I-META
“Metastructured Materials for Engineering (I-META)” aims to develop these new artificial materials to control different types of waves (acoustic, elastic, mechanical) and to create new demonstrators and systems producing unique properties and functionalities. The objective is to establish a solid platform and synergy between academic and industrial partners, bridging the gap between high-level disruptive fundamental research and applied research focused on the development of technology-oriented metamaterials with economic and societal impact.
On the scientific level, the ambitious and coherent objective of this IMPACT project is to design, explore, model, and achieve a new class of multiphysical materials, capable of structuring and controlling acoustic, elastic, and mechanical waves, as well as producing multifunctional metastructures with robust, broadband properties, establishing a new paradigm for compact, multifunctional devices for different types of waves. This objective is fully in line with one of the six major directions and challenges of the Lorraine Initiative of Excellence call for projects, namely “The evolution of materials issues in the 21st century (from resource-related questions to those linked to the circular economy, through metallurgy and new materials)”.
The I-META project is an interdisciplinary project composed of four scientific axes:
- Sustainable multifunctional metamaterials for low-frequency absorption and vibro-acoustic energy harvesting.
- Multiphysical mechanical metamaterials.
- Nonlinear acoustic metamaterials,
- Phononic skyrmions.
I-META is interdisciplinary because it synergistically combines different disciplines: applied physics, materials science and engineering, acoustics, mechanics, and scientific computing. It will also rely on our strong and fruitful national and international networks, but above all on our industrial partners and other funding agencies that support this IMPACT project.
EPHemeris
Humanity and planet Earth have now entered the Anthropocene. This shift in era is characterized by the fact that human activities have become the main driver of all ecosystems. These disruptions threaten the sustainability of our societies by challenging climate zones, the quality of natural environments and their capacity to provide ecosystem services, our health and lifestyles, as well as the associated geopolitical stability.
To address these present and future changes, a paradigm shift is needed in the way we approach the processes governing interactions between ecosystems and human activities (that is, reaffirming the preeminence of bio-physico-chemical processes over economic principles). This means placing the question of planetary habitability at the core of our societies and understanding and overcoming deep divergences in the perception of risks, opportunities, and challenges associated with competing visions of future development directions towards a sustainable future.
To achieve this, we need to understand the conditions and parameters controlling the adaptation of living species and societies at all time and space scales, from the formation of our planet to the Anthropocene, and how anthropic activities and their externalities—often negative—(soil and water degradation, biodiversity destruction, massive use of chemical substances, deforestation, etc.) disrupt the habitability of ecosystems and, in return, affect the sustainability of human societies. These points form the core of the EPHemeris project, initially conceived by scientific communities with different but complementary expertise (geology, environmental sciences, humanities, and social sciences).
Our ambition is to set up a global project around the question of habitability in order to:
- bring together and unite the different scientific communities of the University of Lorraine
- train the next generations of students
- provide integrated knowledge to teachers, the general public, as well as economic and political decision-makers.
To do this, we propose an approach integrating scientific research, technological developments, de-innovation processes, academic training, lifelong learning, public outreach, and participation in citizen actions.
INSIGHT
The INSIGHT project proposes to bring together and stimulate the various research communities of the institution, with a strong interdisciplinary foundation, around the processing of language data towards a high level of conceptualization (in context). We will develop thoughtful solutions to support, expand, and align research in the fields of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the one hand, and the humanities on the other. The objective is to address a major scientific challenge for the academic community, but above all to enable the development of effective technological solutions for the benefit of citizens.
IMAGE
The IMAGE project aims to develop advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques in the fields of health and the energy and process sector. By nature interdisciplinary, the IMAGE project will catalyze the transfer of MRI-related knowledge between two traditionally separate sectors: energy and health. More specifically, the project focuses on improving clinical methods, such as magnetic resonance elastography for mapping biological tissues, and on developing magnetic resonance velocimetry to study fast multiphase flows in energy systems.
Education and knowledge transfer are another central point of the project, with dedicated training designed to equip students with cutting-edge interdisciplinary skills and playful activities aimed at the general public. In addition, the project actively involves industrial partners in order to foster continuous dialogue around the practical applications of MRI innovations. This collaboration promotes a two-way exchange of expertise and strengthens the transfer of knowledge and technology between academia and industry.