On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we met with Fatoumata Tapa Baba DIARRA. A doctoral student in the Fire team, she looks back on her career, shares her research work, and sends a message to young women who are curious to explore careers in scientific research.
Can you tell us more about your background?
I am originally from Mali, where I obtained my scientific baccalaureate in 2018. I then began my university studies in France with a first year of a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, physics, computer science, and mechanics in Aix-en-Provence (Aix Marseille University). I continued my studies in Marseille, in the mechanics department of AMU, where I obtained a master’s degree in mechanics, specializing in fire science and fire safety engineering (ISI).
My end-of-studies internship, carried out within the LEMTA fire team, focused on the study of the thermal and hydraulic behavior of wood. At the end of this work, I chose to continue with a PhD in the same team in order to study the behavior of this material in fire conditions.