PIIM - UMR 7345
Physics of the Interactions of Ions and Molecules
PIIM is a joint research laboratory of the CNRS and Aix-Marseille University located in Marseille, France. It brings together physicists and physical chemists who study dilute media - such as gases, plasmas and beams of ions, atoms and/or molecules - as well as their interactions with matter. Our researchers aim to understand the physical phenomena in these media in order to analyse and characterise matter.
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Nuclear Fusion: An Energy Issue, a Global Challenge
On April 30, Dominique Escande, a physicist and emeritus research director at the CNRS within the PIIM laboratory, shared his expertise on nuclear fusion on the podcast “La Science CQFD,” hosted by Natacha Triou on France Culture. He will also be speaking at the Pint of Science festival on May 20 at the Zoumaï brewery in Marseille, to discuss this global energy challenge with the public.
France Inter followed a group of children as they discovered the profession of researcher at the university.
Célestine Klein, a doctoral student from the CIML team at PIIM laboratory, welcomed the young visitors and guided them on a tour of the technical facilities.
Throughout March, the PIIM laboratory is honoring women in science with the photography exhibition “Ingénieuses”
Technicians, engineers, electricians... but what about women? To combat prejudice and encourage women to pursue careers in engineering, CNRS Ingénierie, one of the 10 institutes of the CNRS, has profiled 12 female engineers as part of its Year of Engineering (2025-2026).
Is the dream of unlimited, carbon-free energy coming true soon?
Against a backdrop of exploding energy needs, Trump Media & Technology is preparing to merge with the American company TAE, with the ambition of creating “one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.” TF1 Info interviewed Yannick Marandet, CNRS research director and director of the PIIM laboratory, who shed light on the advances being made in nuclear fusion.
EAST Tokamak experiments exceed plasma density limit, offering new approach to fusion ignition
In a new episode of the France Culture podcast Avec Sciences, Dominique Escande, emeritus research director at the CNRS in the PIIM laboratory, shares his expertise on a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion: a recent study on the EAST tokamak in China reveals a new ignition mode capable of exceeding the previously accepted density limit.