Franco-American Research Center Bows

PARIS — The French national center for scientific research (CNRS) and the Georgia Institute of Technology signed an agreement this week creating a Franco-American center dedicated to telecommunications and nanotechnology research.

Two French engineering schools, ENSAM and SUPELEC, as well as two local universities, the Universit de Franche Comt and the Universit Paul Verlaine, are member associates, the partners said Thursday (March 24).

The center is an extension of a former photonics research unit opened in 1998 to focus on network security via fiber optics.

The CNRS-Georgia Tech center will have two research priorities. The first is secure networks. The center will concentrate on optical communications based on the dynamics of chaos in optoelectronic components, quantum cryptography and ultraspeed optical communications.

The center will also conduct research on optics, electronics and electromechanics. The goal is to develop industrial applications in the aeronautical, automotive and energy segments.

Based in Metz, the center will be managed by Abdallah Ougazzaden, a professor at Georgia Tech Lorraine since 2005.