“My job is to facilitate the transition from theory to practice”

What should an amateur basketball player do if he’s found out his “cartilage is destroyed”? Hang up his basketball shoes and take up yoga, or study materials science to develop better-performing basketball equipment? Bourban chose the latter option and is now a senior scientist at EPFL’s Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites and a specialist in polymer composites and biocomposites.

Bourban came to EPFL as a student nearly 40 years ago and says that sports are still his favorite research application. Yet there was another reason he chose to major in materials science – one sparked by EPFL itself. “When I was a high-school student in Sion, I came across a brochure published by EPFL’s materials science section.” The brochure contained a picture of the very fibers making up the printed document. “I had always been intrigued by microstructures and the properties of the things around me,” he says. This gave the young Bourban a glimpse of what would become his true calling.

Bourban adds that by choosing to major in materials science – a broad field that ranges from chemistry to mechanical engineering – “I could take more time to pick a specialization. Like many other students, I postponed making that thorny decision until I graduated.”

Once the decision was made – Bourban chose to specialize in composite materials – he went on to complete a PhD at EPFL. He then spent a year conducting research at the University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials in the US, under a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Once back at EPFL, he coordinated cross-disciplinary research projects in the fields of sports and physical therapy and helped develop materials for biomedical applications.

Optimal learning conditions

“Today my students are just like I was – they want to learn all they can about the secrets of nature,” says Bourban. He believes that his role is more about creating “the optimal learning conditions” than teaching perse. “For me, the most gratifying thing is when engineering students tell me they’re starting to see how the theory they’ve learned is applied in practice.”

Given his pragmatic bent, it’s no surprise that Bourban heads the Discovery Learning Labs for engineering, materials science and bioengineering – labs designed to give students an opportunity to work on hands-on projects. “Between these labs and my teaching, I’d say my job is to facilitate the transition from theory to practice,” he says. This includes encouraging students to turn their research projects into new business ideas. “I’m delighted when my PhD students tell me they want to start their own business, and try to assist them as much as I can.”

Former students who become business owners sometimes show their appreciation to Bourban by serving as guest speakers in his class and sharing their experience with the current students. That was the case with the founders of Bcomp, a company that provides high-performance bio-based materials, and CompPair, a firm that has developed self-healing composites with a longer lifespan.

Seeing through fake sustainability

There’s another important aspect to Bourban’s teaching philosophy. “Today’s students are overloaded by information, including on very specialized topics, so it’s really important to teach them to think critically,” he says. He also points to the rapid development of artificial intelligence: “Students must learn to always evaluate how useful and relevant the information is that they find online.” That’s true in the area of sustainability, too. “While the growing awareness about sustainability is a good thing, statements need to be read critically so that well-informed decisions can be made.”

In materials science in particular, sustainability should be assessed along the entire production chain “so we aren’t duped by fake claims of sustainability,” says Bourban. He encourages students to carefully evaluate whether a natural fiber or a carbon fiber would be better for a given application, for example, or if a biodegradable polymer would be better suited than a bio-based one. “This approach can also prompt students to think up new production methods,” he says.

Involved along the entire chain

If there’s one thing Bourban has learned from his 30 years of teaching at EPFL, it’s that bringing together students from different disciplines – materials science, mechanical engineering, life science and more – can unlock real potential. “Students become acutely aware of everything they know, and everything they don’t!” he says. They also begin to see how important it is for materials scientists to be involved along the entire production chain. “Good materials scientists need to be able to speak just as comfortably with the chemists working for their company as with the communications department,” says Bourban. But there too, “their ability to think critically is crucial, for the benefit of their company and society in general.”