Process Engineering Renewal 2: Research

Foreword
This is a book that was eagerly awaited at a time when many manufacturing processes were being challenged in the name of the precautionary principle and/or ecology. Indeed, we have to move from a time when we manufactured without
worrying too much about the quantity of raw materials, water or energy we used, to production that is economical and respectful of the environment.
To address this subject and make the shift to sustainable development in a timely manner, two process engineering specialists share their knowledge. Jean-Claude André – the pioneer of additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing – has followed all the developments in engineering research from the laboratory to the CNRS in Paris, for almost 50 years. Éric Schaer, a professor and researcher, is one of the members of the faculty and management of ENSIC (which largely hosts the LRGP – a joint research unit between the CNRS and the University of Lorraine – their home laboratory). Together, they share with us their vision of process engineering, and then help us to approach the future by mapping out highly relevant perspectives in both training and research.
…Volume 2 is devoted, more specifically, to process engineering research and laboratories. Beyond this discipline, our two authors engage in a profound reflection on the nature of engineering research. What are the necessary qualities, what is the
role of creativity, and how do we organize its teaching? The more general question of innovation and “disruption” is discussed at length, in connection with interdisciplinarity and the dynamic management of research units. The two authors,
with the benefit of much experience, open up a number of new avenues. They show that what is lacking in innovative research, into the transformation of matter and energy, is the emergence of tectonic temporalities between traditional, quality research and creative processes (rather immaterial at first) for which disruptive phenomena may create (or may not create) enormous effects… as long as they are allowed to emerge and are supported (with support for risk-taking)