Hosting of professors, collaboration between researchers, student exchanges, international colloquia… In 3 years, the ARCUS program, co-financed at parity by the Lorraine Region and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has made a notable development of links between Lorraine and Russia possible. "We developed the international registration of scientific research in Lorraine and opened new tracks for economic development based on high technologies." At the time of the review, Alain Mailfert, general coordinator of ARCUS Lorraine-Russia (2005-2008) evoked the significant number of Russian researchers and doctoral candidates hosted in the region, the numerous common publications or colloquia organized within the framework of this university and research cooperation program. Launched each year for 3 years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' triennial ARCUS call for projects has the goal "of federating on the regional or interregional level the university and scientific forces (…) in such a way that they can better cooperate (…) with one or several emerging countries." Since 2005, Lorraine answers the call for tender, among around twenty other regions. Four were retained ; Lorraine is included in them. The Lorraine answer associates around fifteen laboratories belonging to the 4 regional universities and the CNRS on the theme "materials and environment". Chosen target: Russia. "It's a country with which there already existed numerous cooperation projects," recalls Alain Mailfert. "A historic partner for that matter : at the beginning of the 20th century, the first classes of Nancy's engineering schools already had Russian students." Within the Lorraine scientific consortium, organized in five thematic sub-projects, each respective organiser is more dynamic and more ingenious than the other. Research professor at the LMOPS of Paul Verlaine University - Metz and Supélec, Patrice Bourson leads, for example, the sub-project dedicated to nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. On the French side, his team relies on the competences of 2 Lorraine laboratories (LCSM in Nancy and LMOPS in Metz) and a Marseille laboratory (GCOM2) associated for the occasion at ARCUS. On the other side: 6 university laboratories or laboratories of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a private company. This collective work is fruitful : "We are working, for example, on nano-structures that make it possible to modify the wavelength of light; it will make it possible to obtain a UV laser from an infra-rouge laser", explains Patrice Bourson. "In the subject, our Russian colleagues possess a know-how that is unique in the world."

Beyond the reinforcement of scientific and university links, this first ARCUS 2005 - 2008 program also made it possible to develop institutional contacts "at the highest level". The Lorraine Region thereby signed in 2008 a memorandum of cooperation concerning the economy, science and techniques with the province of TOMSK. Located in western Siberia, this region with a strong university tradition is also very rich in forests. Should we then be surprised if fibres figure prominently in the project of a second ARCUS program 2009 - 2011 submitted by the Lorraine scientists ? Entitled "Development processes of natural materials, components and plasmas", this answer to the 2008 call for projects of the MAEE in addition associates the 2 centres of competitive excellence in Lorraine as well as the INRA and the AgroParisTech-ENGREF. The answer from the Ministry, expected in the coming days, should be positive.

• ARCUS 2005
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