Lydéric BOCQUET

CV version PDF

Research unique identifiers:

Researcher id: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-2241-2012
Google Scholar id: http://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=_TOxI8oAAAAJ&hl=fr
Orcid id: orcid.org/0000-0003-3577-5335
Date of birth: 10.12.1968
Nationality: French
URL for web site: http://www.phys.ens.fr/~lbocquet
URL for Micromegas web site: http://micromegas.lps.ens.fr/
Present position:
Directeur de Recherche at CNRS and joint-Professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris
Member of the french Academy of Science

Academic record and education

  • 2022-2023 Professor at Collège de France, Paris, Chaire of innovation Bettancourt

  • 2014 Directeur de Recherche (DRCE) at CNRS and joint Professor at ENS

  • 2002-2014 Professeur (PRCE) at Université Lyon 1 and Institut Universitaire de France (2005-2010)

  • 1995-2002 chargé de recherche at CNRS, ENS Lyon

  • 2001 Habilitation, Université de Lyon

  • 1994 PhD in statistical physics (advisor: JP Hansen), ENS Lyon

  • 1989-1993 Studies at Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris)

Research interests

My research interests are at the interface between various domains: "condensed matter", "fluid dynamics", "nano-science", as well as “everyday life science”. They are mainly curiosity-driven. I combine experiments, theory, and molecular simulations to explore the intimate mechanisms of the dynamics of condensed matter from the macroscopic down to the molecular level.
One of my main thrust over the last 10 years is nanofluidics, the science of molecular flows. This world of the infinitely small in fluidics is the frontier where the continuum of fluid mechanics meets the atomic nature of matter, and even its quantum nature. There, we observe frictionless flows, emerging quantum effects, and memory effects, which now make it possible to dream of ionic computers.
Recently, we unveiled and rationalized quantum friction effects, explaining for the first time the odd and nearly frictionless flows in carbon nanochannels. This opens the possibility to design a quantum engineering of water flows, as a new asset for future water technologies. A second objective is to design and fabricate artificial “nanoscale ionic machines” based on emerging properties and capable to reproduce the amazing functionalities of biological systems. Such artificial nanofluidic building blocks mimic their neuronal counterparts and allow designing simple computation architectures based on ions rather than electrons, showing elementary ‘learning’ functionality using the nanofluidic circuitry.
Nanofluidics is also a field where there is a short path between fundamental science and disruptive innovation, because the sometimes 'exotic' nanofluidic properties offer unexpected solutions for multiple applications, notably for desalination, water remediation, or blue energy - notably osmotic energy. Our goal is to “make it work”. This fundamental research led to the creation of three start-up companies on these topics, "Sweetch-Energy", "Hummink" and "Altr".
I have also a strong interest in the physics of everyday life, with contributions on stone-skipping, cooking, splashes, ironing, teapot effect, and currently on ski waxing, etc.

Awards

  • Member of the french Academy of Science (2022)

  • ERC Synergy Grant of the European Research Council (2022)

  • 2022-2023 Professor chair at Collège de France, Chaire d'innovation technologique L. Bettancourt

  • 2022 Gentner-Kastler Award of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft and Société Française de Physique

  • ERC Avdanced Grant of the European Research Council (2018)

  • 2018 Hinshelwood Lecturer, University of Oxford

  • Silver Medal of the CNRS (2017) (award for the research career of a senior researcher)

  • Maurice Couette Award of the Groupe français de Rhéologie (2015)

  • Chair of excellence PSL* (2014)

  • Ancell condensed matter prize of the Société Française de Physique (2011)

  • ERC Avdanced Grant of the European Research Council (2010)

  • Scientific prize of the french Academy of Sciences, Jean Protas (2008)

  • International award, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation (2007)

  • ‘palmes académiques’ award (national award for accomplishments towards education, 2007)

  • awarded member of the Institut Universitaire de France (2005)

  • Young Researcher award of the city of Lyon (2003)

Publications, conferences, etc.

  • Full list of publications PDF version and google scholar

  • 180+ publications in international reviews (involving 7 Nature, 1 Science, 7 Nature Materials, 2 Nature Physics, 3 Nature Nanotechnology, 4 Nature Comm., 33 Physical Review Letters, etc.) ; H-index : 68; 17k+ citations (WoS)

  • nine patents (since 2007)

  • 120+ invited conference (mostly international) and 80 seminars (Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, NYU,…)

  • author of two first grade books, on mechanics and thermodynamics (Dunod éditeur)

Selected publications

For full list go to publications or go to my google scholar

Selected publications in peer-reviewed journals:

  • «Modeling of emergent memory and voltage spiking in ionic transport through angström-scale slits », P. Robin, N. Kavokine, and L. Bocquet, Science (2021)

  • «Mechanically activated ionic transport across single digit carbon nanotubes », A. Marcotte, T. Mouterde, A. Nigues, A. Siria and L. Bocquet, Nature Materials (2020)

  • «Nanofluidics coming of age », L. Bocquet, Nature Materials (2020)

  • «Ionic Coulomb blockade as a fractional Wien effect », N. Kavokine, S. Marbach, A. Siria and L. Bocquet, Nature Nanotechnology (2019)

  • «Osmosis, from molecular insights to large scale applications », S. Marbach and L. Bocquet, Chemical Society Reviews (2019)

  • «Rheology of atomically-thin gold junctions », J. Comtet, A. Laine, A. Nigues, L. Bocquet, and A. Siria, Nature (2019)

  • «Molecular streaming and voltage-gated response in Angström scale channels », T. Mouterde, A. Keerthi, A. Poggioli, S. Dar, A. Siria, A.K. Geim, L Bocquet and R. Boya, Nature (2019)

  • «Transport and dispersion across wiggling nano-pores », S. Marbach, D. Dean, L. Bocquet, Nature Physics (2018)

  • «Nanoscale capillary freezing of ionic liquids confined between metallic interfaces and the role of electronic screening », J. Comtet, A. Niguès, V. Kaiser, B. Coasne, L. Bocquet and A. Siria, Nature Materials (2017)

  • « Pairwise frictional profile between particles determines discontinuous shear thickening transition in non-colloidal suspensions », J. Comtet, G. Chatté, Antoine Niguès, L. Bocquet, A. Siria, and A. Colin, Nature Communication (2017)

  • « Massive radius-dependent flow slippage in single carbon nanotubes », E. Secchi, S. Marbach, A. Niguès, D. Stein, A. Siria and L. Bocquet, Nature 537 210 (2016)

  • «Principle of active osmotic exchanger for advanced nanofiltration inspired by the kidney », S. Marbach and L. Bocquet, Physical Review X 6, 031008 (2016)

  • « Giant osmotic energy conversion measured in a single transmembrane boron-nitride nanotube », A. Siria, P. Poncharal, A.-L. Biance, R. Fulcrand, X. Blase, S. Purcell, and L. Bocquet, Nature 494 455 (2013)

  • « Optimizing water permeability through the hourglass shape of Aquaporins », S. Gravelle, L. Joly, C. Ybert, C. Cottin, L. Bocquet, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 110 16367 (2013)

  • « Dynamic clustering in active colloidal suspensions with chemical signaling », I. Theurkoff, C. Cottin-Bizonne, J. Palacci, C. Ybert, L. Bocquet, Physical Review Letters 108, 268303 (2012)

  • « Spatial cooperativity in soft glassy flows » , J. Goyon, A. Colin, G. Ovarlez, A. Ajdari, L. Bocquet, Nature 454 84 (2008)

  • « Making a splash with water repellency », C. Duez, C. Ybert, C. Clanet, L. Bocquet, Nature Physics, 3, 180 (2007)

  • « The revealed secrets of stone skipping », C. Clanet, F. Hersen, L. Bocquet, Nature 427 29 (2004)

  • « Moisture induced ageing in granular media and the kinetics of capillary condensation », L. Bocquet, E. Charlaix, J. Crassous, S. Ciliberto, 396, 735 Nature (1998)

    • Institutional responsabilities

    • 2016 - 2021, director of the Institut Pierre Gilles de Gennes for micro- and nano- fluidics, IPGG, Paris (2016-2018 deputy director)

    • 2014 - 2018, director of the ENS Master Studies in Fundamental Physics (ICFP), ~150 students

    • 2012 - 2013, head of the “Liquids and interfaces” research department in the Institut Lumière Matière, Univ. Lyon 1

    • 2006 - 2012, head of the “Liquids at interfaces” group in the LPMCN (~ 45 people), Univ. Lyon 1

    • 2010 - 2012, deputy director of the LPMCN lab (100 people), Univ. Lyon 1

    Commissions of trust

    • 2018- ., Member of the 'board of directors' of CFM foundation

    • 2018- ., Member of the scientific council of CNRS

    • 2011 - 2021, Member of the editorial board of Physical Review X (American Physical Society)

    • 2015 - 2017, Member of the editorial board of Journal of Chemical Physics (AIP)

    • 2010- 2014, Member of the scientific committee of the Institut de Physique of the CNRS

    • 2008-2012, Member of the CNRS national comitee (CoNRS) for condensed matter (sec. 05)

    Organization of scientific meetings (selected)

    • Flow 17, international conference on micro and nanofluidics, Paris, July 2017, co-chair with P. Tabeling and J.-L. Viovy (~400 participants)

    • Statphys 16 Satellite conference on "Out of equilibrium and active soft matter", Roscoff, June 2016, co-chaired with D. Bartolo, C. Cottin-Bizonne, L. Cipelleti, L. Berthier (~80 participants)

    • CECAM workshop, “Nanofluidics in physics and biology”, Lausanne, October 27-29, 2014 (~60 participants)

    • Les Houches summer school “Soft Interfaces’, 1 month school, July 2-27 2012, co-chaired with David Quéré and Thomas Witten (~80 participants)

    • Symposium « Fluid dynamics at super-repellent surfaces », 62th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics, Minneapolis (Nov. 2009) (~50 participants)

    Supervision of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows

    Overall I supervised ~20 Phd Students and 21 Postdocs, as well as many undergrads. Among them, 12 obtained a permanent position in research (7 as -presently- Chargé de Recherche CNRS, 3 as lecturer, 1 as Professor at UCSD, 1 Max-Planck fellow), most working in the private sector, the rest being still postdocs. Among them ~ 2/3 were experimentalists, 1/3 theoreticians.

    Teaching activities

    I have tought without any discontinuity since my Phd. I have been full professor over the period 2002-2013 at the University of Lyon, with a full teaching duty (and an average of ~ 100h of teaching per year over the 12 years). This covered all levels and topics of physics, from the 1st year of Bachelor level up to Master and Doctorate studies. This was spread in full lectures, as well as small classes and lab work.
    Since 2014 I have a joint professorship position at ENS Paris (64h/year). I teach courses on statistical physiics, soft matter, micro and nanofluidics, membrane science, ... at the batchelor and master level.
    I was also in charge of the Master studies in physics at ENS until 2018 (~150 students per year in M1 and M2), as the director of the international master ICFP (http://www.phys.ens.fr/spip.php?rubrique284&lang=en).

    Transfer of technology and innovation

    I am co-founder of several startups companies.
    - The start-up company Sweetch-Energy was founded in 2016 and finalized fund-raising to launch its activity in 2017. It targets the development of innovative membranes for the field of blue energy and desalination. Its activity was seeded by the fundamental work on BN nanotubes [Siria et al., Nature2013], and subsequent (patented but unpublished) works with alternative materials for scalability. In 2020, Sweetch broke the 'glass ceiling' of blue energy with a scale up device highlighting a power larger than 30W per square meter on macroscopic membranes.
    - The start-up Hummink was founded in 2020 and supported by the Elaia VC. It develops a nanoscale printing technology building on the original tuning-fork AFM tools designed in our team.
    - The start-up Altr was also founded in 2020 with american partners to propose groundbreaking solution for alcohol filtration using the graphene-based membranes developed in the team.