Fédération Photographique de France, for my work on the dislocation of drops of suspension.

PNAS dislocation

Frozen bubbles in Scientific American
14 May 2024
Rachel Berkowitz's paper in Scientific American presents my work on the shape of air bubbles trapped in ice, a experiment doable in every freezer!

Travelling Gallery of Fluid Motion
25 October 2023
My photographs of fractured frozen drops are now exposed in Washington D.C. until February 23rd 2024, as part as the exhibition Chaosmosis: Assigning Rhythm to the Turbulent organized by the Gallery of Fluid Motion.
Chaosmosis Chaosmosis Chaosmosis Chaosmosis

Joining CNRS and ESPCI.
01 October 2023

Eleven years after I joined ESPCI as a student, I am back as a CNRS researcher at the PMMH laboratory.


Gallery of Fluid Motion 2022
22 November 2022

Gallery of Fluid Motion 2022


The onset of heterogeneity in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
07 April 2022

Our article “The onset of heterogeneity in the pinch-off of suspension drops” has just been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the non-specialists, UCSB’s Harrison Tasoff just wrote a paper on the subject.

PNAS dislocation


Gallery of Fluid Motion 2021 – Milton Van Dyke Award
22 November 2021

On November 22nd, 2021, Alban Sauret and I received the Milton Van Dyke award from the Gallery of Fluid Motion of the APS for my video on the fragmentation of viscous compound filaments. The video was ranked first by the jury, and received coverage in the APS popularization magazine, Physics. All this on my birthday!

I also ran twice in the poster contest, with my own work on the pinch-off of complex suspensions and with Deok-Hoon Jeong’s PhD work on the dip-coating with bidisperse suspensions.

Gallery of Fluid Motion 2021
Gallery of Fluid Motion 2021


FY Fluid Dynamics – Dripping with particles
11 August 2021

My drops of viscoelastic suspensions are in FY Fluid Dynamics!


Rencontres du Non-Linéaire 2021
25 March 2021

Thursday, March 25th, I presented my research on the pinch-off of visco-elastic particulate suspensions at the Rencontres du Non-Linéaire 2021.

RNL2021


Gallery of Fluid Motion 2018
18 November 2018

This video was presented at the 2018 Gallery of Fluid Motion. It summarizes the main topics of my PhD.


Gallery of Fluid Motion 2017
18 November 2017

Gallery of Fluid Motion 2017


Gallery of Fluid Motion 2016
18 November 2016

Gallery of Fluid Motion 2016