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About us

 The Director’s message

The Mulhouse Materials Science Institute (IS2M) is a CNRS-University mixed research unit located in Haute-Alsace (UMR 7361).  Because of its multidisciplinary character, its scientific impact and the way it interacts with other fields, the laboratory represents one of the structuring forces in the field of Materials and their applications in the academic and industrial world, both at regional and national level. The IS2M has been able to define its identity and acquire unquestionable visibility on the highly competitive landscape of international research.

The IS2M owes its reputation to the excellence of its research, the scientific influence of its Researchers and Research Professors and the enormous professionalism of the research support staff. It also owes it to the attractiveness of the courses in which the Research Professors are involved and to the professional success of its PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.

The general objective of the Institute is to advance the knowledge front and transmit expertise in the field of Surfaces and Interfaces, Functionalization and Porous Materials.

In particular, the Institute aims to be a major player in the development of innovative methods and processes of synthesis, formatting, functionalization and bio-functionalization, in the field of development of characterization methods (specific and/or tailor-made), in the study of interaction mechanisms between a surface and its environment and in the study of correlations of properties on different scales.

To achieve this aim, one of its priorities is to attract and recruit high-potential researchers, research professors and research engineers on an international scale. The Institute’s action strategy is organised around 8 thematic axes :

  • Functional Polymer Engineering
  • Controlled Porosity Materials
  • Carbon and Hybrid Materials
  • Molecules, Nano-, Micro-Structures : Elaboration, Functionalities
  • Transfers, Reactivity, Materials for Clean Processes
  • Physics of Low Dimensionality Systems
  • Biomaterials / Biointerfaces
  • Multi-Scale Numerical Simulations

The operation of these 8 thematic areas is mainly supported by a large fleet of high-performance equipment enriched by eleven technical platforms (including 41 pieces of equipment) with ISO 9001 certification.

The IS2M brings together more than 160 people. Working there are 92 permanent employees including 20 CNRS researchers, 44 research professors, 23 CNRS ITA employees, 5 UHA BIATSS employees and ~70 PhD Students & Post-doctoral researchers/year. The IS2M is connected to two CNRS institutes : firstly to the Institute of Chemistry and secondly to the Institute of Physics. Section 15 of the CNRS represents the laboratory’s most important affiliation. The CNRS researchers are attached to sections 3, 11, 13, 14 and 15 and the research professors to sections 28, 31, 32, 33 and 62. In addition to these employees are more than 100 interns/year from BTS level to Masters level.

The results of our research are referenced in ~180 publications/year (10 % of these are published in journals with an impact factor greater than 8). The value of the work undertaken is also enhanced by patents (~6 year) and CNRS press releases (~5/year).

One of IS2M’s strong points is its dense network of academic and industrial collaborations. More than 50 academic partnerships, including 20 international and 15 industrial partnerships are established each year. In particular, the IS2M benefits from its cross-border geographical positioning and develops long-term collaborations with Germany and Switzerland. In addition, the IS2M has a special relationship with manufacturers in the support it provides to them for their R&D projects in various sectors of activity : aeronautics, aerospace, automotive, energy storage, health, water and soil clean-up, nuclear, cosmetics, sustainable building…

The IS2M’s average annual budget, excluding payroll, is around €3 million, of which almost 80 % corresponds to its own resources.

Finally, the IS2M, part of the Carnot Institute network, is a member of the MICA Carnot Institute (Materials Institute Carnot Alsace), of the ‘Materials and Nanoscience of the Grand-Est’ Research Federation (FR 3627) and the ‘Store-Ex’, National Laboratory of Excellence in the field of electrochemical energy storage.

 

Vincent Roucoules

Director of the Mulhouse Materials Science Institute

 

Supporting services

Executive assistant

Christelle Portier, Office 143, 03 89 60 8703

Administrative, Accounting and Financial Department

Reception

Sylvie Forget, Reception,  03 89 60 8700

 

Secretariat

Nathalie Castelein (IRJBD builiding), Office C4.42, 0. 89 33 6883

 

Expenditures unit

Leader : Louisa Idiri, Office 142, 0. 89 60 8708

Marina Ranellucci, Office 142, 0. 89 60 8706

 

Revenues unit

Leader Benoit Hanser, Office 149, 03 89 60 8723

 

Human resouces unit

Leader : Christelle Portier, Office 143, 03 89 60 8703