University of Michigan’s research internship program "Optics in the City of Lights" at l’X

The research internship period of the University of Michigan’s "Optics in the City of Light" program concluded on July 28, 2025, at École Polytechnique. Eight students from eight different American universities participated in the program this year, each spending two months in the laboratories of the partner institutions located on the Plateau de Saclay. École Polytechnique leads this research internship program focused on lasers on behalf of Institut Polytechnique de Paris, in collaboration with Université Paris-Saclay, which is also a project partner.

03 Aug. 2025

International

This year, eight undergraduate students from eight different American universities were selected for the "Optics in the City of Lights REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates)" program and joined the partner institutions of the program - Institut Polytechnique de Paris and Université Paris-Saclay – in June 2025 to gain hands-on research experience in its laboratories.

Co-founded in 2009 by Nobel Prize winner in Physics Gérard Mourou, a former researcher and professor of École Polytechnique, following his professional experience at the University of Michigan, the "Optics in the City of Lights REU" program is directed by the University of Michigan. Each year, it enables selected students from the United States to conduct a two-month internship in different world-class laboratories in France. The research internship is centred on the work with a broad range of ultrafast lasers.

An Invaluable Opportunity to Explore Research in France

Focused on ultrafast laser research, the "City of Lights REU" program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and offers American undergraduate students the opportunity each year to gain international experience in a top-tier research laboratory in France.

École Polytechnique hosted Daniel Ziabicki, a student from Denison University, for his internship within the Intense Lasers Laboratory LULI (Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses)*. Supervised by Dr. Loïc Meignien, the research internship focused on the "Study and characterization of an incoherent broadband fiber laser seeder for a fusion laser."

Fascinating and powerful, the highly concentrated light produced by lasers requires expert and precise handling. The participants therefore underwent a week of training at the University of Michigan before their internships in France, in order to be ready to master the specific safety and operational procedures for their subsequent work with lasers.

* LULI: a joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, CEA, Sorbonne Université

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