The discovery and understanding of new collective electronic states is one of the fundamental goals of Quantum Condensed Matter Physics. The diversity and originality of their properties (ferroelectricity, magnetism, superconductivity, metal-insulator transitions, etc.) make transition metal oxides the materials of choice in this endeavor. In addition to the fundamental questions they raise, these properties are also functionalities that are or could be exploited for applications in digital or energy technologies , for example. These materials are also characterized by close competition between different phases, which represents both an opportunity and a challenge for the control of their functionalities. Over the last fifteen years or so, this field has been profoundly renewed by the fabrication of epitaxial materials and heterostructures of high structural quality, offering new avenues of control, and making it possible to combine the functionalities of different materials or bring out new properties. The use of light pulses offers another original control possibility. The lecture gave a general overview of this vast field, while presenting certain aspects in greater detail.
The first two lectures were devoted to an overview of the field, followed by an introduction to the structural aspects of these materials, and their electronic structure .Subsequent lectures covered the rare-earth nickelatesRNiO3, the control of orbital degrees of freedom in these materials (in the hope of achieving a "synthetic superconductor") and the vast family of ruthenates. A final lecture dealt with the selective control of the structure of these materials by resonant light pulses (nonlinear phonon).