The 2026 CNRS Gold Medal has been awarded to Jacqueline Bloch, a renowned physicist and member of the Académie des sciences. An alumna of ESPCI Paris – PSL, this major distinction recognizes a researcher who has made the frontier between light and matter her primary scientific playground.
Jacqueline Bloch's scientific approach is characterized by a typical ESPCI method: starting from an observed phenomenon, designing a rigorous experiment, analyzing unexpected results, and then delving deeper into the subject. For nearly thirty years, her focus has been on polaritons, hybrid quantum objects, halfway between light and matter. By confining them in microcavities and studying their interactions, her team has created unique laboratories to explore condensed matter, quantum fluids, and complex physical phenomena.
Her scientific journey partly began at ESPCI, where she was influenced by a pedagogy focused on experimental practice. She particularly recalls the paired practical work sessions and her encounters with Claude Boccara in optics and Jacques Lewiner in solid-state physics, which sparked her interest in the light-matter interaction, a true 'aha!' moment in her own words.
After her PhD, Jacqueline Bloch joined the CNRS and conducted pioneering work on polaritons, leveraging recognized expertise in microcavity fabrication. Her research demonstrated how light can behave like a fluid, create vortices, and mimic the properties of existing materials or explore new ones.
In 2023, her career was highlighted in the Femmes de sciences project at ESPCI. She emphasized the importance of curiosity, fundamental research, knowledge transmission, and the freedom to explore without knowing in advance where research will lead.
This recognition with the CNRS Gold Medal resonates particularly at ESPCI, which sees it as an acknowledgment of scientific excellence and the transmission of the freedom to experiment, a fundamental principle of the institution throughout its history.
