Paul Scata

Context

Dissolved air flotation is a common water-treatment process: air is dissolved under pressure, then released as microbubbles that attach to suspended particles and carry them to the surface.

My role

• Understanding the underlying physics (bubble formation, bubble-particle interaction).
• Setting up a dissolved air flotation device built around a pressurized vessel.
• Analyzing measurements and comparing them with the model.
• Preparing and defending the project in front of a jury.

Results

Following the analyses, I found that adding a sodium chloride solution helped improve the efficiency of the microplastic capture process. Dissolved air flotation is a promising and effective method for facilitating the removal of microplastics from wastewater.

What I took away

This project helped me understand the importance of an effective distribution of tasks when working on a long-term project. I also learned how to contact external organisations and individuals to obtain the materials needed to carry out the project. Finally, I developed my ability to deal with unexpected challenges, overcome difficulties and find suitable solutions to keep the project moving forward.

Context

Two logic lab sessions on program proving: showing, with machine-checked rigor, that a function meets its specification.

My role

• Formalizing properties of lists (concatenation, reversal).
• Proving them by structural induction in Coq.
• Verifying them with Why3, combining annotations and automated provers.

What I took away

This practical session helped me better understand the principles of formal proof and the importance of rigour in logical reasoning. I learned how to identify the assumptions needed to demonstrate the validity of an argument or a program. I also understood the fundamental difference between testing a program, which allows us to check its behaviour in specific cases, and proving it, which involves mathematically demonstrating its correctness. This approach made me more aware of the importance of precision and rigour in software development.

Context

Programming lab of the PIM module: structuring an Ada program with validated input, loops and subprograms.

My role

• Designing the algorithm and splitting it into subprograms.
• Handling invalid input and edge cases.
• Testing the program on several scenarios.

What I took away

The refinement method, which I discovered during this project, helped me understand the importance of breaking down complex problems into smaller, more structured tasks in order to make them easier to understand and implement. I also realized that most of the work does not lie in writing the code itself, but rather in the preliminary stages of thinking, analysing and breaking down the problem.