Nicolas Aimon

PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

naimo at mit.edu

EDUCATION

2009-2014
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, MA, USA
PhD Materials Science and Engineering. GPA: 4.8/5.0
  • Specialization in electronic materials processing at the nanoscale
  • Minor in Sustainable Business, Sloan School of Management & Dept. of Urban Planning courses
2007-2008
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE
Palaiseau, France
Diplôme de l’Ecole Polytechnique (Master level engineering degree) Physics & Biology major
2004-2006
LYCEE BLAISE PASCAL
Clermont-Ferrand, France
"Classe préparatoire" Intensive mathematics and physics courses to prepare for the entrance exams to the top French engineer schools

EXPERIENCE

July 2014 - now
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, MA, USA
Postdoctoral Associate Department of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Employing computer vision and feature-matching to analyze scanning probe microscopy data
  • Improving strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling using phase-change materials
Oct. 2009 - June 2014
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, MA, USA
Research Assistant Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Research in the group of Prof. Ross specializing on magnetic materials and polymer self-assembly
  • Invented a fabrication method for making ordered arrays of functional oxide nanocomposites
  • Improved modeling algorithms of the magnetic behavior of ferrimagnetic data storage bits
  • Managed and maintained a pulsed-laser deposition facility, trained and assisted 20 scientists
  • 11 scientific publications as first or second author, 8 presentations in international conferences
Mar. 2013 - Aug. 2014
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, MA, USA
Graduate Resident Tutor Member of the house team at Simmons Hall
  • Mentored 30 undergraduate students, provided academic and personal support
  • Organized and held house events and study breaks to promote social interactions
Apr. 2013 - June 2013
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, MA, USA
Team project, Sustainable Business Laboratory Sloan School of Management
Partnership with IO, provider of data center infrastructure technology
  • Evaluated the sustainability of the materials included in IO Anywhere data center modules
  • Constructed framework for quick identification of areas of highest potential for improvement
  • Identified and proposed effective material changes to reduce health and environmental impacts
2007-2008
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE
Palaiseau, France
Team research project
Study on the trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a cognitive enhancer with researchers at the Frederic Joliot Hospital, in Orsay, France
  • Researched and summarized the ethical issues surrounding cognitive enhancement
  • Developed a low-cost coil-positioning method to lower the adoption barrier of TMS as a research and therapeutic tool
  • Discovered the potential of TMS to accelerate a chirality recognition task
2006-2007
54th FRENCH ARTILLERY REGIMENT
Hyères, France
Officer Cadet Internship Platoon Leader
  • Organized and led physical and tactical military training for 35 privates
  • Directed a team of sub-officers and delegated tasks

SKILLS

Experimental
Thin film deposition, Nanofabrication, Microscopy (SEM, TEM, AFM)
Computational
Finite element analysis (ADINA software), Micromagnetics (OOMMF), Matlab, Image analysis
Rapid prototyping
Laser cutter, Waterjet, 3d Printer
Languages
Native French, written and spoken fluency in English, beginner in Spanish and Mandarin

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • 2013 Magnetism and Magnetic Materials conference finalist: best presentation
  • 2010 Making And Designing Materials Engineering Contest finalist: Built an off-grid vaccine refrigerator prototype based on a methanol/activated carbon absorption cycle
  • Instructables online contests finalist: Designed, built and wrote step-by-step instructions for a stereoscopic projector which reuses the screen from an old laptop, featured on hackaday.com, and lifehacker.com
  • High School graduation with Very High Honors