The CEA Paris-Saclay center is one of nine centers belonging to the
French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Following a reorganization in 2017, the center consists of multiple sites, including the CEA Saclay site (formerly a "center"), the Fontenay-aux-Roses site and the sites of Paris,
Évry , Orsay and Caen.
[1]
Historically, as the main Saclay site was the heart of French nuclear research it was called Saclay Nuclear Research Center prior to the shift towards other fields of research and innovation beyond nuclear.
[2]
[3]
The center has close ties with
Paris-Saclay University , being located on the
Saclay plateau and active in the
Paris-Saclay project for innovation.
Organization
5 of the 6 sites of CEA Paris-Saclay, in the
Île-de-France region of France
Since February 2017, various sites were grouped together to CEA Paris-Saclay, including
[4]
[1]
Saclay site
Fontenay-aux-Roses site
Paris site
Évry site (
Genoscope )
Orsay site (Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, SHFJ)
[5]
Caen site (
GANIL and
CIMAP [
fr ] )
[6]
History
On 10 October 1945,
Charles de Gaulle launched the CEA. In 1946, the
Fontenay-aux-Roses site was realized, followed by the Saclay site 6 years later in 1952. The Saclay site, located 20 km south of Paris on the
Saclay plateau , is much bigger and was chosen in part to be close to
Université Paris-Sud (which today is part of
Paris-Saclay University ).
[7]
The Saclay site was designed by the architect
Auguste Perret .
[8]
Research
The complex employs more than 7,500 scientists.
[7] Although CEA Saclay was initially focused on nuclear research, multiple domains of research are carried out there since a few decades back. These include:
[9]
Low-carbon energies
Climate and environment
Matter and universe
Health and life sciences
Technology for industry
Reactors
The Saclay site has been home to multiple
nuclear research reactors , including the
Osiris [
fr ] ,
Isis [
fr ] and
Orphée [
fr ] reactors.
The Osiris and Isis reactors (operated between 1965–2019
[10] ) inspired the design of Iraq's
Osirak [
fr ] facility.
[11]
[12] Multiple bacterial species were discovered to thrive in those
reactor cores during operation, and may have fed off
hydrogen from
radiolysis .
[13]
Notable subsidiaries
Director of the site
Christian Bailly (2021–present)
[14]
Michel Bédoucha (2016–2021)
[15]
[16]
Jacques Vayron (2012–2016)
[17]
Yves Caristan (2005–2012)
Jean-Pierre Pervès (2000–2005)
Eliane Loquet (1993–2000)
Jean Bazin (1990–1993)
Paul Delpeyroux (–1990)
...
Jean Debiesse [
fr ] (1954–1970)
Jules Guéron (1951)
People
Jules Guéron , first director of the CEA's nuclear research center
Jean-Baptiste Waldner , alumnus
Étienne Klein , physicist, philosopher of science, author, and radio host
Anne L'Huillier , ultra-fast laser physics, 2023 Nobel laureate in physics
Pierre Agostini , pioneer of strong-field laser physics, 2023 Nobel laureate in physics
References
^
a
b
"Institutionnel Plans d'accès" . CEA.fr (in French). 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2023-12-09 .
^
"Du génie nucléaire au génie biologique" (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2023 .
^ Rayner-Canham, Marelene F. (1997).
A Devotion to Their Science: Pioneer Women of Radioactivity . Philadelphia, Pa.: Chemical Heritage Foundation. pp. 97–123.
ISBN
978-0-7735-6658-3 .
OCLC
191818978 .
^
fontenay-aux-roses .cea .fr /far /Pages /Le-centre /histoire .aspx
^
joliot .cea .fr /drf /joliot /en /Pages /research _entities /SHFJ /Presentation .aspx
^
"CIMAP - Presentation (English)" . cimap.ensicaen.fr . Retrieved 28 December 2023 .
^
a
b
"Histoire du site CEA de Saclay : Le plus grand centre de recherche en Europe" . 2022-11-25. Retrieved 2023-10-08 .
^
"CEA de Saclay: le palais de la science d'Auguste Perret" (in French). Retrieved 28 October 2022 .
^
"CEA Paris-Saclay : Domaines de recherche" . cea.fr . Retrieved 29 December 2023 .
^
"Osiris-Isis" (in French). Authority on Nuclear Safety [Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire]. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2024 .
^ Ramberg, Bennett. Nuclear Power Plants as Weapons for the Enemy: An Unrecognized Military Peril . University of California Press, 1985. p. xvii.
^ Cordesman, Anthony H. Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction . Praeger, 1999. p. 605.
^ Petit, Pauline C. M.; Pible, Olivier; Van Eesbeeck, Valérie; Alban, Claude; Steinmetz, Gérard; Mysara, Mohamed; Monsieurs, Pieter; Armengaud, Jean; Rivasseau, Corinne (Dec 2020).
"Direct Meta-Analyses Reveal Unexpected Microbial Life in the Highly Radioactive Water of an Operating Nuclear Reactor Core" . Microorganisms . 12 (8): 1857–.
doi :
10.3390/microorganisms8121857 .
PMC
7760952 .
PMID
33255667 .
^
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-bailly
^
"Michel Bédoucha, nouveau directeur du centre CEA de Saclay" . CEA/Presse & Médias (in French). 2016-07-04. Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-bedoucha-b0645511a
^
"Michel Bédoucha: a new Director for the CEA Saclay Center" . cea.fr . 1 July 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2023 .
External links
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