Ekaterina Kukhtenko's start-up, VAir, aims to make respiratory infection diagnosis easier using a portable, ultra-fast device that analyses patients' exhaled air directly. Born out of the Covid-19 pandemic, this idea has the potential to help millions of people around the world, particularly in developing countries. It has been brought to fruition with the support of the École Polytechnique incubator.
Scientists from the LHCb experiment at CERN, including a team from the Leprince-Ringuet Laboratory (LLR*), gathered for a workshop at École Polytechnique to discuss how to improve the LHCb particle physics experiment over the next decade.
Adrien Bilal (X2010), an assistant professor of economics at Stanford University, has been awarded the 2026 Best Young Economist Award. Adrien Bilal’s research focuses on the economic consequences of global warming. Two of the three other economists honored with this award are also alumni of École Polytechnique.
Entrepreneurship, Corporate relations, Innovation, Sustainable Development
Teams from the École Polytechnique incubator, X-UP, attend the ChangeNOW exhibition, taking place from 30 March to 1 April at the Grand Palais in Paris. This event focuses on sustainable development and green technology innovations. Last year, it attracted 40,000 visitors, 10,000 companies, and 1,000 high-impact solutions.
At the 2026 ‘AI for Impact’ Spring School, École Polytechnique’s ‘Data Science & Industrial Processes’ Chair is reaffirming its role as a bridge between cutting-edge research and the business world. By bringing together students, scientists and businesses from around the world in Morocco, the event demonstrates the ability of data science and artificial intelligence to unite talent, innovation and practical applications in the service of major industrial and societal challenges.
When Marie Feroux founded Osborne Systems last July, she and her partners developed a platform that enables manufacturers to design their oil and gas flow measurement systems with greater precision by automating processes that are still largely manual today. Their ambition is to extend these capabilities to new applications, such as monitoring CO₂ emissions. This ambitious project reflects the spirit of this dynamic entrepreneur, who has been receiving support from École Polytechnique’s X-UP incubator since last October.
Margherita Castellano (CMAP*), Magali Korolev (CPHT*), and Kate Sorg (LOB*). Three doctoral students from laboratories affiliated with École Polytechnique were honored during the “Ma thèse en 180 secondes” local competition at Institut Polytechnique de Paris.
A team from the Optics and Biosciences Laboratory (LOB*) has identified structures called G-quadruplexes in the genome of archaea, single-celled organisms. This discovery opens up new perspectives on the study of the role of these structures and the evolution of life.
In early 2025, Roxana Rotaru teamed up with her business partner to launch Hedi, a start-up specialising in next-generation insurance fraud detection. With the backing of X-Up, the incubator at École Polytechnique, she was able to transform an idea that had occurred to her during a fondue dinner with friends into a reality. Read on to discover her journey, from her native Romania to her formative experiences at Veolia and SNCF, and her passions.
Since 2003, the École Polytechnique's Sustainable Development Chair has been supporting large-scale teaching programmes and interdisciplinary research projects aimed at shedding light on major environmental, economic and societal changes. Now led by Benoît Schmutz-Bloch, it supports several École Polytechnique teams working on a variety of topics, ranging from mobility and energy to environmental health, climate science and materials science.
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.
Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, six second-year Cycle Ingénieur Polytechnicien students participated in the British Model NATO, held on February 25 at the British Foreign Office. This first French participation in the British Model NATO took place as part of the Model NATO course offered by the English section of the School’s Department of Languages and Cultures.
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