• Research
  • Innovation

Chemistry: Rosa Diego Creixenti and Manon Pujol set matter in motion

Updated on:

The two postdoctoral researchers at the University of Bordeaux are among the 34 winners of the 2025 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talent Award. Meet two chemists whose research on magnetic materials and plastic recycling is opening up promising avenues for society.

Photo : Rosa Diego Creixenti and Manon Pujol @ Fondation L'Oréal
Rosa Diego Creixenti and Manon Pujol @ Fondation L'Oréal

They are both brilliant and determined chemists, conducting their research in laboratories under the joint supervision of the University of Bordeaux, but that seems to be where their similarities end. Their backgrounds and personalities appear as different as two reagents that do not interact spontaneously. However, the L'Oréal-UNESCO Young Talents Award will bring Rosa Diego Creixenti and Manon Pujol together in Paris in the coming days, where the two postdoctoral researchers will be honoured during a ceremony at the Academy of Sciences and will benefit from a leadership training programme.

Rosa Diego Creixenti was born and raised in a tiny town in Catalonia, Corbera d'Ebre, where there were only a handful of children her age. Quickly drawn to science, she began her Bachelor degree in chemistry in Barcelona and completed it in Sweden. She then returned to Spain for her Master degree in organic chemistry before leaving for New Zealand to work on a thesis in nanoscience. She continued her studies in Germany before moving to Bordeaux, France, where she now works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Paul Pascal Research Centre (CRPP - CNRS, University of Bordeaux) as part of the European MSCA-ADAGIO programme.

Her work, at the intersection of chemistry and physics, focuses on molecular magnetism: "My goal is to create new magnetic materials - that is, substances that react to magnetic fields, much like magnets, but with very specific behaviours - by manipulating their molecular structure. These materials could be used to create faster and more efficient data storage systems (such as hard drives), be used in quantum technologies (a very promising field for the computers of the future), or help stabilise exotic forms of matter for use in new technological inventions."

The Paul Pascal Research Centre

(CNRS, University of Bordeaux)

Find out more

« You can do what you want! »

In her melodious English, where the rolling "r"s betray her native tongue, Rosa speaks fluently about her involvement in promoting women in science and visibility for LGBT people. "I feel comfortable in the small, multicultural and open-minded scientific community of our laboratory. What brings us together is a quest for excellence, and nothing else matters." When asked where her confidence comes from, which is evident from the very first exchanges, she replies without hesitation: "My parents always told me that I could do whatever I wanted in life. And I believed them." In fact, the support offered to the winners of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents Award to empower them might seem a little superfluous in Rosa's case. "Not at all!" she exclaims. "There's always something new to learn!"

The Laboratory of Organic Polymer Chemistry

(CNRS, Bordeaux INP, University of Bordeaux)

Find out more

A few hundred metres away, on the Pessac campus, one of her colleagues is also preparing to receive the L'Oréal-UNESCO award and reflecting on how far she has come since her childhood in Pégomas, a small town in the Alpes-Maritimes region. Manon Pujol, 29, first studied for a Bachelor degree in chemistry in Nice, then a Master degree in Strasbourg, before defending her thesis at the University of Aix-Marseille. Now, as a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Organic Polymer Chemistry (LCPO - CNRS, Bordeaux INP, University of Bordeaux), she is exploring an innovative process for recycling polystyrene using enzymes: "We refer to this as 'upcycling,’" explains Manon, "because the process – for which we have filed a patent application – involves transforming this type of plastic into small oxidised molecules that can then be used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and agri-food industries, among others."

 

"My brain never stops"

Manon's calling became clear to her back in high school, in her first year of science studies. Always top of her class, the shy young girl became fascinated by the "molecules that form the basis of everything around us and the chemistry that lies behind every aspect of our lives." She did not yet know that she was autistic- the diagnosis would not be made until much later, during her Master degree - and she felt "out of step" with her peers, always lost in her thoughts and ostracised by her classmates. Her anxiety was quickly dismissed by adults who think that ‘it will pass’, that she will gain confidence and, since she obtained her baccalaureate with honours, that there is no real problem. "I thought I was the problem," she recalls, emotionally.

In science, Manon finally found her place and was able to let her intelligence flourish. "I finally understood and accepted the fact that I don't think like everyone else. In a way, it's an asset – my brain never stops! – but it's a bit tiring." In her Master degree, she turned to green chemistry: ‘For me, it was the chemistry of tomorrow, focused on sustainability, saving energy, avoiding the use of toxic products..." She is concerned about environmental issues and, modestly, feels a sense of responsibility within society: "I feel that the voice of scientists is not heard enough."

 

Rosa and Manon will receive their awards on Wednesday October 8th during a ceremony in Paris, as well as a grant of 20,000 € each, which they can use for their research to fund travel or training, create a business plan or purchase scientific equipment. Their application was selected from among over 700 by a jury composed of 30 members of the Academy of Sciences.