1.What is your academic background?

After presenting my PhD thesis at the University of Strasbourg under the supervision of Karel Schulmann, I spent one year at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis as a Lecturer in Petrology, then I moved in Finland at the University of Helsinki for 3 years (2 years post-doc, 1 year Lecturer in Structural Geology). I'm back in Strasbourg since 2015 as a Lecturer in Petrology and Structural Geology. I also got a part-time position at the Czech Geological Survey. My research is focused on a multi-disciplinary approach (field work, structural geology, GIS, petrology, geochronology, etc.) in order to understand tectonic process at various scale (orogen, shear zone, micro-tectonic). More info is available: https://eost.unistra.fr/recherche/ipgs/dylbas/dylbas-perso/francis-chopin00/ and also here below: https://petrol.natur.cuni.cz/clr/node/184

2. What are you teaching at UFAZ and where can the students start their careers after graduation?

At UFAZ, I am teaching magmatic and metamorphic petrology in the course "Mineralogy and Petrography" in L2 Geophysics. The lectures will be followed by observation, description and interpretation of hand samples and thin section.

My class is about how the rocks are formed, what they are made of, and how to better recognize each of them. We will also talk about the rocks forming as the basement of sedimentary reservoirs or intruded into it. This is the very basis of geoscience – to recognize the rocks. I think that the students can build, amongst others, very good careers in the field that concern environment (environmental pollution and the pollution of the soil).

3. What could you recommend to our students?

The L2 students of Geophysics at UFAZ are already so motivated that everything I could advise is simply “keep up the good job!”

4. What are your impressions of UFAZ and what is your piece of advice?

I understand that it is pretty tough here when it comes to exams. Better to split the exams in a way that will somehow organize the workload in a more efficient manner for both lecturers and students. At the same time, I can feel that the students here are getting a lot of help and support from the UFAZ Faculty and Staff. You treat them like family and this is what keeps them going and keeps them united. Please do continue this way!

Interview realized by UFAZ PR department in Baku on 14 December 2018.