Jenny Faucheu

Jenny Faucheu is a Full Professor at Mines Saint-Étienne specializing in Materials for Design and the Creative Industries. With 53 publications and over 35,000 reads on ResearchGate, she has established herself as a leading researcher at the intersection of materials science, tactile perception, and design. Her work bridges engineering principles with human sensory experience to inform better product design.

Professor Faucheu's research focuses on understanding how humans perceive and emotionally respond to textures through touch. Her expertise spans tactile aesthetics, smart materials, polymer nanocomposites, and graphene-based materials. She investigates the relationship between physical surface properties and subjective emotional responses, particularly examining how textures elicit 'liking' versus 'beauty' judgments. Her recent work explores multimodal perception, studying how visual information influences tactile experience and how cognitive factors like working memory affect texture evaluation.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent focus on the psychophysical aspects of texture perception, with increasing attention to crossmodal interactions and individual differences in sensory processing. Her research has evolved from fundamental studies of friction-induced vibrations to more complex investigations of emotional responses and cognitive mechanisms underlying tactile aesthetics. The work demonstrates strong connections between materials engineering and human-centered design principles.

Professor Faucheu's approach emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, combining expertise from mechanical engineering, psychology, and design to create a comprehensive understanding of material perception. Her educational work focuses on developing tools to teach design students about smart materials and their dynamic behaviors, reflecting her commitment to advancing design education through materials knowledge.

Her research on VO2-polymer nanocomposites for thermochromic windows represents an important application area, with studies examining both technical performance and environmental impact through life cycle assessments. This work demonstrates her ability to connect fundamental materials research with practical, sustainable applications for energy-efficient building technologies.