BRGM, CNRS and University of Orléans to pursue their cooperation under ISTO, the Orléans Earth Sciences Institute.
11 June 2018
Signature of the new ISTO agreement

Michèle Rousseau, BRGM Chair and Executive Director, Antoine Petit, CNRS Chair and Executive Director, and Ary Bruand, Chair of the University of Orléans.

© BRGM

On 11 June 2018, in Orléans, the within, the CNRS and the University of Orléans signed a 5-year agreement to renew their cooperation agreement under the ISTO Joint Research Unit (Orléans Earth Sciences Institute).

The ISTO Joint Research Unit was created in 2013 to pool and strengthen partnerships between the three organisations. Their work within ISTO is geared to 3 major programmes: on geodynamics, fluids, on the functioning and evolution of continental biosystems and on magma.

ISTO is one of the most dynamic laboratories at the University of Orléans. The collaborative work between the three organisations has helped to make Orléans a leader in training for geoscience experts on:

  • conceptualising natural systems,
  • digital modelling to address issues concerning sustainable georesource extraction,
  • safe, secure and sustainable uses of the subsoil for environmental storage, water resources and energy on circular economy principles.

Strengthened BRGM participation in the ISTO joint research unit

About 50 researchers and lecturer-researchers from the CNRS and the University of Orléans will be pursuing their contributions to ISTO studies. The BRGM's participation will be strengthened by an increase in staff (six working for ISTO and 10 associate researchers). The BRGM has also committed to funding or co-funding up to two new theses each year.