
MMOI (Matière molle aux interfaces – Soft interfaces) Group leader – 20 people.
Head of the “Soft matter and physics/biology interface” axis of the Laboratoire de physique des solides– 70 people.
Directeur de recherche CNRS (CNRS Research Professor)
orcid.org/0000-0001-7803-6677
Chargé de mission à l’Institut de physique du CNRS – Chargé du suivi de la prospective.
Bât. 510 – Campus d’Orsay
91405 Orsay Cedex
France
Tél. : +33 (0)1 69 15 70 78/+33 (0)6 71 81 86 93
Mail : frederic.restagno[at]universite-paris-saclay.fr
Ecole doctorale: Physique en Ile de France
Interests
- Soft matter physics in general
- Friction and adhesion of polymers
- Poly-ionic liquides
- Soap films and foam stability
- Friction in interleaved sytems
Education
- 2000 : PhD in Physics. ENS Lyon
- 2013 : Habilitation à diriger les recherches, Université Paris-Sud
Present PhDs and post-docs
I am currently happy to mentor some amazing students. If you want to now more about them, do not hesitate to google them.
- Tiago Outerelo-Corvo – 50 % – Directeur de thèse (Début oct. 2020, ANR POILLU). Sujet : Lubrifiants poly(liquides ioniques) améliorés : structure multi-échelle et propriétés interfaciales – Co-encadrement : Alexis Chennevière (CEA-LLB).
- Suzanne Lafon – 60 % – Directeur de thèse (Début oct. 2020, CDSN ENS Paris). Sujet : Effet de la température sur le frottement de liquides sur des surfaces solides – Co-encadrement : Alexis Chennevière (CEA – LLB)
- Alice Etienne-Simonetti – 30 % Co-directeur de thèse (Début oct. 2021, ANR DRAINFILM): Sujet Étude de la régénération marginale – Direction de thèse : Emmanuelle Rio.
- Elissa Saad – 30 % – Codirecteur de thèse (Début décembre 2022, ANR BONSAI). Sujet : Démouillage de films minces de copolymères à bloc – Direction de thèse : Guillaume Miquelard-Garnier et Sébastien Roland.

Past PhDs and post-docs (Only recent)
Gabriel Guyard – 50 % – Directeur de thèse (Début oct. 2019, CD EDPIF). Sujet : Transport hydrodynamique dans les solutions de polymères en milieux confinés – Co-directeur : Josh McGraw.
Marie Corpart – 30 % – Directeur de thèse (Début oct. 2019, CIFRE Saint-Gobain). Sujet : Évaporation en transport convectif – Co-directeur : François Boulogne (HDR).
Marina Pasquet – 30 % – Co-directeur de thèse (2018-2022) – Directrice de thèse Emmanuelle Rio – Sujet de la thèse : stabilité d’objets savonneux. Currently Post-doc Berkeley University with Pr. Joelle Frechette.
Marion Grzelka – 70% – Directeur de thèse. (L. Léger – coadvisor). Currently Post-doc University of Amesterdam with Pr. Daniel Bonn.
Raphaelle Taub – 70 % – Directeur de thèse (C. Poulard – coadvisor). Currently CEO of MATRICIS.ai
Marceau Hénot – 70 % – Directeur de thèse. (L. Léger – coadvisor). Currently Researcher at CEA SPEC.
Mathieu Mantelet – 20 % – Co-directeur de thèse. (I Souchon directrice de thèse, PI responsable Vincent Mathieu). Consultant certifié chez L’oiseau rare.
Present teaching activities
Despite a CNRS position, which means that teaching is not mandatory, I developed among the years a real interest in physics teaching at master lever. I list here only a couple of lecture I gave among the years.
- “Soft matter” – Cours M1 iCFP ENS [16 h/year].
- Préparation à l’agrégation externe de sciences physiques option physique – ENS Paris-Saclay
- Cours de mécanique des fluides [16 h/year]
- Corrections de leçons et montages
- Jury de l’agrégation interne de physique-chimie (2018-2022)
- Formation mécanique des fluides à destination des professeurs·es- Académie Orléans-Tours [Poly]
Past teaching or related activities
- Soft matter and biological physics (ex. Macroscopical physics and complexity, ex. Physique des liquides) director – Physique macroscopique et complexité (2017-2021)
- iCFP representative for Université Paris-Saclay (2017-2021)
- Jury de l’agrégation externe de sciences physique – option physique (2014-2017).
- Jury du concours d’entrée à l’Ecole Polytechnique (2021)
- Jury du concours d’entrée à l’ENS (3ème concours) (2013-2015)
- Préparation à l’agrégation externe de sciences physique option physique – ENS Lyon (1997-2010)
- L1 “Mécanique du point” – Université Paris Saclay (2020-2021) – Travaux dirigés
The research theme of my work is the mechanics at interfaces and the role of the structure of this interface on the global behavior at the macroscopic scale. Among the diffferent projects that I have, I can cite.
- The mechanical properties of the solid-fluid interface. The question that interests me is how simple or complex fluids slip on the walls and what are the mechanisms of transmission of interfacial stresses. For example, in the last few years, I have been working on the slip of polymer melts and solutions (together with Liliane Léger (thanks to her!, Elisabeth Charlaix and Josh-Mc Graw): role of the nature of the interface, role of the structure of the interface, influence of molecular parameters, influence of temperature. In collaboration with François Boulogne and Emmanuelle Rio we have extended this question to the problem of the friction of liquid foams on solids. I have recently collaborated with Vincent Mathieu and Isabelle Souchon (INRAE, Grignon) on the question of the interface between food gels and rough surfaces. Even more recently, together with Alexis Chennevière (LLB CEA), we extended our study of the case of solid-polyionic liquid interfaces.
- The mechancial properties of the fluid-gas interface. A second type of interfaces for which I study the mechanical properties are the liquid-air interfaces in the presence of surfactants. To be more precise, the question we are trying to address is the question of the generation and death of soap films and the role of the interface in these two phenomena. I started this work when Emmanuelle Rio joined the LPS, as it was a continuation of my post-doc work with David Quéré. Recently, we have been focusing on two issues: the role of evaporation, and the problem of entrainment at high capillary and Reynolds numbers by building in particular a device for automatic production of giant soap films.
- The mechanical properties of the solid-solid interfaces. After having worked for several years on adhesion and friction problems on textured surfaces with Christophe Poulard, we have undertaken a systematic study of the role of adhesion and friction in interleaved systems.
Overall, my profile is that of an experimental physicist, interested in taking physical chemistry into account. We develop original experimental devices.
Keywords : Soft matter, physics, adhesion, friction, surfactants, soap films, polymers, interfaces.
Contact
I will be happy to receive some questions from students, colleagues, journalists concerning my research or my teaching. Do not hesitate to contact me.
- frederic.restagno@universite-paris-saclay.fr
- +33 (0) 1 69 15 70 78
- bat 510, campus Univ. d’Orsay, Orsay, 91400
Present activities
- Membre du Comité national de la recherche scientifique – section 11
- President of the C’Genial Scientific Committe
- Member of the National organization committee of the french “Olympiades de physiques“
- Nominated member of the Scientific Council Institut d’études scientifiques de Cargèse.
- Member of the Société Française de Physique, Société Française de l’Adhésion, American Adhesion Society, American Physical Society, American Chemical Society.
- Co-Responsable du stage de formation professionnelle “Mouillage et phénomènes superficiels” – CNRS Formation. Eligible dans le cadre du DIF – [voir détails].
Contracts
- ANR Fricolas Scientific coordinator
- ANR Bonsai – PI
- ANR Encore Scientific coordinator
- ANR POILLu (PI)
- ANR AdhesiPS (Participant)
- Saint-Gobain contract (with F. Boulogne): Thèse Marie Corpart
- Saint-Gobain contract (with L. Léger): Post-doc Anastasia Christoulaki
Président du Concours C’Génial (Fondation C’ Géniale – Science à l’Ecole)
Physics in schools and with public
I am used to give public lectures related to my research activity. Do not hesitate to contact (you can, for example, simply email me). me for that. Below are two examples (but I can prepare it for different students).
- Public seminar on bubbles with Emmanuelle RIo [link] or alone [link]
- Public seminar on friction (here or a more recent version)
- Public seminar on bubbles and foam with Emmanuelle Rio and Slash Bubbles [link]
Photo (Serge Guichard)
Physics on TV and on the WEB
Science outreach is an interesting activity. I have chosen in the past to use TV and internet to promote science. You will see below some exemples.
- I have been a knowledge broker in the movie “Conquerir les océans” (France 5/2P2L) and “Les maîtres de l’eau (France 5/2P2L).
- I have participated to 9 “On n’est pas que des cobayes” (France 5/2P2L) TV shows.
- I participated to 2 stop-motion movies: “Un chercheur et son article” and “Chercheur et caféine” with C. Arène and J. Bobroff.
- I participated to the E=M6 TV show
- I briefly presented a Scientific Show : Le Lab in l’Hebdo Show (TF1).