Jean-Jacques GreffetView profile
Professor
Jean-Jacques Greffet is a Professor and researcher at the Charles Fabry Laboratory (LCF) within the Institute of Optics Graduate School at Université Paris-Saclay, where he also serves as Director of the Institute for the Sciences of Light. He leads the Plasmonics and Quantum Nanophotonics research team, focusing on the manipulation and study of light at the nanometer scale. His educational background includes: Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Solid-state Physics from Université Paris-Sud (now Université Paris-Saclay) Agrégation obtained in 1982 from École normale supérieure de Cachan (now ENS Paris-Saclay) PhD defended in 1988 at École centrale Greffet's research focuses on nanophotonics, the manipulation and study of light at dimensions below 100 nanometers where traditional physical properties change dramatically. His work explores how to enclose photons and electrons in small volumes to force interactions for controlled light emission and absorption. Key achievements include demonstrating that radiation exchange between surfaces at nanometer-scale distances can be orders of magnitude greater than previously believed, and developing incandescent sources with unprecedented directional and spectral properties. His publications show a consistent trend toward controlling light emission at the nanoscale, with applications in thermophotovoltaic energy conversion, optical microscopy, and diagnostic technologies. The progression from directional sources (2015) to modulated sources (2020) and now circularly polarized emission demonstrates his systematic approach to mastering light properties at the nanoscale. Greffet's scientific contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards: Fellow of the Optical Society of America (2015) Prix Servant by the French Academy of Sciences (2015) Senior member of the Institut universitaire de France (2009-2014 and 2015-2020) As an academic leader, Greffet directed the Doctoral School of Waves and Matter (EDOM) from 2014 to 2019 before taking on his current role as Director of the Institute for the Sciences of Light. He oversees interdisciplinary collaboration among approximately 700 researchers across Université Paris-Saclay's graduate schools, organizing conferences, seminars, and summer schools to foster international exchange in light science.







