Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering

The Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering (iMMC) of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) with four ERC grants awarded in 2016 and 2017, a panoply of successful spin off companies such as eX-Stream, Axinesis, Polyflow and WaPT and several world-recognized scientists, is a leading international center for research in engineering. Its core strengths span several of the major engineering disciplines encompassing energy, thermodynamics, chemical and environmental engineering, materials and processes, structural engineering, geomechanics, manufacturing, fluid mechanics, mechatronics, robotics, biomechanics, numerical and computational sciences.

The members of iMMC are heavily involved in the education of engineers at the Louvain School of Engineering (EPL – Ecole Polytechnique de Louvain). They contribute to nurturing a new generation of engineers and graduate students who transcend the traditional engineering divisions and are prepared and committed to meet the changing needs of our society and to forge a sustainable future. The Institute research engages in supporting economy and industry in the fields of aeronautics, transportation, energy conversion, new nuclear technologies, civil engineering, chemical engineering, chemical and biological processes, metallurgy, coatings and composites, mechatronic systems and robotics, and simulation software.

The Institute provides an integrated environment for the advancement of engineering, with an emphasis on creativity and problem solving, and on bridging the gap between fundamental and applied research through a collective approach. Modern experimental facilities are managed in three technology platforms: (1) Design, manufacturing and testing of electromechanical devices laboratory (CREDEM), (2) Analysis, characterization, and processing laboratory (LACAMI), (3) Mechanical testing, structures, and civil engineering laboratory (LEMSC). Each platform, accessible to all members of the Institute, is organized with a specialized staff of several engineers and technicians. iMMC is actively involved in the UCL’s high-performance computing center to which full access is granted.

The Institute involves about 30 faculty members, 130 researchers (including about 90 PhD students) and 50 technical and administrative staff to perform research in both experimentation and modeling. The scientific support includes a full-time research logistician for support in scientific computing. The administrative staff includes a research manager to help preparing proposals, a communication specialist and webmaster, 5 administrative and accounting assistants. In 2017, iMMC has secured around 10 M€ in research funding at European, US, Belgian and Wallonia levels.