In 2015, 195 countries of the United Nations proposed Sustainable Development Goals so as to alleviate the problems of climate change and global pollution. In France, there is a scientist dedicated to contribute providing solutions for above issues by virtue of MEMS, Lab-On-Chip and metamaterials. This expert is Prof. Tarik Bourouina, a Professor of Physics at ESIEE Paris, Université Gustave Eiffel. He devoted himself to the investigations on micro sensors and metamaterials, and kept seeking their applications in the future blueprint of “Sustainable” and “Smart” cities. On the other hand, he has formed an indissoluble bond with Light: Science and Applications (LIGHT) since the very beginning of the journal. He also set up the LIGHT’s Paris office, which is the first LIGHT’s overseas office in Europe. We are much honored to have an opportunity to exclusively communicate with Prof. Tarik Bourouina, who will share his research experience and stories with LIGHT in this interview.

Bibliography: Tarik Bourouina is Professor of Physics at ESIEE Paris, Université Gustave Eiffel. He is affiliated to the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) within the ESYCOM laboratory UMR9007. He was a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Sciences, Japan, an associate professor at Université Paris-Saclay, France and Director of a dual-degree Master program in MEMS Engineering with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. His current interests include nano-structured materials, micro-opto-fluidics and their applications to sustainable development. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s Fellowship.

Bourouina actively contributed to the launch and development of several companies with his former students and colleagues, which include MEMSCAP, Si-Ware Systems/Neospectra, MEMS-Schlumberger, Fluidion, and Izonics. He has several contributions in Photonic MEMS, among which the smallest MEMS-based FTIR Optical Spectrometer, NEOSPECTRA, developed within the spin-off company Si-Ware-Systems, and was awarded the “Prism Award for Photonics Innovation” in 2014, and the “Technology Showcase Award” in 2017 at the SEMI European MEMS and Sensor Summit.

Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-021-00602-w