Research projects

The MIMOSA project is a European HORIZON-Euratom project started in 2022 and selected on call for projects NRT-01-03 Multi-recycling of spent fuel from Light Water Reactors (LWR). It is coordinated by ORANO with partners such as the SUBATECH laboratory under the triple supervision of the Institut Mines-Télécom through its school, IMT Atlantique, Nantes University and the CNRS with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics (IN2P3) as the main institute. The project will last 4 years and the EU funding is about 6.9 Millions of euros. The MIMOSA project will devise and demonstrate an integrated multi-recycling strategy of plutonium and uranium combining multi- recycling options in LWRs with recycling Pu and other transuranics today considered as waste in Chloride Molten Salt Reactors.

TRANSFEE concerns the acquisition of cutting-edge equipment positioned on the major challenges of tomorrow's industry in the fields of environmental, energy and food transitions. By reinforcing the GEPEA's platforms and technical platforms and by positioning this equipment on a common objective carried by the two different GEPEA supervisors (Nantes University, IMT-Atlantique, ONIRIS, CNRS), TRANSFEE aims to increase scientific excellence while providing concrete solutions on several key issues that are the sober and optimized management of (bio)resources, the preservation of environmental quality (air-water), the material-energy covalorization of residues or industrial waste, and the exploitation of marine resources and in particular microalgae. The TRANSFEE project also consolidates the relationship between research and training by sharing training at all levels (e.g.: BUT, Engineering School, International Master, continuing education).

"Intelligent" video surveillance, facial recognition, predictive mapping, etc. are all devices that renew police action. They are supposed to build “safe cities” / “safe cities” thanks to the contributions of artificial intelligence (AI). Three main questions articulate the research:

1) Following the hypothesis of a "scientification" of police knowledge, we will wonder how algorithmic processes change the modes of knowledge and representation of crime phenomena: do we go from a police of information to "big data policing"?

2) Do these tools lead public security policies towards predictive action or are they above all tools for rationalizing police activity (by providing the police hierarchy with more precise indicators on the action field police officers)?

3) Finally, it is a question of analyzing how the debate on AI tools for urban security purposes – raising strong issues of public freedoms and the protection of personal data – pushes researchers and IT developers to integrate political and social issues into their scientific and technical productions.

The HOPES project funded by the ANR 2021 with 270 KE is led by a young researcher RESTREPO RUIZ Maria-Isabel on the planning of work schedules and employee rounds over a multi-period horizon for home-based services. HOPES will propose innovative decision support tools to solve these complex problems by taking into account work rules, individual preferences and different sources of uncertainty. To do so, we will rely on the formulation and design of new optimization approaches integrating techniques from data science and deterministic and stochastic optimization. Instead of proposing a method that works only for a specific application, HOPES aims to propose a general framework that can be extended to solve different variants of the problem. The decision support tools developed are expected to improve the quality of service for users, the well-being of employees, and to improve the planning and execution of home service operations.

The ProPruNN project aims to use structured pruning in a  hardware-algorithm co-design methodology to improve hardware  implementation of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The first  sub-hypothesis of the project suggests that designing hardware  architectures that take advantage of structured pruning leads to  significant gains in latency, throughput, and power metrics. However,  this may be complicated in more complex networks like ResNets and  DenseNets, which require rearrangements after filter removal. The second  sub-hypothesis is that it is possible to predict the performance of  pruned networks in terms of accuracy and power, throughput, and latency  metrics. The final sub-hypothesis is that prediction models can be used  to design state-of-the-art networks and push the Pareto frontier of  accuracy vs implementation performances of current literature. The project aims to improve the results of this method by  using a finer and more efficient pruning approach.

Non-reciprocity is of great interest for developing compact, integrated RF isolators and circulators that go beyond bulky solutions based on Faraday rotation in ferrites. These are valuable tools for both current communication systems and future quantum systems. Two approaches can be considered to manipulate the Parity-Time (PT) symmetry in spin cavitronics, which can lead to a non-reciprocal behavior.

• The first one is based on the introduction of a chiral coupling between magnons and photons,
• While the second is based on the ability to tune between (and combine) conservative and dissipative coupling regimes and to use antiresonances.

ICARUS has two objectives. On the fundamental side, we will study the control conditions of PT symmetry in coherent and dissipative spin cavitronics devices. On the applied side, we aim at realizing new concepts of RF isolators and circulators using the non-reciprocity of spin cavitronics devices. Finally, we will extend these approaches from the X-bands (8-12 GHz) to the W-bands (75-110 GHz), moving from well-known garnet-based ferrimagnetics to unexplored antiferromagnetic materials.

Electrifying thermal processes as a solution for industry decarbonation.

The WAVEINCORE project aims to develop new desorption technologies applied to the thermal regeneration of amine-based solvents using microwave irradiation (MW) heating. Operating at temperatures below 100°C with the ability to use renewable electricity instead of superheated steam, a drastic reduction in energy penalty and solvent losses are expected, along with a gain regarding the quantities of water required for the process. Going beyond the established proof of concept, the innovative nature of the project lies in the optimized design of laboratory-scale demonstration prototypes, operating MW-assisted regeneration of amine solutions representative of advanced post- combustion CO₂ capture processes. It also includes the development of phenomenological models describing the effect of MW radiation coupled with transfer mechanisms - reactions occurring during the regeneration of typical gas-solvent systems. The consortium brings together two research teams from the GEPEA laboratory, IMT Atlantique and ONIRIS, as well as the company SAIREM.

SLICES is a unique initiative in the digital sciences. It aims to provide a large-scale scientific instrument to support research activities addressing issues around the design and management of digital infrastructures. SLICES entered the ESFRI roadmap at the end of 2021, successfully moving from the design phase to the preparation phase. More importantly, the vibrant SLICES community is growing, attracting increasing interest and support from key players in research and industry. SLICES-PP ("preparatory phase") addresses all key issues concerning the legal, financial, and technical issues leading to the establishment of the new SLICES research infrastructure and securing the commitment of the Member States/Associated Countries to its long-term operation and use in all fields of science.

The project aims to develop cost-effective groundwater monitoring strategies, pollution prevention and abatement technologies, and an early warning system.

To set out future-proof pathways to strengthen democracy through improving accountability, transparency and effectiveness of media production and expanding active and inclusive citizenship, the project aims to clarify the extent to which European media perform their democratic functions. By applying an innovative multi-method design the project will cover (1) perspectives of both representative and participatory notions of democracy as they exist in European societies, (2) the entire range of news media, regardless of distribution channel, ownership and source of financing, (3) the legal and (self-)regulatory framework under which media houses and journalism operate, (4) the media's potential to promote and support political participation (supply side), and (5) the media use patterns, communication needs and democratic attitudes of the audiences (demand side) in the EU Member States.