Various aspects of the issues that link fundamental research, inventions and innovations will be discussed. Drawing on the author's personal experience, but also on major topics that have marked our times (computers and digital technology, solar energy, the challenges of the construction world, glass and glassmaking processes, etc.), we will highlight the diversity and richness of approaches.
We'll see that far from being a linear process, these approaches (discoveries, inventions, innovations) enrich each other, and that there is no clear-cut process leading to innovation.
Finally, we will conclude our lectures with discussions on the profile of researchers/inventors/innovators and possible reasons for their success.
A one-day colloquium will be organized after the lecture series: it will mainly bring together "start-ups" who have transformed basic research results into innovative products or services.