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AS2M/DMA : PhD on the mechanics and psychophysics of tactile perception

Context : Information webpage : https://neuro-team-femto.github.io/2025/09/15/Tribology-Psychophysics-
PhD-positions
The Mecanochemistry and Tribology team and the Femto Neuro group, both located in the FEMTO-ST Institute in Besançon, France are excited to announce the opening of 1 PhD position
in mechanical engineering and tactile psychophysics, in close industrial collaboration with a major cosmetics manufacturer.
The position is funded by CNRS, with generous support from one industrial collaboration, and will be jointly supervised by Prof. Pierre-Henri Cornuault (ECTO team, FEMTO Dept. of Mechanical Engineering) and Dr Jean-Julien Aucouturier (Neuro team, FEMTO Dept. of Automation and Robotics). The positions will be based in Besançon, with regular fully-funded trips to the industrial site in Paris

The science : 
Tactile perception results from the activation of populations of skin mecanoreceptors which respond selectively to the mechanical forces and vibrations induced by friction when the finger explores a texture or material, with spatial sensitivity down to the nanometer scale (Skedung et al. Scientific Reports 2013). The response of mechanoreceptors is then propagated to the central nervous system, and processed to create percepts of whether the material is e.g. soft, rough, slick or sticky (McGlone, Wessberg, & Olausson, Neuron 2014)

Applicants : 
We anticipate the opening of two PhD positions: funding for one is already confirmed, for a tentative start in Nov-Dec. 2025; funding for the second is pending, for a start in 2026. We are accepting applications for both positions as of Sept. 2025.
The ideal applicants for these two positions hold a Master of Science in mechanical engineering or tactile psychophysics. One position (position A) is anticipated to focus more on experimental development (conception and validation of a tribometer), and may offer best training potential for applicants who already have a solid background in mechanical engineering, as well as programming experience with sensors and actuators in languages like Matlab or LabVIEW. The second position
(position B) is anticipated to focus more on psychophysics (experimental study of tactile perception), and may offer best training potential for applicants who already have a solid background in psychophysics or experimental psychology, as well as data-analysis experience in languages like Python or R.

Contact: 

ph.cornuault@femto-st.fr

jean.aucouturier@femto-st.fr

+ d'infos :
PDF icon phd_tactile.pdf
https://www.femto-st.fr/en/job-training-thesis/phd#job-5892

MIMENTO : Research Engineer in Microtechnology/Lithography_Etching – FEER SAMI Project

Context : The FEMTO-ST Institute (Franche-Comté Electronics, Mechanics, Thermal Science and Optics –Sciences and Technologies, UMR 6174) is a joint research unit under the main supervision of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), the National Engineering School of Mechanics and Microtechnologies (SUPMICROTECH-ENSMM), and the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard (UTBM). The Institute’s strategy is to develop cutting-edge scientific research with both socio-academic and socio-economic impact, based on a collective and responsible dynamic. Today, it brings together more than 750 members, seven research departments, shared services, and research platforms, including the MIMENTO platform (MIcrofabrication for MEchanics, Nanosciences, Thermal Science and Optics). MIMENTO has developed innovative technologies in the framework of research projects in micromechanics, micro-nano-optics, and micro-nano-acoustics. The FEDER SAMI project aims, through collaboration with the MIFHySTO research platform and the company Silmach, to achieve technological developments that will, among other things, facilitate the implementation of plastic injection molding technologies using microfabricated molds developed within MIMENTO. 

Mission:
The research engineer will be responsible for developing breakthrough MEMS-type processes within the framework of the FEDER SAMI project. The work will focus in particular on silicon plasma etching technologies for the fabrication of high aspect-ratio structures, SOI-wafer-based processes, HF vapor etching technology, and photolithography techniques. The engineer will collaborate with all project stakeholders and the MIMENTO platform team, in particular the project engineer in charge of MIMENTO’s contribution. [...]

Localization : FEMTO-ST - Plateforme MIMENTO - 15B, Avenue des Montboucons - 25000 Besançon

Contact: 

a CV and cover letter, addressed to Samuel Queste : samuel.queste@femto-st.fr

+ d'infos :
PDF icon sami_project_ir.pdf
https://www.femto-st.fr/en/job-training-thesis/phd#job-5843