CIMO - Interdisciplinary center Seas and Ocean
Presentation
France holds a leading international position in economic, industrial and scientific fields related to the sea. Bringing together interdisciplinary research teams from IP Paris and Ifremer. CIMO is fully aligned with French initiatives to reduce the ecological footprint or maritime activities and strenghten environmental monitoring of marine environments.
The merger of ENSTA in 2025 within IP Paris, with two campus in Palaiseau and Brest offers a new dynamic in research, training and innovation to meet the major issues facing the maritime sector.
Our Missions
The ambition of Seas and Ocean Center is to contribute the major challenges of our time in connection with the ecological transition and the preservation of the ocean, around four pillars:
- To promote IP Paris's cutting-edge scientific research through maritime applications
- To expand IP Paris's teaching programs in the maritime field (Master and PhD Track)
- To increase partnerships with major maritime research institutes
- To seek fundings from private companies or public agencies to develop research projects
Key figures
120
permanent researchers
22
laboratories
4
scientific and technological platforms
Research
Their interdisciplinary work covers three areas:
One of the missions of the CIMO center is to train students, drawing on the expertise and complementarity of the IP Paris's engineering schools.
Engineering course at ENSTA
- Maritime genius (campus of Palaiseau)
- Hydrography and Oceanography (campus of Brest)
- Naval and Offshore Architecture (campus of Brest)
- Advanced Modeling of Materials and Structures (campus of Brest)
- Autonomous Robotics (campus of Brest)
Engineering degree by apprenticeship at ENSTA
- Offshore and Naval Architecture (campus of Brest)
- Embedded systems (campus of Brest)
Masters at IP Paris
MSc&T Energy Environment at l'École polytechnique
MSc ENSTA with UBO
- Physique, parcours Physique de l'Océan et du Climat (campus of Brest)
- Physique, parcours Géophysique marine (campus of Brest)
- Physique, parcours Sciences des données océanographiques (campus of Brest)
- Physique, parcours Hydrodynamique navale (campus of Brest)
Specialised Masters at ENSTA
- Specialised Masters Programme in Maritime Engineering (campus of Palaiseau)
- Specialized Advanced Master in Marine Engineering/Naval and Offshore Architecture (campus of Brest)
- Specialized Advanced Master Marine Renewable energies expert (campus of Brest, with École Navale and IMT Atlantique)
The CIMO center also supports the mentoring of young scientists at doctoral and post-doctoral levels.
Plateforms
Whether you're a researcher, a student, or working for a start-up or a company, call on the resources (infrastructure, hardware, software, expertise) of the Interdisciplinary center 's platforms to run your marine engineering research projects.
Calls for proposals
CIMO supports maritime engineering projects through :
- Horizon Europe : EU Mission, Restore our ocean and waters - 2021-2027
- PPR : programme prioritaire de recherche océan & climat du CNRS et Ifremer / Ifremer program - 2021-2027
- France 2030 - PEPR : programmes et équipements prioritaires de recherche / French Equipment program - 2021-2027
Events
| 01/29/2025 | Inauguration of the CIMO- Interdisciplinary center seas and ocean |
06/4 to 6 06/7 06/9 to 13 | 2025, year of the sea with many events: "Once Ocean Science Congess" organized by Ifremer "Coalition Ocean Rise and Costal Resilience" organised by the city of Nice |
Governance
- Laurent Mortier, Chief scientist officer
- Margot Provost, Chief operations officer
Research topic 1: Marine engineering for sustainable ships
- Shabnam Arbab Chirani, Researcher at IRDL laboratory at ENSTA
- Olivier Lemaitre, Researcher at École Polytechnique's CMAP lab
- Jean-François Mercier, Researcher at UMA laboratory at ENSTA
Research topic 2: Ocean observing for society
- Romain Pennel, Researcher at LMD at École Polytechnique
- Laurent Mortier, Researcher at IMSIA at ENSTA
Research topic 3: Ressource management, coastal development and the environment
- Marissa Yates, Researcher at LHSV laboratory at École nationale des ponts et chaussées
- David Touboul, Researcher at LCM laboratory at École Polytechnique
- David Pai, Researcher at LPP laboratory at École Polytechnique
- Luc Pastur, Researcher at IMSIA laboratory at ENSTA
Contact
One of the missions of the CIMO center is to train students, drawing on the expertise and complementarity of the IP Paris's engineering schools.
Engineering course at ENSTA
- Maritime genius (campus of Palaiseau)
- Hydrography and Oceanography (campus of Brest)
- Naval and Offshore Architecture (campus of Brest)
- Advanced Modeling of Materials and Structures (campus of Brest)
- Autonomous Robotics (campus of Brest)
Engineering degree by apprenticeship at ENSTA
- Offshore and Naval Architecture (campus of Brest)
- Embedded systems (campus of Brest)
Masters at IP Paris
MSc&T Energy Environment at l'École polytechnique
MSc ENSTA with UBO
- Physique, parcours Physique de l'Océan et du Climat (campus of Brest)
- Physique, parcours Géophysique marine (campus of Brest)
- Physique, parcours Sciences des données océanographiques (campus of Brest)
- Physique, parcours Hydrodynamique navale (campus of Brest)
Specialised Masters at ENSTA
- Specialised Masters Programme in Maritime Engineering (campus of Palaiseau)
- Specialized Advanced Master in Marine Engineering/Naval and Offshore Architecture (campus of Brest)
- Specialized Advanced Master Marine Renewable energies expert (campus of Brest, with École Navale and IMT Atlantique)
The CIMO center also supports the mentoring of young scientists at doctoral and post-doctoral levels.
Plateforms
Whether you're a researcher, a student, or working for a start-up or a company, call on the resources (infrastructure, hardware, software, expertise) of the Interdisciplinary center 's platforms to run your marine engineering research projects.
Calls for proposals
CIMO supports maritime engineering projects through :
- Horizon Europe : EU Mission, Restore our ocean and waters - 2021-2027
- PPR : programme prioritaire de recherche océan & climat du CNRS et Ifremer / Ifremer program - 2021-2027
- France 2030 - PEPR : programmes et équipements prioritaires de recherche / French Equipment program - 2021-2027
Events
| 01/29/2025 | Inauguration of the CIMO- Interdisciplinary center seas and ocean |
06/4 to 6 06/7 06/9 to 13 | 2025, year of the sea with many events: "Once Ocean Science Congess" organized by Ifremer "Coalition Ocean Rise and Costal Resilience" organised by the city of Nice |
Governance
- Laurent Mortier, Chief scientist officer
- Margot Provost, Chief operations officer
Research topic 1: Marine engineering for sustainable ships
- Shabnam Arbab Chirani, Researcher at IRDL laboratory at ENSTA
- Olivier Lemaitre, Researcher at École Polytechnique's CMAP lab
- Jean-François Mercier, Researcher at UMA laboratory at ENSTA
Research topic 2: Ocean observing for society
- Romain Pennel, Researcher at LMD at École Polytechnique
- Laurent Mortier, Researcher at IMSIA at ENSTA
Research topic 3: Ressource management, coastal development and the environment
- Marissa Yates, Researcher at LHSV laboratory at École nationale des ponts et chaussées
- David Touboul, Researcher at LCM laboratory at École Polytechnique
- David Pai, Researcher at LPP laboratory at École Polytechnique
- Luc Pastur, Researcher at IMSIA laboratory at ENSTA