Jacques Lewiner is a Physicist and Inventor. He is Professor and Honorary Scientific Director of Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris (ESPCI Paris-PSL). From 2012 to 2018, he was Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at PSL – Research University Paris. He is currently President of the ESPCI Paris endowment fund.


Jacques Lewiner has an extensive carrier in basic and applied research in various domains of Physics. Following his PhD he spent some time teaching at the Catholic University of America where he specialized in the study of the electrical properties of solid matter. Back in France in 1968 he was firstly nominated as a Research associate at the CNRS and then in 1973 as Professor holding the position of Electromagnetism Chair at ESPCI ParisTech where the 1992 Nobel prize winner of Physics, Georges Charpak, joined him. In 1987 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes nominated him as Scientific Director of ESPCI ParisTech, a position he held until 2001.

His scientific research has been devoted to electrical insulators and in particular to electrets, instrumentation and sensors, in medical imaging among other domains and in the improvement of telecommunication networks. He has published more than 80 scientific papers in International Journals and has presented at numerous international conferences.

In parallel with his scientific research, Jacques Lewiner has developed many practical applications of his work. He has filed more than 900 patent applications in France and beyond in other global jurisdictions, resulting in over 70 patents granted by the European Patent Office and around 80 patents granted by the US Patent Office. Many of these patents have had industrial applications either through licenses or through creative start-ups, often established with former students or researchers. In 2018, he was one of the three nominees for the European Invention Award for Lifetime Achievement awarded by the European Patent Office.

Jacques Lewiner has been active in the creation of various technology oriented start up companies, including for example Inventel, a telecommunications company that became the French leader in multimedia gateways, Finsécur which develops and manufactures fire detection systems, Roowin a player in the field of chemical synthesis, Cynove a company specializing in imaging and embedded electronics devices, Cytoo which develops cell analysis systems and focuses presently on muscular disorders, Fluigent which develops, manufactures and supports the most advanced microfluidic instrumentation for flow control, and Biospace rebranded as EOS Imaging, a world leader in orthopedical medical imaging. He provides support to many high tech companies, including for instance Calyxia designing and manufacturing new era of advanced and sustainable microcapsules for a more environmentally friendly world, Advanced MicroFluidics, a microfluidic company specializing in innovative, customized and automated liquid handling systems, Axilum Robotics which was responsible for designing the first robot specifically for automating Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and which now exploits its skills in robotics to improve various therapies, Inorevia which develops and manufactures a new generation of Life Sciences instruments using a unique combination of microfluidics and magnetic particles, Invoxia which develops connected devices that can be used for instance in animal care and surveillance, Okomera, a biotech company supplying microfluidic droplets for precision cancer therapy. Most of these companies have experienced a strong (and in some case spectacular) growth. 

Jacques Lewiner is active in building bridges between research and industry, and in convincing researchers of the importance of filing patents in parallel with their scientific activities and helping in their implementation.

Finally, conscious of the importance of making science accessible to the general public, he founded with Pierre-Gilles de Gennes l'Espace des Sciences de Paris (renamed “Espace Pierre-Gilles de Gennes”). Conferences for non-specialist audiences are organized as well as short internships for children. It has been one of the pillars of the “la main à la pâte” program, a new approach to teaching science to children, initiated in France by Georges Charpak.

He also founded in 1991 with Jacques Lévy, Director of the École des Mines de Paris, and Jacques Lagardère, Director of the École des Ponts et Chaussées, the Groupe des Ecoles d'Ingenieurs de Paris (Paris-GEI), which became ParisTech in 1999. In 2007, ParisTech became a public establishment of scientific cooperation.

Nominations

Teaching

Some pointers

Selected publications

  • A new principle for the determination of potential distribution in dielectrics. P. Laurenceau, G. Dreyfus, J. Lewiner. Phys. Rev. Lett. 38, 46-49 (1977).

  • Stress Wave Probing of Electric Field Distributions in Dielectrics. C. Alquié, G. Dreyfus, J. Lewiner. Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 1483-1487 (1981).

  • Evolution of experimental techniques for the study of the electrical properties of insulating materials. J. Lewiner. IEEE Trans. on Electrical Insulation 21, 351-360 (1986).

  • Evidence of strong correlation between space-charge buildup and breakdown in cable insulation. Y. Zhang, J. Lewiner, C. Alquié, N. Hampton. IEEE Trans. on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation 3, 778-783 (1996).

  • Electrical properties of electrode/polyethylene/ electrode structures. T. Ditchi, C. Alquie, J.Lewiner, E. Favrie, R. Jocteur. IEEE Trans. on Electrical Insulation 24, 403-408 (1989).

  • Une nouvelle méthode de détermination de la distribution spatiale des potentiels dans les diélectriques. J. Ball, P. Laurenceau, G. Dreyfus, J. Lewiner. C.R. Acad. Paris B283, 135-138 (1976).

  • Determination of the polarization-depth distribution in poled ferroelectric ceramics using thermal and pressure pulse technique. A.S. De Reggi, B. Dickens, T. Ditchi, C. Alquié, J. Lewiner, I. K. Lloyd. J. Appl. Phys 71(2), 854-863 (1992).

  • Pyroelectricity induced by space-charge injection in polymer electrets. F. Micheron, J.J. Crosnier, G. Dreyfus, J. Lewiner. J. Appl. Phys. 47, 4798 (1976).

  • Detection of Al2O3, Fe2+ by acoustic paramagnetic resonance. J. Lewiner, P.H.E. Meijer, J.K. Wigmore. Phys. Rev. 185, 546-548 (1969).

  • Broad band determination of ultrasonic attenuation and phase velocity in insulating materials. T. Ditchi, C. Alquie, J. Lewiner. J. Acoustical Society of America 94, 3061-3066 (1993).

  • Direct measurement of trapped and free charge distributions in semiconductors. S. Holé, J. Lewiner Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 1308-1310 (2004).

  • Acoustoelectric coupling for direct electrical characterization of semiconductor devices. C. Ravat, E. Absil, S. Holé, J. Lewiner. J. Appl. Phys. 99, 063712 (2006).

  • A preliminary study of space charge distribution measurements at nanometer spatial resolution. G. Dagher, S. Holé, J. Lewiner, IEEE Trans. Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation 13, 1036-1041 (2006).

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