Introducing the unit

The Polymer Materials Engineering Laboratory (IMP, UMR CNRS 5223) is a mixed research unit involving the CNRS and three higher education and research institutions: the Lyon INSA, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University and Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne University. The IMP laboratory brings together nearly 200 people, including 83 permanent staff and more than 110 doctoral and post-doctoral students. The Laboratory has a unique set of skills covering the entire value chain in the field of polymer materials. The strength of the IMP lies in its ability to coordinate scientific knowledge and the means to implement a multi-scale and multi-disciplinary engineering approach by assembling fundamental building blocks from the chemistry and physics of polymers involved in implementation processes in the laboratory, but also at the pilot scale to design polymer materials with a controlled architecture, respectful of the environment and with functionalities.

The IMP displays a structure that highlights its dual know-how through the core scientific disciplines represented by the Chemestry (CHEM), Physical-chemistry (PHYSICO), Structure and Rhéologie (STERHEO) and Physical Properties (PHYS) of polymers and by its ability to coordinate its various scientific expertise within two interdisciplinary centres around  Health (LIFE) and the Development of Low Environmental Impact Polymers (DEFI).

The specificity of IMP is identifying original scientific questions through application issues and being able to contribute to responding to the challenges faced by the Company by relying on our knowledge of scientific disciplines while knowing how to work across disciplines. This strategy, anchored in the IMP culture, has the main objective of establishing a long-term dynamic for the entire Unit, enabling it to remain a Polymer Unit covering a unique field of scientific aptitude in France and Europe based on original, relevant and high-quality projects for research and training of young researchers.