April 15, 2010

The members of the Partner University Fund (PUF) Grant Review Committee have announced the French American Cultural Exchange (FACE) PUF Laureates for 2010. Included in the 12 laureates is the joint program between Princeton University, Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) de Cachan. Professors Ilhan Aksay of Princeton and Fabien Miomandre of ENS-Cachan will lead the collaborative effort on Electrically Conducting Polymer Graphene Nanocomposites.

The project aims to develop electrically conducting, multifunctional polymer matrix composite printed lines, coatings, and tapes using graphene as a filler in place of other graphitic materials, such as carbon nanotubes or carbon black. To facilitate this research and the collaboration between Princeton and ENS-Cachan, Dr. Michael Bozlar, a recent graduate from ENS-Cachan and Ecole Centrale Paris, has already joined the Princeton team as a postdoctoral research fellow. Further exchange of graduate students and research scientists between two institutions is planned.

The PUF was established in May 2007 under the auspices of the FACE Foundation. With the support of private donors and contributions from the French government, PUF launched its first call for projects in September 2007 with the objective of supporting innovative and sustainable partnerships between French and US institutions of research and higher education.