Our Research Axes

Publicly funded research is structured around themes that draw upon a wide range of scientific expertise.
Lines of research are assessed by the Scientific Council and specialized scientific committees, following the recommendations of the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES). The work is expressed in the form of presentations, dissertations, and authorizations to supervise research (HDRs). Research results are communicated in the development of methodologies and procedures for analysing risks. They are published at conferences and in international journals.

The Institute’s scientific work relies on numerous experimental and modelling platforms, some of them unique in France and abroad. The work is conducted within a wide network of partners with whom the Institute develops close relationships.

Accidental Risks

• The “Substance and Processes”  research axis aims to make industrial innovation safer in terms of processes, substances, and products.
• The “Dangerous Phenomena and Structural Risks”  research axis aims a better understanding of safety issues in new energy technologies and the circular economy.
• The “Analysis and Integrated Management of Risks” research axis to contribute to aims to improve the prevention of major accidents by ensuring the  human and organizational factors.

Chronic Risks

• The “Metrology” research axis aims to identify environmental contaminants (in air, water, soil, biota, exposure to humans).
• The “Chemistry and the Environment”  research axis aims to understand the complex interactions of pollutants in different environments, influencing the toxicity and ecotoxicity of environmental compartments.
• The “Air Quality modelling” research axis studies how pollutants are transported and impact the quality of air.
• The “Pollutant Mobility” lresearch axis studies how pollutants are transported through all other environments.
• The “Toxicology and Ecotoxicology” lresearch axis aims to study the effects of pollutants on humans and the environment.
• The “Socioeconomic Analysis” lresearch axis assesses the economic impact of political or technological actions that aim to modify exposure to these contaminants or replace them with other, less harmful components.
• The “Health Risks” research axis studies the spatial representation (multimedia-multiexposure) of health risks along the source-vector-target continuum.

Ground and underground risks

• The “Energy Transition and underground Activities” (TESS) l research axis studies the management of risks related to underground  storage (hydrocarbons, waste, carbon dioxide, energy) and to the exploration and exploitation of mineral or energy resources (mines, hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, coal gasification).
• The “Understanding of the Coupled Processes Leading to the Rupture or Dissolution of Rock” (CORDIS) research axis studies the mechanisms of deformation, cracking, and dissolution of rocks by thermo-hydromechanical and geochemical processes. It has developed constitutive laws, numerical models and methods for monitoring of underground structures and of geological sites.
• The “Evaluation and Reduction of the Vulnerability of structures Exposed to Natural and Mining Hazards” (EREVAN) research axis studies the vulnerability of buildings, linear structures (dykes, canals), and infrastructures affected by ground movement (landslides, collapses, shrinking and swelling of clayey soils).