Ludwik Leibler

Ludwik Leibler is a distinguished academic and researcher, serving as a Professor of Soft Matter and Chemistry and Adjunct Professor at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles (ESPCI) in Paris, France. He is also the Director of the Soft Matter and Chemistry Laboratory at ESPCI and a senior researcher at CNRS. His career spans over four decades, with notable roles including founding director of the Elf-Atochem/CNRS joint research laboratory (1996–2003) and Director of Research at CNRS since 1985.

Leibler holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from Warsaw University (1976) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship under Nobel laureate Pierre-Gilles de Gennes at the Collège de France. His research focuses on polymer science, supramolecular materials, and self-healing systems, with groundbreaking contributions such as the discovery of vitrimers—malleable, thermally reversible polymers. These innovations have led to collaborations with academia and industry, yielding commercial applications.

His awards include the CNRS Medal of Innovation (2013), American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry (2007), and the Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering (2004). Leibler’s work bridges fundamental science and applied materials engineering, emphasizing sustainable and adaptive materials.