Gauthier Deblonde
April 8, 2026
What do you like about your job and/or about working at the Lab?
I like the sense of working for something much bigger than any individual—working for an institution that does serious business and that has an impact at the national level and beyond.
What do your day-to-day work activities include?
This is another thing I like about my job: there is no day-to-day routine. My main goal is to push science forward, and this includes but is not limited to: designing experiments, being in the lab doing experiments, analyzing results, troubleshooting instruments, writing and reviewing publications, writing and reviewing proposals, building teams for new projects, training colleagues, keeping track of what others publish, presenting at conferences, developing new collaborations, etc. Most of my experiments involve radioactive materials, so there is also a lot of planning.
What is one project you’re really proud to have worked on?
My research has multiple facets, so it's hard to select one. My very first project and experiment at the Lab was on the extraction of rare earth elements using natural proteins, a collaboration between Pennsylvania State and LLNL's Biosciences and Biotechnology Division. This project has particular significance for me. We call it “the lanmodulin project.” It has been a complete success so far and is it still on-going. Another one is the development of new methods to study radioactive elements (actinides, like plutonium, etc.) by using molecules called polyoxometalates. It allows us to synthesize compounds with very rare and radioactive research isotopes, while using only minute amounts (i.e., micrograms). This is a line of research we have been building in the past ~6 years with the Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division and Materials Science Division. We essentially improved the state-of-the-art methods by a factor of 1000, which means lower cost and much higher efficiency for DOE. I originally pitched this idea to the LDRD program during my first month here. It got funded and then it led me to continue this research via a DOE Early Career program. It is so rewarding to see an idea evolving into a multi-year project that now supports a team.
What is your educational/career background?
I originally wanted to be an engineer, but ended up getting an engineer diploma, a master’s degree, and then a PhD, and then doing two postdocs...I have an engineer diploma in chemical sciences and engineering, with a double major in nuclear fuel cycle chemistry. And I got a PhD in physical and analytical chemistry (in 2015).
What inspired you to go into science/your field of work?
I just like the idea of things being factual and undebatable. You can be a novice scientist and be right and you can also be a Nobel Prize laureate and be wrong. Science equalizes everything.
What advice would you give to a new employee at the Lab?
Talk to as many colleagues as possible. And don't forget your weekly timecard :-)
What are your hobbies/what do you do in your free time?
Various sports whenever possible (running, climbing, hiking, gym, etc.), walking my cat (yes, for real), fixing stuff, coffee hopping, antique store hopping.
Are you a member of any employee networking groups?
Running club
How many years have you worked at the Lab?
7
Where are you from?
France
Do you support disciplines or programs outside PLS?
Global Security
