Abstract
The prospect of oil shortages in the 70s and 80s generated a flurry of technological activity to increase the extraction capacity of oil wells (enhanced oil recovery). This led to a particular interest in fundamental research to better understand the structure and properties of microemulsions. Microemulsions are a mixture of water, oil and surfactants with properties that can boost production from a depleting oil well. Driven by this need for innovation, this research has led to spectacular advances in fundamental physics (statistical physics of fluctuating two-dimensional objects). The discovery and understanding of other structures subsequently led to the invention of a new liposome manufacturing process. This back-and-forth between fundamental and applied science illustrates, by way of example, different approaches to linking science, technology and applications.
