When a thesis on water creates bubbles

Jonathan Cognard, winner of the 2024 edition of Sciences en Bulles on the theme of “Water in all its states”, has seen his thesis subject turned into a comic strip.

It’s not every day you get to blow bubbles with your thesis. Jonathan plunged headlong into the world of comics, selected as one of 7 candidates for the Sciences en bulles initiative, which enables doctoral students to learn about mediation while building bridges between science and the arts. His thesis – entitled ” Snow production and the sustainability of mountain socio-hydro-ecological systems ” – was defended on October 15, 2024, and focuses on the sharing of water resources in the context of winter tourism in the mountains. It was illustrated as a comic strip by Héloïse Chochois.

For several years, this initiative has accompanied the Fête de la Science. On October 8, 2024, Jonathan Cognard took part in the conference Snow production in ski resorts: towards a conflict of water uses? at Grenoble’s Maison de la montagne, with Mikaël Chambru, Labex ITTEM’s scientific co-coordinator. ” I’m looking to understand the pros and cons of snow production by winter sports resorts in the context of climate change. The most important issue is water sustainability in the mountains, i.e. ensuring that every user (human or otherwise) has enough water to meet his or her needs. This means being critical about how we use water. (Read his full interview on theEchosciences website)

Discover the collection of comic strips based on the thesis work of the 7 winners of the 2024 edition of Sciences en bulles[Open PDF].