On 19 December 2022, at the age of 53, Samuel Forest, a civil engineer at the Ecole des Mines, was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences, in the Mechanical and Computer Sciences section. This is the most prestigious award in France for a specialist in the links between the microstructures of matter and mechanical aspects.
“Avant-garde ideas in thermodynamics and materials physics have greatly influenced my research”, confides Samuel Forest, who first wrote a thesis on the plasticity of metallic single crystals, defended in 1996 at the École des Mines.
After becoming director of research at the CNRS Materials Centre, this teacher-researcher at the École Centrale Paris went on to develop theoretical and numerical models for analysing the behaviour of these materials, based on studies of the microstructure of metal alloys and composites. This innovative approach helps to optimise the strength of structures subjected to severe stresses, and earned the scientist a bronze medal from the CNRS in 1998, followed by a silver medal in 2012.
In December 2022, Samuel Forest’s research was recognised by the French Academy of Sciences, which elected him as one of its prestigious members. The engineer has continued his research into the role of metal foams in batteries, an issue that is more topical than ever. It’s a way of putting his knowledge at the service of mechanical engineering for the energy transition. Contributing to a genuine revival of the mechanics of continuous media, his research aims to simulate the plasticity and fracture of materials on a microscopic scale. The aim is to increase the lifespan and robustness of components that are vital to the energy and aeronautics sectors.
Chaired in 2023 by Alain Fischer, an eminent professor of immunology, the Académie des Sciences has been rewarding ‘savants’ since the 17th century. Samuel Forest joins a college of 283 personalities recognised for their talent and visionary work.
At the solemn reception ceremony for the newly elected members, held under the dome of the Institut de France, Samuel Forest thanked the professors who had guided him in his training and research: Michel Amestoy, Georges Cailletaud, André Pineau and André Zaoui, as well as the Materials Centre at Mines Paris – PSL and the many talented doctoral and post-doctoral students he had supervised.