The Centre Interuniversitaire de recherche et d’ingénierie des matériaux (Cirimat) and the company Safran signed, in Toulouse on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, an agreement for scientific cooperation between the two entities.
This agreement acknowledges the research expertise and excellence of Cirimat and reinforces the relationship of trust that has developed between the academic laboratory and the industrial giant since the 1990’s.
From the 1990’s to today—from trust to fidelity
The signature of the scientific cooperation agreement took place this past Wednesday, December 6th. This agreement aims to intensify research efforts to boost innovation and anticipate the industrial challenges of tomorrow.
During the day, the participants heard about the historical context of the collaboration between Safran and Cirimat. Christophe Laurent, director of Cirimat, presented the laboratory as well as its 20 years of partnership with the giant of the aeronautical industry, which has led to 20 doctoral theses (12 more are in preparation), 45 contracts, 63 publications and 17 families of patents.
Up until now the collaborations of Safran with Cirimat have been essentially with three research groups: Mechanics, Microstructure, Oxidation, Corrosion (MEMO), Surface Coating and Treatment (RTS) and Nanocomposites and Carbon Nanotubes (NNC); at present these should broaden to include other research groups in the laboratory.
The signing ceremony, in the presence of Olivier Simonin, President of the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, Christophe Giraud, Regional Director of the CNRS Midi-Pyrénées Office and Line Malric, Vice-President in charge of Relations with Business at the Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, is the latest manifestation of this ongoing collaboration. According to Ludovic Molliex, Director of Materials and Processes at Groupe Safran, a collaboration based on trust will evolve towards one of fidelity.
Boost innovation and accelerate maturation
Fidelity and trust are the two important factors for innovation in this long-term r&d partnership. Ludovic Molliex recalled the importance of communicating in a fully transparent manner in the context of a balanced relationship. While he considers “the experience of Cirimat as an accelerator for maturation”, L. Molliex commented that he “relies heavily on this partnership to boost innovation”.
The agreement covers research activities and technologies in the areas of materials science and processes. It concerns not only the development of new materials but also studies to understand the behaviour of currently used materials and optimisation of the processes leading to aeronautical applications.
Besides participating in a friendly gathering, attendees witnessed the concretisation of several years of fruitful exchanges between Cirimat and Safran, a sign of strong connections between the academic and industrial worlds according to Christophe Giraud.
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