Materials Science Section celebrates 50 years
SMX director Fabien Sorin and professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral © Titouan Veuillet
The Materials Science Section (SMX) in the School of Engineering celebrated its 50th birthday last Thursday with an event highlighting the history and future of materials research and education at EPFL.
The convivial celebration, held at the Forum Rolex, was attended by over 300 participants, the vast majority of whom were Materials Science Section alumni. The event was opened by Section director Fabien Sorin (Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices). Wilfried Kurz, who was behind the Section's creation, recounted its history in a moving presentation. Participants also heard inspiring testimonials from three alumni: Nicolas Cudré-Mauroux, Chief Technology Officer at SICPA; Christian Fischer, CEO and co-founder of Bcomp; and Soft Materials Laboratory PhD student Eva Baur, winner of the jury and public prize in the EPFL final of the 2023 My Thesis in 180 Seconds competition.
The future president of EPFL, Anna Fontcuberta i Morral (Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials) presented her vision for education in the field of materials science and engineering. Véronique Michaud (Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites) led the session, “My Laboratory in 90 Seconds”: an opportunity for five young professors — Tiffany Abitbol (Sustainable Materials Laboratory), Michael Herbst (Mathematics for Materials Modelling), Gregor Jotzu (Dynamic Quantum Materials Laboratory), Marianne Liebi (Laboratory for X-ray Characterization of Materials) and Anirudh Raju Natarajan (Laboratory of Materials Design and Simulation) — to introduce themselves and talk about their teaching and research in the Institute of Materials.
The evening's events were followed by a celebratory reception that provided the perfect environment for warm exchanges between alumni and their peers and former professors. The festivities, captured in the photo carousel below, underscored the impact of 50 years of materials science at EPFL as well as excitement for the next 50 years to come.
