ESPCI Paris (officially the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la Ville de Paris; ''The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution'') is a prestigious grande école founded in 1882 by the city of Paris, France. It educates undergraduate and graduate students in physics,

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and biology and conducts high-level research in those fields. It is ranked as the first French ''École d'Ingénieurs'' in the 2017 Shanghai Ranking. ESPCI Paris is a constituent college of

Université PSL Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL University or simply PSL) is a public research university based in Paris, France. It was established in 2010 and formally created as a university in 2019. It is a collegiate university with 11 constituen ...

and a founding member of the ParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology) alliance. 5 researchers and alumni from ESPCI Paris have been awarded the Nobel Prize: *

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Marie Curie (Physics, 1903), * Marie Curie - second Nobel Prize (Chemistry, 1911), * Frédéric Joliot-Curie (Chemistry, 1935), * Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (Physics, 1991), * Georges Charpak (Physics, 1992). Two thirds of the students enter the School following a competitive examination (concours X-ESPCI- ENS) following at least two years of

Classes Préparatoires Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

. The other students are recruited by submitting applications. The School itself is also known as Physique-Chimie or simply PC. ESPCI Paris nurtures relationships with many industrial partners such as

Schlumberger Schlumberger Limited (), doing business as SLB, is an oilfield services company. Schlumberger has four principal executive offices located in Paris, Houston, London, and The Hague. Schlumberger is the world's largest offshore drilling compa ...

, Rhodia, TotalEnergies, Thales,

Arkema Arkema S.A. is a publicly listed, multi-national manufacturer of specialty materials, headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France. It has three specialty materials segments (or divisions); adhesives, advanced materials and coatings. A furthe ...

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

, Withings, which sponsors groups of students and has research contracts with ESPCI laboratories. ESPCI Paris also has partnerships with L'Oréal and Saint-Gobain for professional recruitment.

History

At the end of the 19th century, following the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, France lost the École de Chimie de Mulhouse (Mulhouse Chemistry School), which was at that time the best chemistry school in the country. One of its professors, Charles Lauth, obtained permission from the government in 1878 to create a Grande École. In 1882 the École Supérieure de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris was established and became ESPCI, its current name, in 1948. Since its foundation, the founders of the school have emphasized pluridisciplinarity. Biology was introduced in 1994. There are no tuition fees at ESPCI. After its establishment, the School rapidly became a meeting spot for the best scientists. From 1880 on, Pierre and Jacques Curie started a serie of research on crystal electrical properties that led to the piezoelectricity discovery. In 1897, Marie Curie started her work on uranic rays discovered by Becquerel one year earlier. After numerous experiments in the ESPCI laboratories, she discovered that pitchblende was 4 times more radioactive than uranium or thorium. In July 1898, the Curies announced the discovery of polonium and in December of the same year that of radium.

and Marie Curie received the Physics Nobel Prize in 1903. After the death of her husband, Marie Curie was granted the Chemistry Nobel Prize in 1911. Many former students have distinguished themselves, amongst which are

Georges Claude Georges Claude (24 September 187023 May 1960) was a French engineer and inventor. He is noted for his early work on the industrial liquefaction of air, for the invention and commercialization of neon lighting, and for a large experiment on genera ...

(5th year), founder of Air Liquide, Paul Langevin (7th year), physicist and inventor and Frédéric Joliot-Curie (39th year), founder of the CEA and Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 with his wife Irène. In 1976, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (Nobel Prize 1991) became Director of the School and remained in this position until his retirement in 2002. In 2015, the city of Paris announced a major renovation plan, in order to modernize the buildings and laboratories of the school. Renovation work should start in 2018 and last five years.

Education

The course of study lasts four years. The two first years give the students a strong basic education in physics, chemistry and biology. The students can major in physics, chemistry or physico-chemistry. Laboratory research projects are also carried out. During the third year, the students carry out an industrial internship, which lasts from 4 to 6 months. More than 50% of the students do their internship abroad, in European countries, the United-States, Japan, China, Australia, or other countries. During the fourth year, the students can either begin doctoral studies or do a masters abroad or in France. In 2002 a masters program in bioengineering was created. The quality of the education at ESPCI enables its students to work in any industrial sector (telecommunication, computing, chemistry, pharmacology, biology, and other fields), mostly in Research and Development (47% in R&D, 10% in production, 10% in consultancy, 5% in environmental work, 3% in teaching, 3% in computing, 22% in other fields such as marketing or management).

Admission

The primary mode of admission (60 out of 90 students every year) is a competitive examination open to candidates enrolled in the PC (Physics-Chemistry) section of the Preparatory Classes to the

Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: * Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician *Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

. The examinations are the same as for the Ecole Polytechnique but the components are weighted differently. Candidates to the competitive examination must have their

licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

or an equivalent diploma. They must be aged between 17 and 22 on 1 January of the examination year. Foreign candidates must be under 26 and can attempt this examination three times. It is also possible for students from the MP section (Maths-Physics), PSI section (Physics and Engineering Sciences), and BCPST section (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences) of the preparatory classes or having completed 2 or 3 years of physics or chemistry in a French university to apply for ESPCI Paris. Admission is reserved to first class honours students selected according to their academic results.

Directors of the ESPCI

* Paul Schützenberger (1882–1896), member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

Charles Lauth Charles Lauth (1836–1913) was a French chemist. He synthesised methyl violet Methyl violet is a family of organic compounds that are mainly used as dyes. Depending on the number of attached methyl groups, the color of the dye can be altered. I ...

(1897–1904) *

Albin Haller Albin Haller (7 March 1849, Fellering – 1 May 1925) was a French chemist.W. J. Pope (1925) ''Nature'', Vol.115(2900), p.843 "Prof. Albin Haller, For. Mem. R.S" (obituary) Haller founded the École Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chim ...

(1905–1924), member of the

* Paul Langevin (1925–1946), member of the

René Lucas René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

(1947–1968), member of the

Georges Champetier Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) *Georges (novel), ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas *Georges ( ...

(1969–1975), member of the

* Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (1976–2003),

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

, member of the

Jacques Prost Jacques Prost, born in 1946 in Bourg-en-Bresse, is a French physicist, former General director of École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris, member of the French Academy of Sciences. Alumni of the École nor ...

(2003-2013), member of the

Jean-François Joanny Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fre ...

since 2013. * Vincent Croquette since 2019.

Notable faculty

*Jérôme Bibette, physical chemist, founder of five startups RainDance Technologies, Ademtech, Capsum, HiFiBio and Calyxia. * Bernard Cabane, member of the

* Georges Charpak,

*Janine Cossy, professor of organic chemistry, Novartis Prize (2000),

Boehringer Ingelheim C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical ...

Prize (2001) *

Mathias Fink Mathias Fink, born in 1945 in Grenoble, is a French physicist, professor at ESPCI Paris and member of the French Academy of Sciences. Life and career Mathias Fink received a M.S. degree in mathematics from Paris University, and the Ph.D. degre ...

, professor of acoustics, professor at the Collège de France, member of the

, founder of Sensitive Object, SuperSonic Imagine, Echosens and Time Reversal Com. *Étienne Guyon, former director of the École Normale Supérieure and the

Palais de la Découverte The Palais de la Découverte ("Discovery Palace") is a science museum located in the Grand Palais, in the 8th arrondissement on Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt, Paris, France. It is open daily except Monday; an admission fee is charged. The museum ...

* Ludwik Leibler, professor of soft matter, member of the National Academy of Engineering * Jacques Lewiner, professor of solid state physics, member of the French Academy of Technologies, founder of Inventel, Roowin, Cynove and Finsécur *Pierre Papon, professor of thermal physics, former director general of the

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 31,637 ...

*Jean Rossier, professor of biology, member of the

*Jérôme Lesueur, professor of quantum physics * Dimitri Roditchev, professor of condensed matter physics

Notable alumni

* Paul Lebeau (4°), chemist, member of the

* Lucien Lévy (1892–1965), French radio engineer and radio receiver manufacturer. *

Paul Boucherot Paul Boucherot (1869–1943) was an engineer with the Chemins de Fer du Nord (Northern Railway of France). He studied at the elite École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris (ESPCI) where he later also taught e ...

(4°), physicist, pioneer of DC electric power distribution *

(5°), founder of Air Liquide * Paul Langevin (7°), professor at the Collège de France, member of the

* Georges Urbain (9°), chemist, discoverer of the element Lutetium, member of the

* André-Louis Debierne (9°), chemist, discoverer of the element Actinium * Fernand Holweck (26°), physicist *René Lucas (34°), physicist, member of the

*Henri Moureu (36°), chemist, member of the

Frédéric Joliot Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

(39°),

(1935), founder of the CEA *Jean-Jacques Trillat (39°), physicist, member of the

*Georges Champetier (41°), chemist, member of the

Gaston Charlot Gaston Charlot (11 June 1904 – 17 April 1994) was a French chemist, founder of modern analytical chemistry in France. Charlot graduated from the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris; he worked on the cat ...

(41°), chemist, member of the

* Pierre Gy (62°), chemist and statistician * Philippe Dreyfus (66°) informatics pioneer *Michel Winterberger (67°), Pechiney scientific advisor, member of the French Academy of Technologies *Michel Lavalou (69°), Rhône-Poulenc scientific advisor, member of the French Academy of Technologies *Maurice Goldman (70°), physicist, member of the

*Guy Sebban (83°), International Chamber of Commerce Secretary General *Alain Brillet (85°),

Gold Medal 2017, codirector of VIRGO for 15 years. *Henri-Dominique Petit (87°), Chairman of Sperian Protection *Sylvain Visconti (87°), former vice-president of Rhone-Poulenc *Serge Le Berre (87°), former CTO of Valeo. *Michel Baritiu (87°), former vice-président of Halliburton *Christian Dailly (87°), International director of

*Laurent Vigroux (89°), director of the Institut d'astrophysique de Paris *Xavier Drago (90°), sustainable development director and member of the board of Air Liquide *Bernard Serin (90°), chairman of Cockerill-Sambre (CMI) (ex-Usinor) and of the FC Metz *Philippe Goebel (91°), chairman of Total Petrochemicals France *Patrice Robichon (91°), scientific advisor of

Pernod-Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard (drink), Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller ...

Christian Reinaudo Christian Reinaudo (born 1954) is a French businessman. Since 1 January 2008, he is President of the Agfa HealthCare business group and a member of the Executive Committee of Agfa-Gevaert. Education He graduated from the ESPCI Paris and obtained a ...

(92°), President of Agfa HealthCare *Philippe Klein (95°), executive vice-president of Renault, member of the Volvo Board * Hervé This (95°), physical chemist *Henri Rajbenbach (98°), general director of the Information technology at the European Commission *

Éric Carreel Éric Carreel (born 28 June 1959 in Amiens), is a French people, French engineer and serial entrepreneur. He is the founding president of Withings, Sculpteo, Invoxia and Zoov. He is a graduate of ESPCI ParisTech, holds a PhD in Engineering from t ...

(98°), co-founder of Withings, Sculpteo and

Invoxia Invoxia is a French consumer electronics company known for the design and development of innovative smart devices that use artificial intelligence, such as the first GPS tracker on the market to use LoRa technology (introduced in 2017), the fir ...

. *

Isabelle Guyon Isabelle Guyon (; born August 15, 1961) is a French-born researcher in machine learning known for her work on support-vector machines, artificial neural networks and bioinformatics. She is a Chair Professor at the University of Paris-Saclay. ...

(100°), pioneer and researcher in machine learning.

Laboratories

ESPCI hosts high levels laboratories:
Langevin Institute
of Prof Arnaud Tourin
Chemistry, Biology and Innovation Institute
of Prof.

Jerome Bibette Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

Gulliver Laboratory
of Prof.Elie Raphael
Physics and Materials Laboratory
of Prof. Ricardo Lobo
Physics and Mechanics of Heterogeneous Media
of Prof. Philippe Petitjeans
Soft Matter and Chemistry Laboratory
of Prof. Ludwik Leibler
Brain Plasticity Unit
of Prof. Thomas Preat

of Prof. Joelle Vinh
Sciences and Engineering of Soft Matter
of Prof. Christian Fretigny

The ESPCI Paris International Scientific Committee

President:The ESPCI Paris ISC
/ref> *Prof. Michael Cates, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge Members: *Pr. Jian Ping Gong, Professor at the Laboratory of Soft & Wet Matter at Hokkaido University, Sapporo (Japan) *Prof.

Laura H. Greene Laura H. Greene is the Marie Krafft Professor of Physics at Florida State University and Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. She was previously a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champai ...

, Physics professor at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign *Prof. Hui Cao, Professor of Applied Physics and of Physics at Yale University *Prof. Ben Feringa Professor of Molecular Sciences at University of Groningen *Prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Professor of The Natural Sciences at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

*Prof. Bruno Weber, Professor at the University of Zurich, Institute of Pharmacology & Toxicology - Experimental Imagining and Nauroenergetics *Dr. Armand Adjari, Vice-president Research & Development of Saint-Gobain (France) *Dr.

, President-founder of Inventel, Invoxia, Sculpteo & Withings *Dr. Helen Routh, Global Healthcare Executive: Innovation, Technology Development, & General Management, Philips (Boston, USA)

References

External links

Official site of ESPCI

ESPCI Student's Association

ESPCI Alumni Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:ESPCI Paris Educational institutions established in 1882 Technical universities and colleges in France ParisTech, ESPCI ParisTech 1882 establishments in France