Research in the nanosciences in France

With more than 5,300 researchers and 240 laboratories working in the nanosciences and nanotechnologies, French institutions are engaged in a great many nano-research projects in the broad fields of electronics, communications, materials, energy, biotechnologies, pharmacology, medicine, health, and the environment. Albert Fert shared the 2007 Nobel prize in physics with German Peter Grünberg for their independent discoveries of giant magnetoresistance and their contribution to the development of spintronics, which made possible the magnetic readers used in today’s computers. With the research infrastructure built since the 1990s, France is one of the leaders in basic research in the nanosciences. The country ranks second in Europe, after Germany, in the amount invested in nanoscience research, and fifth in the world in number of publications in the field.
Public investment in nano-biotechnologies - http://investissement-avenir.gouvernement.fr
In 2012, two projects of interest were among 20 projects selected for the national public investment program known as Investissements d’avenir (Investments in the Future),
- The DIRAN project: The goal of the project is to explore the potential of nanotechnologies for the development of a new generation of medical equipment for the early detection of hospital-acquired infections and a better understanding of their origins.
- The FACSBIOMARKER project: This project explores the potential of nanotechnologies for the development of new, highresolution methods for early detection and diagnosis of invasive cancers and for more-effective monitoring of therapeutic processes. More...