One of the recipients of the 2021 Research Excellence Award of the European Mineralogical Union is
Dr. Sylvain Bernard from the Institute of Mineralogy, Materials Physics and Cosmochemistry (IMPMC-CNRS, France).

His highly innovative and inspiring research at the frontiers of Mineralogy, Paleontology, Biogeochemistry and Mineral Physics has provided significant contributions to a number of fields including the weathering and aqueous alteration of minerals, mineral-mineral and mineral-microbe interactions in sedimentary environments and the processes that influence the preservation of organic matter in carbonaceous meteorites. His cutting-edge studies constitute an important step towards better constraining the hydrocarbon generation and retention processes occurring within unconventional gas shale systems. Additionally, he has developed original experimental and analytical approaches to capture the interactions of biomarker molecules and minerals at a near atomic scale. Despite his young age, he has already manifested himself as a major personality on the international scientific stage, as a geochemist of exceptional capabilities, very high productivity, and true creativity.

The esteem in which his peers, nationally and internationally, hold him is reflected in his roles as a member of the ESA-Roscomos ExoMars mission team and a member of the international SuperCam team of the NASA Mars2020 Rover mission. The innovative and productive cutting-edge scientist should not hide another aspect of Bernard’s personality, namely his engagement for the promotion of science and for other outreach activities.

For his highly innovative and inspiring research at the frontiers of Mineralogy and Geochemistry and his international collaborative research, Sylvain Bernard is a highly deserving recipient of the 2021 Research Excellence Award of the European Mineralogical Union.