The CEA Paris-Saclay (formerly CEA Saclay) center is one of nine centers belonging to the

French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA (French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and securit ...

(CEA). The Saclay site hosts the administrative headquarters of the CEA. Historically, it was the heart of French nuclear research since Frederic Joliot-Curie founded it after the Second World War. Its campus was designed by the architect

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the Ch ...

. It is now a part of the confederation of

Paris-Saclay University Paris-Saclay University (french: Université Paris-Saclay) is a public research university based in Paris, France. It is one of the 13 prestigious universities that emerged from the division of the University of Paris, also known as the Sorbonne ...

, along with CentraleSupélec,

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,63 ...

, ENS Paris-Saclay,

HEC Paris HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International F ...

, IHES, etc.

Research

The complex employs more than 7,000 scientists (including other smaller

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

sites) and is located in the

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Saclay Plateau. The research carried out ranges from fundamental research to applied research and, thanks to the Orpheus research reactor, lasers and magnetic resonance research into the

State of Matter In physics, a state of matter is one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist. Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma. Many intermediate states are known to exist, such as ...

. Research at Saclay is focussed on different topics: * Applied nuclear research: Research is carried out to optimise current and future French nuclear reactors using the Osiris experimental reactor and the Tamaris earthquake simulation laboratory as well as further research into nuclear waste management. * Technology research: Research into IT systems used in nuclear installations,

man-machine interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...

as well as sensor technology. * Health research: Research into the effects of radioactivity on living cells and molecules,

protein engineering Protein engineering is the process of developing useful or valuable proteins. It is a young discipline, with much research taking place into the understanding of protein folding and recognition for protein design principles. It has been used to im ...

and Medical imaging. * Environmental research: Research into the

effects of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice ( glaciers), sea l ...

and greenhouse gases. * Fundamental Research.

Notable subsidiaries

Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires Th(National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology), in French: ''L' Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires,'' is a public higher education institution administered by the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy ...

(National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology) or INSTN which is dedicated to the academic and professional training in the field of atomic energy. * NeuroSpin ( fr) is a neuroimaging research center with some of the most powerful MRI machines in the world

People

* Jules Gueron, first director of the CEA's nuclear research center * Jean-Baptiste Waldner, alumnus * Étienne Klein, physicist, philosopher of science, author, and radio host

References

External links

Official website of Saclay in English
{{authority control Nuclear history of France Nuclear research institutes in France