ESPCI ParisTech Editorials

Ultrafast imaging and cardiovascular diseases: the CNP Assurances Foundation supports a new research project

Vincent Montigny — 2013-04-26T08:41:00Z


Mickaël Tanter, directeur de recherche INSERM à l'Institut Langevin de l'ESPCI ParisTech

The CNP Assurances Foundation is giving its support to the École Supérieure of Industrial Physics and Chemistry of the City of Paris (ESPCI ParisTech) in its ambitious research project directed by Mickael Tanter (photo), intended to improve the detection and management of heart contraction abnormalities. These dysfunctions affect one million individuals in France and are responsible for numerous deaths.

Such abnormalities are difficult to detect

Cardiovascular diseases constitute the main cause of mortality worldwide, ahead of infectious diseases and cancer. Some of these deaths are due to cardiac insufficiencies, often consecutive to contraction abnormalities of the heart. These dysfunctions, such as cardiac arrhythmia and ventricular desynchronisation, currently affect close to one million individuals in France. The ageing of the population only exacerbates the problem.
With conventional examination techniques, such as electrocardiograms or MRI, electrical abnormalities of the heart, which lead in time to cardiac insufficiency, cannot yet be detected early on and located with sufficient precision.

An ultrafast ultrasound imaging technique

The Inserm U 979 research team “Physics of Waves for Medicine” of the Institut Langevin of ESPCI (École Supérieure of Industrial Physics and Chemistry of the City of Paris) has developed an ultrafast ultrasound imaging technique (12,000 images/second), which in time will be usable to visualise and measure the electromechanical activation of the heart at a very fast rate.

Contact :

Capable of achieving rates of thousands of images per second, this new non-invasive technique allows the propagation of mechanical vibrations inside organs to be observed in real time with millimetre precision, the velocity of these waves being associated with the local hardness, making it possible to obtain a quantitative map of the hardness of tissues. In the case in point, ultrafast imaging of the heart will allow early detection of dysfunctions connected with electrical conductivity, and to differentiate very early between benign conditions and serious conditions requiring a major operation, such as the fitting of a pacemaker.

Challenges to overcome

It will be a case of applying this ultrafast imaging technique, which has proven itself in the detection of certain tumours, such as those of the breast, to observation of the contraction movements of the heart. However, adapting this ultrafast imaging technique to measurement of the rigidity of the myocardium, as well as to high-resolution visualisation of the electrical activity of the heart, raises new difficulties, but we believe we can solve them. Our goal is full validation of these new imaging approaches in patients within two or three years,” explain Mickaël Tanter, director of research at the Institut Langevin in ESPCI ParisTech, and Mathieu Pernot, head of Inserm research.
Financed by ESPCI, Inserm and the CNP Assurances Foundation, this project will lead to the creation of an ultrafast 3D image prototype for cardiovascular research, scheduled for 2015. It is planned to allow a resolution of 5000 images per second simultaneously in multiple regions of the heart, compared with 50 images per second for the echocardiography systems currently in clinical use.
The project is being conducted in association with the team of Prof. Haissaguerre (Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux), international expert in the field of cardiac arrhythmia. The team, directed by Mickaël Tanter at the Institut Langevin, is made up of 13 permanent researchers (CNRS, ESPCI and Inserm), 8 postdoctorals, one of whom was recently recruited to bring forward the rapid heart imaging project, and 20 doctoral students.

The site of the Institut Langevin de l'ESPCI ParisTech
The site of the Fondation CNP Assurances

This project is supported by the ESPCI Georges Charpak Endowment Fund

ESPCI and Nexans sign a scientific partnership agreement

Vincent Montigny — 2013-04-04T08:58:00Z

On March 20 at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, the École Supérieure of Industrial Physics and Chemistry of the City of Paris, the company Nexans and the ESPCI Georges Charpak Endowment Fund signed an agreement to create a partnership promoting excellence in research. At the heart of the project lies the science and technology of the transport of energy.

Signed by Jean-Louis Missika, President of ESPCI ParisTech and deputy to the Mayor of Paris responsible for innovation, research and universities, Frédéric Vincent, President and Director General of Nexans, and Jacques Lewiner, President of the ESPCI Georges Charpak Endowment Fund, this agreement establishes cooperation in science and innovation between Nexans, world leader in the field of advanced cables, and ESPCI ParisTech, ranked as the foremost French engineering school by the Shanghai Classification.
Jean-Louis Missika was pleased to welcome the move by Nexans as “a pioneering enterprise among the partners of ESPCI ParisTech, a school whose research can provide a crucial competitive advantage for the company”.
Frédéric Vincent indicated that “Nexans needed to develop technical expertise; this agreement is the best way of achieving that in the field of nanotechnology, polymers and high voltage”.

About Nexans
With energy at the basis of its development, Nexans, worldwide expert in the cable industry, offers an extensive range of cables and cabling solutions. The Group is a global player in the energy transmission and distribution, industry and building markets. Nexans addresses a wide series of market segments: from energy and telecom networks to energy resources (wind turbines, photovoltaic, oil and gas, and mining) to transportation (shipbuilding, aerospace, automotive and automation, and railways). Nexans holds an unique expertise in the field of superconducting cables.

An ambitious scientific project

There are a number of research fields at the heart of the joint venture. These include, under the leadership of Stéphane Holé, electrical insulation and more particularly the study of insulators and their interfaces for high-voltage devices, and methods of characterizing insulating material by measuring the space charge distribution. Other areas are: superconductor materials and new polymer materials

Three presentations gave a foretaste of the variety of innovative research carried out by ESPCI ParisTech:

• the vitrimer, a material developed by Ludwik Leibler, associate professor at ESPCI ParisTech, director of the Laboratory for Soft Matter and Chemistry (MMC) and recipient of the CNRS Medal for Innovation in 2013;

• ultrafast medical imaging, developed by Mickaël Tanter, director of research at the Institut Langevin of ESPCI ParisTech;

• superconductivity and Meissner effect levitation, studied by Jérôme Lesueur, professor and director of the Laboratory of Physics and Materials Study (LPEM).

During the ceremony, the engineering students Aurélien Baelde and Kejian Wang gave a demonstration of superconductivity using a levitating train made by them at the Langevinium, the School's HackLab, of which they are the cofounders with their colleague Guillaume Chatté. There remarkable demonstration captured the attention of the public and greatly contributed to the success of the day.

Ludwik Leibler, recipient of the 2013 Medal for Innovation

Vincent Montigny — 2013-03-20T10:25:00Z

Ludwik Leibler © CNRS/Photothèque/Cyril_FRESILLONLudwik Leibler, associate professor at ESPCI ParisTech, director of the Laboratory for Soft Matter and Chemistry and director of exceptional research at the CNRS, receives the CNRS Medal for Innovation, which rewards individuals whose exceptional research has led to noteworthy innovations for technology, economics, therapeutics and society.

A theoretical physicist by training, the eclectic Ludwik Leibler has succeeded in developing fundamental pioneering work in the field of the physics and chemistry of polymers. Acknowledged worldwide for his essential contributions in the field of nanostructuring and dynamics of polymers, Ludwik Leibler has maintained a constant dialogue with the industrial world. Close collaborations, including the creation of a mixed laboratory, with groups such as Arkema and Total, have contributed to ground-breaking innovations.

A prolific inventor

Ludwik Leibler has invented entirely original materials by combining deep theoretical understanding and the concern for highly integrated industrial exploitation from conception. One of these recent noteworthy discoveries relates to supramolecular rubbers capable of self-healing by simple contact after a full tear. Another recent discovery relates to a new class of organic materials - vitrimers. These repairable and recyclable materials are, like glass, capable of being shaped reversibly at will, while remaining insoluble, lightweight and strong.
Ludwik Leibler has filed 47 patents and published 177 scientific articles.

This distinction will be awarded to him, as well as to the two other recipients - Phillippe Cinquin and Stéphane Mallat - on 12 June 2013 by Geneviève Fioraso, Minister of Higher Education and Research.

The press communiqué of the CNRS

Teaching researchers: six posts open to competition

Vincent Montigny — 2013-03-13T12:48:00Z

Waves and acoustics, neurobiology, organic chemistry… Six posts de Maître de conférences are open to competition and eligible for European citizens. This initiative highlights the scientific and educational dynamism of the School, at a time when various fields of research are over-extended.

What aspects are sought in the profiles?

The six posts of Maître de conférences are open in the following specialisms: waves and acoustics, neurobiology, organic chemistry, neurobiology and electronics, biochemistry and analytical sciences, and lastly analytical sciences and microfluidics. Our aim is to promote openness and interdisciplinary collaboration. Subject mobility is also encouraged. Furthermore, all the posts are widely open.

Practically: how to apply?
NB: portfolios cannot be sent directly to ESPCI ParisTech. This is because the competitions are still being organised by the Office of the Mayor of Paris this year. Candidates must apply to: Online service - competition of the City of Paris within the specified deadlines. Specifically, each competition is:
Maître de Conférences - specialising in waves and acoustics https://teleservices.paris.fr/fow/s…
Maître de Conférences - specialising in neurobiology
Maître de Conférences - specialising in neurobiology and electronics
Maître de Conférences - specialising in organic chemistry
Maître de Conférences - specialising in analytical chemistry and microfluidics
Maître de Conférences - specialising in biochemistry

The teaching researchers of ESPCI ParisTech enjoyed a particularly stimulating working environment:
teaching methods promoting the quality of exchange with engineering students and masters students (practical work, supervised work, tutorials, academic projects),
an exceptionally high level of training allowing genuine questions to be addressed in depth,
a very high-level interdisciplinary and international research setting at the heart of Paris,
the opportunity to conduct engaged research, from fundamental research to the most of practical of applications.

Contact :

A board to convince

According to the rules of the civil service of local governments, the board is made up of:
two elected members,
two civil servants at a level at least equivalent to the post which is open,
two qualified individuals. The candidate's presentation should be made with these various assessors in mind.

2012: A retrospective in pictures

Vincent Montigny — 2013-01-23T13:41:00Z

From the visit of Dan Shechtman, 2011 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, to the ceremony awarding diplomas to the students of the 126th class, through the relocation of the Institut Langevin and the victory of our handball team, a review of some of the highlights of last year.

Related content :

Our 2013 greeting card

Sport: A trophy for the student life

Vincent Montigny — 2012-12-23T14:07:00Z

De gauche à droite - From left to right : Gaétan Mary, Raphaël Pauchet, Jean-Christophe Ono-Dit-Bio, Thomas Guyon, Corentin Durant, Léo Gury, Wassim (coach), Hubert Sizaret, Anthony Janin, Simon Kulifaj, Thibault Jauzein, Vincent Miralles - Nos handballeurs Crédits : ESPCI ParisTechThey're names are Gaétan, Raphaël, Léo or Vincent… They are handballers and champions of the ParisTech Tournament. Spotlight on the feat achieved by their team last autumn, a resounding success which illustrates the dynamism of the Bureau of Sports, the competitive spirit of our engineering students and the atmosphere which exists on campus.

1 competition, 12 schools, 9 disciplines

The ParisTech Tournament? “It's one of the undeniable highlights of sporting life at ESPCI,” says Anthony Janin, member of the Bureau of Sports and handballer. Each autumn, the schools of the ParisTech network compete on all fields: football, volleyball, basketball, handball, rugby sevens, athletics, swimming… Without forgetting the band and cheerleader events. Did you know that the ESPCI cheerleaders swept to victory in the competition at the 2011 meeting? The sport is particularly well represented at the School. Naturally, the classes are small, but is nothing to prevent ESPCI ParisTech from fielding strong teams in all disciplines of the tournament.

An opportunity to seize

« “Competing against the other schools is essential for gauging one's level and progress” explains Elodie Chaudan, also a member of the BoS. “And this tournament has precisely the right layout.” It gathers teams from a number of Grandes Ecoles of different sizes with varying skills. So, at the start of this academic year, ESPCI ParisTech entered the competition buoyed up with good results achieved a few months before.

Contact :

A triumph

On 12 October 2012, under a grey sky, our engineering students shone. First, the male basketball and rugby players had very good results. Then, at the end of the day, our mail handball team won a resounding victory.
After topping the pool with victories over Chimie Paris (9-0) and HEC (8-2), the team continued to progress to the final. By that time, all the other competition being completed, a large number of engineering students were present: supporters attending the tournament, other players, as well as the cheerleaders, who supported their team tirelessly.
Our handballers then came up against the team from the Ponts et Chaussées. It was a tough match, and although the ESPCI players started well, and dominated the match and lead until the equaliser… twenty seconds from the end. In the tense atmosphere, the spectators were waiting for extra time. But suddenly, with five seconds left on the clock, Thomas Guyon (130th class) seized his chance, shot and scored. The crowd went wild. “Everybody, all the supporters, the cheerleaders… They all invaded the pitch,” recall Anthony and Elodie, still delighted. The ESPCI team had taken a title at the ParisTech Tournament for only the second time in their history.

The keys to success
How to compete with the bigger schools? “That day, our team deserved to win,” calmly explains Thomas Guyon, member of the BoS and seasoned handballer. “Its strength undoubtedly lies in an integrated nucleus, with players who know each other very well bedded in from their first year at the School.” A number of them have already reached to a high level: National Division 2, regional teams… Others are beginners but are motivated and dedicated to group, spurred on by the recent arrival of a coach. “Our coach helps us keep focussed when times are hard. This is a great boon to improvement and solid training,” emphasises Thomas.

The Bureau of Sports sees its efforts rewarded

A key player in the student life at ESPCI, the BoS enables students to compete and represent their school. Its prime mission? Access to sport for all, in as many sporting disciplines as possible. The organisation has in fact helped in the creation of teams or clubs. It also facilitates gym reservations and promotes coaching. “We benefit from very favourable rates thanks to the City of Paris. This is an advantage which other schools in the city do not enjoy,” stresses Elodie, “and the handballers' victory is a great encouragement for the entire organisation” she acknowledges with a smile. The BoS also arranges team participation in sporting events throughout the year. These include the inter-school tournaments:

The Challenge Centrale Lyon,
The Inter Chimie Tournament
The TOSS
The Grandes Ecoles World Challenge

Last but not least, the organisation runs a sporting afternoon for the new students, the inter-class tournament (in which the researchers and teachers also take part) and the skiing week… which is nearly upon us!

Gulliver: A laboratory crosses borders

Vincent Montigny — 2012-11-06T11:06:00Z

1 2 3 4

De gauche à droite, Pierre Sens et Florent Krzakala Crédits : ESPCI ParisTech Pierre Sens et Florent Krzakala are theoretical physicists, both members of the Gulliver Laboratory. This year, they both received an international research grant to develop innovative interdisciplinary projects. From compressed data sensing to cell mobility, a meeting with two scientists who think big in a laboratory specialising in diversity of scales.

Two international funds: a European grant for Florent Krzakala

Florent Krzakala is one of the 2012 recipients of the research grants awarded each year by the European Research Council. “Its sum of one million euros will finance in particular four postdoctorals over the next five years,” explains Florent Krzakala. He first needs to set up this research team. Its aspects? “Interdisciplinary, intercultural, international of course, both very fundamental and very applied, at the crossroads of computing, mathematics and physics.”

About European Research Council grants
Each year, the ERC panel selects individual approaches and proposals “on the sole criterion of the scientific excellence of a researcher and the innovative strength of his or her idea, regardless of nationality, age or field of research”. Each grant is to one person and gives great autonomy to its recipient. In 2011, Sylvain Gigan, teaching researcher at the School, also received an ERC research grant.

This year (2012), Florent Krzakala, armed with encouraging initial scientific results, presented his proposal to the European panel for ERC grants. One panel? More like two! While the portfolio was examined by physicists, he sat the oral before scientists from a different field, namely signal processing. “It's that my proposal is at the crossroads,” explains Florent Krzakala. “The physicists who examined my initial application decided themselves to call in electronic engineers and mathematicians. As it were, my proposal received double endorsement.”

Pierre Sens supported by the Human Frontier Science Program

Pierre Sens similarly presented a research proposal to the panel of another international organisation: the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP).

About the Human Frontier Science Program
Founded in 1986 on Japanese initiative, this international program finances research into the complex mechanisms of living organisms. The research is financed at all levels of biological complexity, from biomolecules to interactions between organisms. The grants are awarded for innovative research proposals involving close collaboration between independent teams of researchers, working in different countries and in different disciplines.

Contacts :

Mission accomplished! Pierre Sens will also benefit from a grant shared with his partners, funding large enough to finance two postdoctorals alongside him for two years. A success which highlights the serious nature of the enterprise: in fact, the HFSP accepts only 10% of proposals put forward. “We combine numerous aspects valued by the panel,” adds Pierre Sens. “In particular, an interdisciplinary international research team including theoretical modelling.”

Next page: Florent Krzakala and his colleagues have solved a problem regarded as insoluble

1 2 3 4

Slide show: Marie Curie and ESPCI, a history

Vincent Montigny — 2012-05-15T15:20:00Z

It was at ESPCI, with her husband, that Marie Curie began work on radioactivity. It was here that, together, they discovered polonium and radium, and it is here that she learned to develop her skills. A review in images of the positive influence of Marie Curie on our School and its heritage, at the time when the President of the Republic is paying homage to this exceptional woman, recipient of two Nobel prizes, capable from the outset of combining invention, interdisciplinarity and experimental practice.

Exceptional conference: Dan Shechtman, the 2011 Chemistry Nobel Laureate

Vincent Montigny — 2012-02-09T09:29:41Z

Dan Shechtman, the 2011 Chemistry Nobel Laureate, gave at ESPCI ParisTech his first lecture in France since being awarded the Nobel Prize. This exceptional conference took place in the amphitheater named after Frédéric Joliot, who graduated from ESPCI in 1923 and received the Chemistry Nobel Prize in 1935 with his wife Irène Joliot-Curie for the discovery of artificial radioactivity. This lecture was fascinating for its scientific content and for the human story behind the discovery of quasi crystals and the struggle that Dan Shechtman led to have their existence acknowledged by the scientific community. The event has been captured on video.

- 2012 / Editos, International, Presse

Discovery : New revolutionary material can be worked like glass

Vincent Montigny — 2011-11-17T20:04:49Z

Différentes formes possibles de ce matériau - The material can take various forms © CNRS Photothèque / ESPCI / Cyril FRÉSILLONA common feature of sailboards, aircraft and electronic circuits is that they all contain resins used for their lightness, strength and resistance. However, once cured, these resins can no longer be reshaped. Only certain inorganic compounds, including glass, offered this possibility until now. Combining such properties in a single material seemed impossible until a team led by Ludwik Leibler, CNRS researcher at the Laboratoire “Matière Molle et Chimie” (CNRS/ESPCI ParisTech), developed a new class of compounds capable of this remarkable feat.

Reshape hardened resins: impossible

Replacing metals by lighter but just as efficient materials is a necessity for numerous industries, such as aeronautics, car manufacturing, building, electronics and sports industry. Due to their exceptional mechanical strength and thermal and chemical resistance, composite materials based on thermosetting resins are currently the most suitable. However, such resins must be cured in situ, using from the outset the definitive shape of the part to be produced. In fact, once these resins have hardened, welding and repair become impossible. In addition, even when hot, it is impossible to reshape parts in the manner of a blacksmith or glassmaker.

This is because glass (inorganic silica) is a unique material: once heated, it changes from a solid to a liquid state in a very progressive manner (glass transition), which means it can be shaped as required without using molds. Conceiving highly resistant materials that can be repaired and are infinitely malleable, like glass, is a real challenge both in economic and ecological terms. It requires a material that is capable of flowing when hot, while being insoluble and neither as brittle nor as “heavy” as glass.

A new revolutionary material

Ludwik Leibler et une partie de son équipe - Ludwik Leibler and part of his team © CNRS Photothèque / Cyril FRESILLONFrom ingredients that are currently available and used in industry (epoxy resins, hardeners, catalysts, etc.), researchers from the Laboratoire “Matière Molle et Chimie” (CNRS/ESPCI ParisTech) developed a novel organic material made of a molecular network with original properties: under the action of heat, this network is capable of reorganizing itself without altering the number of cross-links between its atoms. This novel material goes from the liquid to the solid state or vice versa, just like glass. Until now, only silica and some inorganic compounds were known to show this type of behavior. The material thus acts like purely organic silica. It is insoluble even when heated above its glass transition temperature.

Lightness, resistance, insolubility…

Remarkably, at room temperature, it resembles either hard or soft elastic solids, depending on the chosen composition. In both cases, it has the same characteristics as thermosetting resins and rubbers currently used in industry, namely lightness, resistance and insolubility. Most importantly, it has a significant advantage over the latter as it is reshapeable at will and can be repaired and recycled under the action of heat. This property means it can undergo transformations using methods that cannot be envisaged either for thermosetting resins or for conventional plastic materials. In particular, it makes it possible to produce shapes that are difficult or even impossible to obtain by molding or for which making a mold is too expensive for the envisaged purpose.

Contact presse :
Priscilla Dacher : 01 44 96 46 06

Contact researcher :
Ludwik Leibler : 01 40 79 51 25

Used as the basis of composites, this new material could therefore favorably compete with metals and find extensive applications in sectors as diverse as electronics, car manufacturing, construction, aeronautics or printing. In addition to these applications, these results shed unexpected light on a fundamental problem: the physics of glass transition.

This work was supported in particular by CNRS, ESPCI ParisTech and the Arkema group.

Silica-like malleable materials from permanent organic networks. _ Damien Montarnal, Mathieu Capelot, François Tournilhac and Ludwik Leibler.
Science. 18 novembre 2011.

Source : CNRS press release

ESPCI ParisTech Editorials

Ultrafast imaging and cardiovascular diseases: the CNP Assurances Foundation supports a new research project

Such abnormalities are difficult to detect

An ultrafast ultrasound imaging technique

Challenges to overcome

ESPCI and Nexans sign a scientific partnership agreement

An ambitious scientific project

Ludwik Leibler, recipient of the 2013 Medal for Innovation

A prolific inventor

Related articles:

Teaching researchers: six posts open to competition

What aspects are sought in the profiles?

A board to convince

2012: A retrospective in pictures

Sport: A trophy for the student life

1 competition, 12 schools, 9 disciplines

An opportunity to seize

A triumph

The Bureau of Sports sees its efforts rewarded

Gulliver: A laboratory crosses borders

Two international funds: a European grant for Florent Krzakala

Pierre Sens supported by the Human Frontier Science Program

Slide show: Marie Curie and ESPCI, a history

Exceptional conference: Dan Shechtman, the 2011 Chemistry Nobel Laureate

Discovery : New revolutionary material can be worked like glass

Reshape hardened resins: impossible

A new revolutionary material

Lightness, resistance, insolubility…