Pierre-Etienne Wolf

Overview

As a low-temperature physicist, the core of my past and present activities concerns the physics of Helium. Over the years, I have studied the roughening transition of solid Helium 4, the properties of highly spin-polarized liquid Helium 3, atomization processes in liquid helium, and phase transitions of Helium 4 confined in porous media. The common feature of these studies is that they use Helium as a model system for different general physical problems, in fields ranging from statistical and quantum physics to hydrodynamics and soft matter.

Research

Present and past research topics

Condensation and Evaporation of Fluids in Nanoporous Materials (aerogels, porous glasses, nanoporous membranes)

Diphasic flows of Helium 4

Probing and Modifying Protein Transport using Optical Means

Thermodynamics and Transport in Spin-Polarized Liquid Helium 3

Spin-polarized Helium 3 Gas for Lung Imaging

Light Propagation in Disordered Media : Coherent Backscattering and Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy

Roughening Transition of Helium 4 Crystals

Hydrodynamics of Normal and Superfluid Helium 4

CavConf

Scientific coordinator of the ANR project CavConf (2017-2022)

Collaborative project « Cavitation in Confinement »

With LPENS Paris (E. Rolley,) INSP Paris (A. Grosman, I. Trimaille, M. Bossert), and IMCN, Orléans (J. Puibasset)

Hevepor

Scientific coordinator of the ANR project Hevepor (BLAN006, 2006-2008)

Collaborative project « Hélium dans les verres poreux » (« Helium in Porous Glasses »)

With LPTMC Paris (E. Kierlik, M.L. Rosinberg) and Institut Charles Coulomb, Montpellier (formerly LMV) F.Despetis

Professional affiliations

Past and present affilations

1980-1985 CNRS (Groupe de Physique des Solides de l'ENS, Paris)

1985-2007 CNRS (Centre de Recherche sur les Très Basses Températures, Grenoble)

1994-1995 CNRS Sabbatical at Princeton University (S. Leibler, Department of Molecular Biology)

2007-now  CNRS  (Institut Néel, Grenoble)

Selected Responsibilities

2008-2010 : CoNRS (Comité National du CNRS), section 3

2011-2015: Deputy director of Institut Néel, director of the Condensed Matter and Low Temperatures department

2011-present : Co-chair of the "Cryogenics" Alliance of Labex LANEF

2016-present : Board of Ecole Doctorale de Physique Grenoble

Education

1976-1980	Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris
1979	Thèse de 3ème Cycle (Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI), Groupe de Physique des Solides de l’ENS, La transition laminaire – turbulent dans l’écoulement de Couette de l’hélium, Superviser : Bernard PERRIN
1980	Agrégation de Sciences Physiques
1985	Thèse d’Etat (Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI), Groupe de Physique des Solides de l’ENS, La surface des cristaux d’hélium 4 : équilibre, croissance, et transitions rugueuses, Superviser : Sébastien BALIBAR