Thomas Ebbesen, a physical chemist at the University of Strasbourg and director of the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation, is one of 14 leading scientists appointed by the President of the Republic to his new Presidential Council for Science.
According to the Élysée Palace, this new body, established in December 2023, reflects Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to placing science at the heart of public decision-making and his thinking on the country’s future. Scientists will thus work alongside the President of the Republic to present him with the latest research advances and advise him on the current and future challenges facing the country. The council will have an “internal role in direct contact with the President,” as the Élysée Palace stated. “The format of this body is designed to allow the President to gather opinions and feedback from researchers on scientific priorities.”
Thomas Ebbesen, a French-Norwegian scientist, is a professor of physical chemistry at the University of Strasbourg, renowned for his pioneering contributions to the field of nanoscience. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Kavli Prize, the highest honor in nanoscience, making him the first French researcher to receive this distinction. He was also awarded the CNRS Gold Medal in 2019.
A graduate of Oberlin College (USA), Thomas Ebbesen earned his Ph.D. from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris in the field of physical photochemistry. He then conducted research at the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory before joining NEC’s basic research laboratories in Japan in 1988.
In 1999, Thomas Ebbesen joined the Institute of Supramolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Strasbourg, where he served as director from 2005 to 2012. He currently serves as director of the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation and director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Strasbourg (USIAS).
His research, which is highly interdisciplinary, encompasses fields as diverse as materials science, optics, nanophotonics, quantum electrodynamics, and molecular chemistry, thereby making a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in strategic areas of contemporary science.
DONATIONS
MAKE A DONATION
