RESEARCH

Laboratory of Studies and Research on Wood Material

Laboratory of Studies and Research on Wood Material (LERMAB)

  • The LERMAB is a multi-disciplinary laboratory at the University of Lorraine (EA 4370) attached to the INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) of Nancy-Lorraine in the form of a USC (Unit under contract).
  • The lab is located in two main sites, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy at the Faculty of Sciences and Technologies and Epinal at the National Institute of Technology and Wood Industries and also from time to time at the IUT of Longwy.
  • The lab employs a little over forty people as permanent staff: essentially professors and assistant professors who belong to different CNU sections (31, 32, 60, 62, 64) and about forty persons as non-permanent staff (PhD students, post-doctoral candidates, short term contracts, bachelor’s trainees and master’s trainees).
  • Valuing various scientific competencies in several domains such as biology, chemistry, process engineering, physics, mechanics and civil engineering, the lab runs researches about wood and natural fibres, ranging from the molecular level to the macroscopic level of the material especially of the wood structure.
  • Due to the special positioning linked to the nature as object of study, the laboratory plays a privileged role as an interface between research and wood sector’s industries developing fundamental and applied research projects by means of collaboration with various technological transfer centres, such as Critt Bois (Regional Centre of Innovation and Transfer of Technologies for the wood industry) or CETELOR (Lorraine Textile Test Centre) as part of the Fibers Centre for Competitive Excellence.