"AI and Materials" workshop from M4S: feedback on Simon Delacroix's presentation from Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (16.12.2025)
On December 16, 2025, Simon Delacroix, professor and researcher at the Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique), inaugurated the “AI and Materials” seminars at M4S. His presentation was entitled “Active learning for the discovery and optimization of new luminescent materials” and focused on ongoing research.
Thanks to the acquisition of a CO2 laser, high-throughput synthesis of numerous samples, up to 120 per experiment, is now possible in the laboratory. This first step led to another problem: how to quickly characterize and analyze such a large number of materials?
Two experimental techniques were selected: luminescence and X-ray diffraction. Not only does the PMC laboratory's analytical equipment allow for automated measurements, but more importantly, the combination of these two techniques makes it possible to study the structure-property relationship within these new materials. Data processing has enabled the creation of a database that feeds into the training of artificial intelligence algorithms. The goal? To predict structures and luminescence based on synthesis parameters in order to ultimately propose new experimental conditions for rapidly optimizing material properties. Tests are currently underway in the laboratory to consolidate the promising initial results.
Following the presentation, numerous discussions allowed the people present to share their expertise in materials and AI. These discussions continued during a convivial pizza lunch.
"Simon's presentation of his work was particularly clear and educational, accessible to researchers outside the field of materials science. The issues presented resonate particularly with my field of research: optimization based on observations, active learning, Bayesian optimization, etc. Combined with the data acquisition process developped by Simon and his team, these tools offer promising applications for the synthesis of new materials. This interdisciplinary approach was especially motivating and could lead to collaborations between IP Paris laboratories." emphasizes Eloïse Berthier, researcher from U2IS lab of ENSTA.
About the speaker
Simon Delacroix is a lecturer at Ecole polytechnique and at Institut Polytechnique de Paris. He holds an Agrégation degree in chemistry and a double master's degree from ENS-Cachan - Sorbonne University. His doctoral work at the Collège de France and Sorbonne University, under the supervision of Clément Sanchez, David Porthault, and Yann Le Godec, focused on the synthesis of new boron-rich nanoparticles at high temperature and/or high pressure.
After a postdoctoral fellowship in Germany, he joined the Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (CNRS, École Polytechnique) thanks to a Saint-Gobain Chair scholarship and was appointed assistant professor in 2023. He works on the synthesis of nanostructured thin films using various methods such as molten salts or laser irradiation. He is also developing high-throughput laser synthesis coupled with machine learning to accelerate the discovery of new nanomaterials.
About "AI and Materials" workshops
To learn more about the “AI and Materials” seminars and to register for the next meeting: