I-PhD Innovation competition : Two winners from FEMTO-ST in 2025

Valentin Reynaud (microforce metrology) andGaultier Gibey (predictive maintenance of hydrogen sytems) are the winners of this sixth edition of the national innovation competition .

Launched in July 2019 by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, in partnership with Bpifrance, the i-PhD competition aims to promote entrepreneurship among young researchers, particularly in the creation of “deep tech” startups that offer disruptive innovations based on scientific and technological advances.

Since the launch of this annual innovation competition, 234 winners have been awarded prizes and 78 startups have been created by winners.

The 2025 winners include 40 winners, two of whom are from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and more specifically from FEMTO-ST:

Valentin REYNAUD (SensiTips project) is developing a new generation of instruments capable of quantifying forces that were previously inaccessible to human perception. These instruments are based on ultra-sensitive MEMS sensors and high-precision robotics.
The goal of SensiTips is to enable the precise measurement of forces on a very small scale, thereby meeting the growing needs of cutting-edge fields such as robotics, microtechnology, and life sciences.

Contact : valentin.reynaud@femto-st.fr

Gaultier GIBEY ( SupervHyse project – Hydrogen system maintenance) offers a predictive maintenance software tool dedicated to hydrogen systems, which monitors equipment status in real time and predicts the optimal date for intervention, much like a doctor monitoring a patient. The result is a longer service life, enhanced reliability, and lower maintenance costs.

Contact : gaultier.gibey@femto-st.fr

These two projects are supported by PUI BFC, la SATT SAYENS and the Researcher-Entrepreneur Program In the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region

Our two winners this year join the list of four previous winners in 2019 (Maya Geagea – micro fuel cell and Gael Matten – programmable noise absorption systems), in 2021 (Giacomo Clementi – vibration energy recovery through piezoelectric effect) and in 2023 (Julien Dufourmantelle – acoustic sensor for online monitoring of milk coagulation).

Our six winners thus illustrate the diversity of skills and innovative capabilities present at FEMTO-ST.

Gold micron award at MICRONORA trade fair 2022

FEMTO-ST is awarded a gold micron for its three-dimensional nanorobotic structure, which is precisely and continuously actuated according to the power of light for the gripping of nano objects.
Read more
FEMTO-ST at MICRONORA trade fair 2022

From September 27th to 30th, more than 600 direct exhibitors and 15000 professional visitors are expected in Besançon on the international microtechnology exhibition. FEMTO-ST and FEMTO Engineering will be present.
Read more
The fastest pick-and-place robot in the world

A research team has developed a miniature robot capable of manipulating micrometric objects at unprecedented speeds. This work has been published in the prestigious American journal "Science Robotics"
Read more
Aude Bolopion receives the 2022 “Big-in-Small award”

This yearly award, from the microrobotics international community in the MARSS conference in Toronto, promotes “the best microrobotician” of the year at the international level.
Read more
Engins spatiaux : un lubrifiant solide adapté à l'air comme au vide

les engins spatiaux sont soumis à des contraintes extrêmes. Des chercheurs ont développé un prototype de lubrifiant solide qui ne souffre pas de l’oxydation à l’air libre et qui fonctionne mieux que les solutions actuelles dans le vide. Ces travaux ont abouti à un dépôt de brevet.
Read more
FEMTO-ST : 2 full professors appointed to the IUF in its class 2022

Ausrine MARGUERON-BARTASYTE and Daniel HISSEL are among the 164 national laureates appointed to the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) by the Minister of Higher Education and Research
Read more
Tribute to our colleague Philippe LUTZ

Our scientific community of Burgundy-Franche-Comté has just suddenly lost Philippe LUTZ, full professor at the University of Franche-Comté and a leading figure in microrobotics and micromechatronics research at the FEMTO-ST laboratory.
Read more
How to create a chemical bond with light?

The formation of a chemical bond between two molecules often requires an activation process. Light is a stimulus that is particularly interesting
Read more
Best student paper Award for Clément Carlé at the international conférence IFCS-EFTF2022

This award was obtained in the "Microwave Frequency Standards" category of this major international conference in the field of time-frequency metrology, which took place in Paris from 24 to 28 April 2022.
Read more
Daniel BRUNNER winner of an ERC Consolidator grant 2021

Daniel BRUNNER is a CNRS researcher at the FEMTO-ST Institute and has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council Cosolidator Grant of 2M € for his INSPIRE project
Read more