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Publiée le 28/02/13 à 15h31

Put in place by industrial partners, and working in close co-operation with them, the industrial research chairs enable the school to strengthen its competences in the growing sector of research while at the same time increasing its profile. A strategic tool therefore, for the school.
In the long history of company-school relations, setting up industrial research chairs is quite a recent development, in France at least, as well as a major step forwards. "Industrial research chairs provide a very effective framework, whereby a research unit is established or a team is strengthened, supported by industrial funding and benefiting from the favourable conditions provided by the endowment fund, highlights Anne Beauval, Head of the Ecole des Mines de Nantes. In this way it is possible to look at cetain issues which have an impact in the medium to long term. We are at the heart of the "research-oriented" approach. And this is a win-win situation for the two partners, the company and the school alike".
Over the last few years the school has therefore undertaken an industrial research chair program. The way it works is simple : the industrial partner and the school undertake a five year research program, on an emerging theme chosen together, sponsored by company funding to the tune of 1.5 million Euros.
So what exactly happens with a research chair ? The key aim is research. "We are working on long term radionuclides diffusion through rock, using simulation experiments and molecular modelling, explains Bernd Grambow, Head of the Subatech laboratory and holder of the research chair "Storage and management of nuclear waste ". This is an area of research which touches on materials science, physics, and chemistry as well as societal issues. It concerns the issue of public safety, with implications over a timeframe of thousands of years : Andra will put forward a project, for 2015 concerning a storage site which is due to open towards 2025". The program will e