The Georgia Institute of Technology and France’s National Center for Scientific Research have created a joint international research unit focused on intelligent materials and industrial applications for aeronautics, biomedical engineering and energy.

The unit will be headquartered at Georgia Tech’s Lorraine campus in Metz, France.

Founded in 1990, Georgia Tech Lorraine specializes in secure networks and innovative materials. The partnership between the French center and Georgia Tech Lorraine began in 1998 with a research unit that specialized in secure telecommunications networks through optical fibers.

Two French engineering schools, the Superior School of Electricity and the National Superior School of Arts and Professions, and two universities, the Franche Comté University in Besançon and Paul Verlaine University in Metz, are associate members of the partnership.

Abdallah Ougazzaden, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech-Lorraine, will direct the new unit. Previously, Dr. Ougazzaden worked as a director of research with Bell Laboratories in the United States and a professor at the University of Metz in France.

For information about the partnership, contact Fabienne Bergé at fberge@ece.gatech.edu. For more information about France’s Center, visit www.cnrs.fr/index.html. For more information about Georgia Tech’s Lorraine campus, visit www.georgiatech-metz.fr/.

Rumbidzai Mufuka for GlobalAtlanta