Introduction to the Unité Matériaux et Transformations

The laboratory "Unité Matériaux Et Transformations" was created in January 2010 following the merger of four former laboratories of the Lille campus. The UMET laboratory now hosts a large portion of the research in Materials Science of the the Université de Lille. The laboratory includes approximately 80 professors and assistant professors, and CNRS researchers, 40 technical and administration staff, 60 PhD students, and 15 temporary contracts researchers or emeritus faculty.

The are seven research groups:

• Matériaux Moléculaires et Thérapeutiques ;
• Earth and Planetary Materials ;
• Métallurgie Physique et Génie des Matériaux ;
• Polymer Systems Engineering ;
• Plasticity ;
• Interface Processes and Hygiene of Materials ;
• Recycling and Functionalization processes.

All work on materials science, but with different applications.

The UMET laboratory belongs to larger consortium, the fédération de recherche Michel-Eugène Chevreul, that hosts laboratories related to materials science in Northern France. The UMET is one of the three large members of the consortium, that also includes the Unité de Catalyse et de Chimie du Solide (UCCS) and the Laboratoire de Spectroscopie pour les Interactions, la Réactivité et l'Environnement (LASIRE). Among other tasks, the consortium is in charge of running large scale experimental facilities (NMR, electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, mass spectroscopy, vibrationnal spectroscopy...). The UMET is hosting the Plateforme de Microscopie Électronique de Lille (PMEL) within its building and provides the associated technical staff. The consortium also runs the large scale project ARCHI-CM (Chimie et Matériaux Architecturés) financed by the state and the local government for 2014-2020.