Yannis Laplace’s team at the Irradiated Solids Laboratory (LSI*) has just achieved a major breakthrough by demonstrating the operation of a “temporal photonic crystal.” This finding has been published in the journal *Nature*. This is a collaboration with the Collège de France, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Thales’ Albert Fert Laboratory, and the Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films (LPICM*).
By bringing together specialists in optics and biology within the same laboratory, the LOB stands out among research laboratories. This unique setup...
At the Applied Optics Laboratory (LOA*), the CALYCO Chair aims to develop an industrial laser-plasma acceleration system for non-destructive imaging, with potential applications in the energy, aerospace, and automotive sectors. The project is funded by Institut Pierre Lamoure through the École Polytechnique Foundation.
Speaking to the X25 cohort of École Polytechnique students, Antoine Bordes, Chief Scientific Officer at Helsing, emphasised the importance of developing technologies that serve European defence, whilst not overlooking the issue of the responsibility of engineers and military personnel. With their first-class training in science, and now in artificial intelligence, students at École Polytechnique will be able to innovate within the government or private companies to build a society capable of protecting its values by placing people at the heart of decision-making.
Vicky Kalogeiton, Alejandro Alvarez Laguna, and Anna Korba have been awarded the 2026 CNRS Bronze Medals. The CNRS Bronze Medal recognizes the first major contributions of researchers who are leading experts in their fields.
Internationally renowned physicist Eberhard Gross has joined Lucia Reining's team at the Irradiated Solids Laboratory (LSI*) as Gaspard Monge Visiting Professor. Together, they are working on theoretical methods for efficiently calculating the quantum properties of materials. Supported by the Fondation de l’École polytechnique as part as the “Servir la science” fundraising campaign, the Gaspard Monge Visiting Professor Program enables the institution to host leading international researchers and foster high-level research collaboration with École Polytechnique’s researchers and laboratories.
Enceladus is one of the moons of the planet Saturn. A study led by researchers at the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP*) reveals that the magnetic interaction between the two bodies extends over much greater distances than previously known—more than 500,000 kilometers. This finding was made possible by data from the Cassini mission.
Since 2019, the Chair in Space Science and Challenges, led by Professor Pascal Chabert and supported by ArianeGroup, Safran and the École Polytechnique Foundation, has affirmed École Polytechnique's commitment to training future experts in the space sector. Based on demanding scientific teaching, ambitious space projects carried out at the Student Space Centre (CSEP), visits to industrial sites, meetings with industry players, and the development of real space missions, the Chair is positioned as a strategic lever for preparing talented individuals capable of meeting the major technological and societal challenges of tomorrow's aerospace industry.
A collaboration involving researchers from the Center for Theoretical Physics (CPHT*) has proposed a theoretical formalism that provides a description of gravity and gravitational waves at the “edge” of the universe. This breakthrough could provide tools for unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics.
Using high-intensity lasers, an international team involving researchers from the Applied Optics Laboratory (LOA*) and the Intense Lasers Laboratory (LULI*) will probe the behavior of light at an unprecedented level, at the limits of current quantum electrodynamics theory. The project has just been awarded a Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).
Using ultra-fast laser beams, a team from the Irradiated Solids Laboratory (LSI*) has designed an experiment that allows both the creation of nanometric cavities in metal films and their study using several advanced microscopy techniques. The results have been published in the journal Physical Review Letters (PRL).
For Science Day 2025, École Polytechnique paid tribute to women. Four female scientists from l’X recounted their career journeys and shared their passion with secondary school students. Take a look back at this inspiring event!
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