Mechanics Department

Responsible:
Hervé LE TREUT
LMD, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex
Email: letreut@lmd.jussieu.fr ou letreut@lmd.polytechnique.fr
Tel.: X -poste 51 03 ou 51 01

Co-Responsible:
Albert HERTZOG
LMD, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex
Email : hertzog@lmd.polytechnique.fr
Tel.: X -poste 5160

 

The option offers internships in the field of geophysics fluid mechanics, ocean dynamics, atmosphere, or intern geophysics. Many internships cover environmental issues, such as pollution, water management, impact of deforestation on the climate, climate change due to greenhouse effect, water management and hydrography, seismic signal detection and heartquakes. These topics are characterized by their strong interdisciplinary. The mechanical and physical aspects (sometimes chemical or biological) are often intertwined with more applied questions, related to measuring techniques or global or in-situ observation analysis.

The internships available are characterized by a triple diversity:

  1. Theme: as it might be oceanography, meteorology, study of local processes (coastal currents, lee waves, waves, avalanches), global studies (past climate, prediction of future climates, role ans dtudy of the El Nino process, prediction, carbon cycle in the atmosphere), internal geophysics, or applied studies with an industrial nature (mostly in France).
  2. Technique: a lot of subjects are of a digital component (often enabling a good initiation to computer language like the FORTAN), but some are more of a experimental nature (whether it is laboratory experience, in-situ measuring, global data processing or spaciat measurning) and other are more of a theorical nature (turbulent flows, waves, or atmospheric or oceanic instability).
  3. Geographic: almost every country in the world has an active search in fields covered by the option. Internships are therefore available in many countries, as well as in France, both in Paris and in the provinces. Internships outside Europe are generally carried out in the academic world (university research centers), while internships in France and Europe are carried out either in the academic world or in private companies (design studios, innovative small and medium-sized enterprise, large entreprise with an activity in the environmental sector).

Students are asked to get in contact with responsibles of the option as soon as possible to precise the possible orientation of the internship.
The option is also proposed in the Physics Department, with the PHY596 code (responsible : Jean-François Roussel, roussel@onera.fr).

Here are some examples with in the earlier years:

  • Meteorolgy: UCLA, MIT, Floride University, McGill University (Montréal), Météo Canadienne (Vancouver), Reading University, Hambourg University, McQuarie University (Sydney), Météo Australienne (Melbourne), Buenos-Aires University, Montevideo University, Institute of Atmospheric Physics of Beijin, Tokyo University, Cochin University (India), IAP (Moscow).
  • Oceanography: Scripps Institution (California), Océanographical Institute (Palma de Majorque), CSIRO (Hobart, Australia), SOC (Southampton, Great Britain), AWI (Bremerhaven, Germany)
    In France: LOCEAN (Paris), LEGI (Grenoble), Ifremer (Brest)
  • Geophysics: IPG (Paris), Total (France), Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Guadeloupe
  • Instrumentation: Toronto University, DLR (Munich, Germany)
    In France: LOCEAN (Paris), LEGI (Grenoble), Ifremer (Brest)
  • Theorical studies: Cambridge, Oxford, Monash University, MIT, Imperial College (London),
    In France: LMD, LOCEAN or INL (Nice).

The quasi-totality of these institutions are ready to welcome interns of the X: the list is indicatice and non-limitative.

 

Evaluation modalities: Students are evaluated on the written document and on their oral presentation of their internship.

Course language: French