Presentation of the Institute UTINAM

 

The UTINAM Institute – Universe, Time-Frequency, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphere and Environment, Molecules – is a multidisciplinary research laboratory under the joint supervision of the CNRS and the University of Franche-Comté. It is located on various sites of the campus “La Bouloie” in Besançon.

Founded in 2007 following the merger of three laboratories in Astrophysics, Molecular Physics and Material and Interface Chemistry, the UTINAM Institute is attached to the CNRS National Institute of Universe Sciences (INSU) and, secondarily, to the Institutes of Chemistry (INC), Physics (INP) and Ecology and Environment (INEE).

The UTINAM Institute is made up of approximately 130 people, including fifty-seven permanent researchers and lecturers, twenty-five research support staff (permanent technicians and engineers) and about forty non-permanent staff (doctoral students, post -docs, ATER, non-permanent engineers). These personnel study the structure and dynamics of molecular systems interacting with complex environments, at various temporal scales.


The UTINAM Institute is organized into five research teams:

  • MSF: Functionalized Materials and Surfaces;
  • NCM: Nanoparticles, Contaminants and Membranes;
  • PhAs: Theoretical physics and Astrophysics;
  • SPACE: Spectroscopy, Planetology, Atmospheres, Clathrates and Environment;
  • SRS: Sonochemistry and Reactivity of Surfaces;

whose activities are detailed on this website.
These teams rely on three high quality technical services:

  • A centralized informatics team offering various services in terms of CPU, storage, sharing and transfer of data in a secure environment;
  • A technical platform regrouping the major equipments for research activities in chemistry. This platform also hosts a technology transfer center open to the solicitations of the economic world;
  • A time-frequency service that participates in the development of national and international time and frequency scales and ensures the dissemination of these references in the academic and industrial circles through its calibration services.

An administrative department, a “health and safety” unit and a “communication” unit complete the organization of the shared services.

Renewed on 1 January 2017 under the status of CNRS / Université de Franche-Comté joint research unit (UMR 6213), the UTINAM Institute aims to have its excellence recognized in all its fields of activity.
It is strongly present in the Investments for the Future (PIA) program in Franche-Comté with 1 LABEX (FIRST-TF), 3 EQUIPEX (IMAPPI, REFIMEV +, OSC-IMP) and 1 IRT (M2P).
Its research activities are fully integrated into the priority research axes of the I-SITE PIA obtained in 2016 by the community of universities and schools “Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté” (COMUE UBFC).