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Particles, Hadrons, Energy, Nuclei, Instrumentation, Imaging, Cosmos et Simulation (PHENIICS)

L'école doctorale

The doctoral school

PHENIICS (ED N° 576) is the doctoral school of Ile-de-France centered around the themes of subatomic physics. PHENIICS spans  the fundamental to applied sciences, and is rooted in the unique network of world-renowed research institutes on these themes situated in the University of Paris-Saclay.

PHENIICS aims to accompany the doctoral student through the transition from an academic background to the beginning of a career in business, administration, higher education, and public research. Throughout the three years of the PhD program, the main goals of the doctoral school are to:

  • attract the top students to scientific programs of PHENIICS
  • guarantee a positive PhD experience and serve as an intermediary between the student and their thesis advisor or research team
  • help each student work to their academic highest potential, notably through access to the wider network of professors and researchers of the doctoral school
  • provide opportunities for building a professional network through seminars, invited professors, national and international conferences, student congresses, meetings with industry recruters and alumni, etc
  • foster the development of a well-rounded scientific culture by encouraging interdisciplinary interactions among research groups under the PHENIICS umbrella of subjects
  • encourage interaction with the international research community at the highest level
  • develop the skills necessary for career development;
  •     prepare students for quick placement after graduation in the best industry and academic instutions

To attain these goals, the doctoral school aims for synergy between research institutes and pedagogical opportunities. PHENIICS benefits from the close proximity of numerous world-renowed academic and research institutes within the perimeter of Paris-Saclay that come together in the doctoral program. The academic excellence of PHENIICS is rooted in the diversity of ways in which science is explored: from fundamental theory to appliciations and societal implications, through academic courses and hands-on research. A strong collaboration exists among the engineering schools, institutes, and University of Paris-Sud, leading to an academic offering rich in interdisciplinary themes and real-world training that serves the diverse collection of students and institutes in the PHENIICS family. Exchanges among the doctoral and engineering schools are particularly fostered in the areas of instrumentation, accelerator, and nuclear physics,  to profit from the complementary expertises in fundamental and applied sciences in these domains.

The Scope of the Doctoral School

The scientific domains of PHENIICS include particle physics, nuclear physics, cosmology and astrophysics, nuclear energy, and theoretical physics particularly where there is a strong dialog with experiment (phenomenology, quantum field theory, gravitation, the N-body problem, etc). A vibrant instrumentation program covers accelerator and detector physics, including simulations and optimization. The applications and societal aspects of these domains, like radiochemistry and medical imaging, round out the PHENIICS offering and provide a multifaceted educational experience for the doctoral students of the University of Paris-Saclay.  

To develop synergies among the various expertises present at Paris-Saclay, the doctoral school is backed by six research institutes (UMR) from the University of Paris-Saclay, two from the four divisions of CEA, and two research units of the IRSN. The University of Paris-Saclay, the CEAare each co-responsibles of the doctoral school.

PHENIICS covers a vast panorama of research subjects, from the most fundamental to applied sciences. Specifically, the major themes of PHENIICS are:

  • Astroparticle science and cosmology
  • Accelerator physics
  • Nuclear physics
  • Particle physics
  • Physics for medical Imaging
  • Physics for Instrumentation
  • Physics and chemistry for Health
  • Astroparticle Science and Cosmology
  • Sciences for Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Radioprotection and Radiochemistry
  • Nuclear Energy Sciences
  • Materials Science

Rooted in the world-renowned expertise of the Paris-Saclay institutes, the doctoral school proposes courses, seminars, and exchanges around these thematics. This diverse scientific spectrum within the same academic program encourages interactions among students and researchers with different specialities but shared fudamental interests. The comprehensive academic offering from the internationally renowned institutes of Paris-Saclay is unique, and attracts the top students from around the world.

About PHENIICS

The PHENIICS doctoral school encompasses all the grand laboratories of subatomic physics (IPN, Irfu, LAL, and LLR) of which the respective research programs are highly complementary including theory, experiment, cosmology, instrumentation, imaging, radiochemistry, radioprotection, nuclear fuel cycles, and accelerator physics.  The identity of the doctoral school is rooted in these subjects centered around the theme of subatomic physics and cojointly explored by the University, CEA-Saclay.

A general overview presentation of PHENIICS may be found below

Become a PhD student

To learn more about how to do your PhD at PHENIICS, and what it means to be a University Paris-Saclay doctoral student, follow the links below:

Why and how to become a doctoral student?

PHENIICS Laboratories

The laboratories affiliated with the PHENIICS program are:

University of Paris-Saclay:

CEA:  

IRSN:

Contacts


Didier Franck (IRSN) : didier.franck.at.irsn.fr
Guillaume Mention (CEA/DRF/Irfu): Guillaume.Mention.at.cea.fr
Patrice Hello (IJCLab): hello.at.lal.in2p3.fr
David Verney (IJCLab): verney.at.ipno.in2p3.fr

PHENIICS Secretary

Ms Balsama DATTRINO : ed_pheniics@universite-paris-saclay.fr
Tél. : 01 81 87 50 54

PhD-Student Representatives

It is important for PhD students themselves to be involved in running the Doctoral school PHENIICS. PHD student representatives are part of the PHENIICS Council. Then, they may report to the doctoral school PHENIICS’s senior faculty members any requirements related to the organization of PhD supervision, concerns about their material conditions (e.g. offices, funding), etc. They act also as observers during the candidate interviews of the Doctoral School Competition.

The Election of the representatives are currently open: students may vote electronically from the 16th of the 23rd February at 1pm.

You may read each candidate's manifesto below:

Emile CANTACUZENE: 2nd year PhD student – laboratory: IJC Lab

Tristan DARET: 2nd year PhD student – laboratory: CEA/Irfu/DPhP

Périne MIRIOT-JAUBERT:2nd year PhD student – laboratory: CEA/Irfu/DPhN

Sophie MORARD: 2nd year PhD student – laboratory: IJC Lab

Brigitte PERTILLE RITTER: 1st year PhD student – laboratory: IJC Lab

The ED Council

The PHENIICS council brings together the principal actors from the various ED laboratories, as well as local business leaders, other doctoral school and student representatives. 

The council meets at least 3 times a year and discuss about the strategy of the doctoral school.

The council members may be found in the document below.

2022-2023 :

  • Conseil du 14 mars 2023

 

PHENIICS Events

There are two important yearly events for the PHENIICS community. 

They are:

  • The meeting for new entrants is mandatory for all 1st year PhD students, it will take place on Wednesday, November 8th 2023 at 10.00 a.m at the auditorium Pierre Lehmann (building 200).
  • The annual PHENIICS Fest, a conference organized by PHENIICS students for PHENIICS students. Everyone is invited to attend and contribute through posters and talks. This year's event will be held the 11th and 12th May  2023, at the Laboratory of the physics of the two infinities Irène Joliot-Curie. The website for this year's event may be found here (The PHENIICS Fest 2023 website will be update soon).

PHENIICS ED Award

The doctoral school gives a thesis award to a maximum of 10% of graduating students each year. Each laureate receives a prize of 1000 euros.

The winners are decided by the ED council during their March meeting.

The prizes are awarded during the annual ED conference, normally held in April or May.

The thesis must have been defended during the previous year.

For 2021, the prizes will be awarded in 2022.

Thesis prize winner PHENIICS 2023 (by alphabetical order) :

  • HUSSEIN Shaymaa (IJC Lab) for her thesis entitled : "Search for gamma-ray bursts with SVOM/MXT space telescope : development and characterization of the onboard scientific software "
  • LEHURAUX Marion (CEA- DEDIP/Irfu) for her thesis entitled : "Development of new Time Projection Chambers for societal and academic applications"
  • ORTIZ CATALAN Ramon  (SRC) for his thesis entitled : "Dosimetric studies for proton minibeam radiation therapy"
  • MERCIER Florian (IJC Lab) for his thesis entitled : "Global description of nuclear radioactivity and cluster states using relativistic energy density functional approaches "

The award will be done at the end of the PHENIICS FEST.

Laboratories:

 
- Département de Physique des Particules (DPhP)
- Département de Physique Nucléaire (DPhN)
- Département des Accélérateurs, de Cryogénie et de Magnétisme (DACM)
- Direction des activités nucléaires de Saclay (DanS)
- Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS)
- Laboratoire de Physique des 2 infinis Irène Joliot Curie (IJCLab)
- Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l’Univers (Irfu)
- Synchrotron SOLEIL (SOLEIL)
 

Sujets de thèse, admission et concours

Competition 2024

Students wishing to apply for a PhD at PHENIICS may participate to the competition. Details about this competition and the application process may be found below. 

The application process is open until May 10, 2024. We suggest that you prepare your application well before the May 10 deadline. Indeed, the thesis supervisor must give their written and detailed opinion on your application before this same date, in order for your application to be validated.

Once the candidate's application has been approved by the thesis supervisor, the doctoral school then carries out interview for the candidates selected. The interview will take place on May 29, 30 and 31, 2024.  The results of the competition will be announced on June 4, 2024.  

There are two main steps to gor through to upload your application: https://www.adum.fr/script/candidature/index.pl?site=PSaclay

1. Find a thesis project and a thesis supervisor, then contact them to get his approval. You will find the thesis subjects for PHENIICS by clicking on the link below :

PHENIICS THESIS SUBJECTS 2024

Please note that each candidate can only apply to one subject.

2. Create an account on ADUM to upload your application:

Please make sure to include the following documents, in a single pdf document uploaded to ADUM. You can use an online tool such as "combinepdf" to do so.

  • Sections of ADUM filled
  • Application form, dated and signed
  • Transcripts in your possession when submitting your application: the transcripts of the Licence/Bachelor degree (or equivalent) and the transcripts of the Master's degree (M1, M2) (or equivalent)
  • Copy of diplomas obtained
  • If applicable, description of an international thesis co-supervision project
  • Submission of recommendation letter by referrer

An application is considered complete if it meets the following requirements:

  • The submission of the application via ADUM by the candidate is complete
  • At least one favorable opinion of the thesis supervisor has been formulated from the ADUM interface. It is preferable that a free comment of a few lines at most is filed in order to detail the opinion).
  • At least one contact (by phone or in person) took place between the candidate and the supervisor. This point is important.

Please note that the submission of a complete application can be made up to the deadline (even if it is late and is only submitted a few days before May 10)

The terms of application are summarized in this document:

The terms of the interview are ummarized in this document:

Once admitted to the doctoral school, you will have to follow the registration process at the start of the autumn term: administrative and pedagogical registrations.

About the Competition

The provisonal calendar is as follows:
  • May 26, 2024: Deadline for submitting thesis subject on ADUM.
  • May 10, 2024: The application period closes.
  • May 29, 30 and 31, 2024 : Interviews with the selected candidates are conducted by the doctoral school 
  • June 4, 2024 : provisional results of the competition

The principal evaluation critera is the preparedness of the candidate with respect to the thesis subject and the research group. 

The goal of the interview process is to complete and clarify the information provided in the written application. Interview questions may include but are not limited to the subject of the thesis, the research plan, the academic background, or any information that may allow the doctoral school to understand the motivation and professional goals of the candidate.

The jury is composed of members of the PHENIICS administration and members of the ED council to obtain a diverse scientific body.

Propose a Thesis

The University of Paris-Saclay is part of the ADUM network which unites more than 100 doctoral schools in France.

  • Are you a thesis director or co-director in a Paris-Saclay doctoral school? 
  • Would you like to update your profile?
  • Would you like to propose a thesis subject?

Log in ADUM: Le Réseau ADUM

If you cannot connect, verify with the director of your doctoral school that you are registered in the database. Once in the database, you can only propose a thesis topic if your doctoral school regroups thesis subjects with ADUM.

Contact adum_collegedoctoral@universite-paris-saclay.fr for more information.

Entry in thesis without competition :

All candidates must meet all the conditions below and be admitted to PHENIICS to enroll in the doctoral program. This recruitment procedure is compulsory and consists in verifying that all scientific and financial conditions are met so that ED PHENIICS can guarantee the proper development of the doctoral project.

The steps are identical to the school competition (see above).

- Submit your application on ADUM and finalize the procedure,

- Depending on the host laboratory, the candidate will have to go through a recruitment committee, the results of which will have to be communicated to the secretary of the doctoral school PHENIICS, according to the report template available here. In this case, the referent of the doctoral school PHENIICS must be informed in advance that an audition will take place so that he can participate in the jury or that they appoint someone who guarantees that the criteria of the doctoral school are met.

Finance a Thesis

A doctoral thesis may be financed by multiple means. In fact, more than half of the PHENIICS doctoral students are financed by contracts other than those provided through the ED competition. 

Below is a schematic listing of possible financing options. It is the responsibility of the research group proposing the thesis to anticipate any external funding demands.

It is recommended to consider financing options ideally as early as one year from the starting date of the thesis. The list below is indicative of the types of possible funding sources, but the ED cannot guarantee that these sources are available each year. 

Potential funding sources include:

  • The doctoral school (early and normal competitions)
  • CFR (CEA)
  • CNRS/IN2P3
  • ANR  / ERC
  • CSC (Chinese Scholarship Council)
  • Labex (P2IO principalement)
  • IDEX Paris-Saclay
  • Ile de France: DIM (ACAV, ...) et Hors-DIM
  • Laboratory funding (CNRS) / CTBU (CEA)
  • Cifre--Joint industry research 
  • Institutes and foundations: CNES, CFM, DGA
  • Bilateral agreements with France
  • Contracts for handicapped students
  • AMN et AMX

Link to more funding options

Inscription et réinscription

Registration

Registration for the 2023-2024 academic year was opened.  The registration procedure is described below.

To register, first please connect to your account through:

The ADUM Registration Page

Registration for a thesis is annual, it is renewed at the start of each academic year.

The first step, pedagogical registration with the PHENIICS doctoral school. The second step, administrative registration with the  "service de la scolarité doctorat" of the University Paris-Saclay.

The registration procedures at the PHENIICS Doctoral School

  • Pedagogical registration takes place with the Doctoral School
  • Administrative registration takes place with the "service de la scolarité du doctorat " of the University Paris-Saclay

 Summary of the admission procedure :

  • Submission of a subject by the thesis director with an HDR and attached to the doctoral school PHENIICS
  • Validation and posting of the subject on ADUM by doctoral school PHENIICS
  • Application and file submission by the candidate on ADUM
  • Examination of the application file and interview of the candidate by the director of the doctoral school
  • Admission of the candidate by the doctoral school is described on "Competitions and thesis subjects".
  • Pedagogical registration with the doctoral school
  • Administrative registration with the "service de la scolarité du doctorat" of the University Paris-Saclay

For more details, see the admission and qualification section on the University Paris-Saclay website or refer to the internal regulations of PHENIICS : 

If necessary, you can refer to the description of the procedures common to Paris-Saclay.

 Educationnal registration

 The whole procedure is dematerialized.

Your registration to the PHENIICS doctoral school is done exclusively online and in two steps for all years of the thesis.

Doctoral students in the 1st year of their thesis

 You are eligible for the PHENIICS doctoral school. When submitting your application, you have created and used your ADUM account or you do not have it yet, go here.

Interview with the ED PHENIICS referent

All doctoral student must have an interviewed with the ED PHENIICS referent (see PHENIICS referent section).

Welcome day for doctoral students in the 1st year of their thesis 2022-2023 :

First time foreign doctoral students (1st year of thesis)

Obtain a copy of your social security certificate : You must register on etudiant-etranger-amelie

Obtain a copy of the CVEC certificate go here - Your provisional INE number will be entered on the CVEC certificate (to be entered on your registration file).

Re-enrollment in thesis :

Documents to be provided in a single pdf :

  • Annual thesis progress report
  • Your employment contract signed at the start of your thesis
  • CVEC certificate
  • Civil liability insurance certificate
  • Health insurance certificate (Do not provide the vital card, but the up-to-date certificate of rights).

Re-enrollment in the 2nd year of the thesis :

  • Update your ADUM profile.
  • Fill in the training courses taken during year N-1 as well as your articles.
  • Depending on your situation, you must joint documents (see the list below)

Re-enrollment in the 3rd year of the thesis :

Form for the annual thesis progress report

It is a document asked for all years of re-enrollment.

Re-enrollment in 4th year :

To support before December 31 (plan a defense date with a manuscript to present).

You must start preparing for your defense 3 months before the date of the defense according to the deadlines imposed by the University of Paris-Saclay.

If you defend your thesis between September 1 and December 31 of an academic year, you vovered by your registration in the previous year, you don't have to re-register.

Re-registration after December 31

PHENIICS Referent persons

Each student, as a function of their corresponding laboratory, has a specified PHENIICS referent person (member of the ED administration). This referent person handles registration, oversees the thesis progress with respect to the ED requirements, and helps coordinate the thesis defense. The PHENIICS referent persons for each laboratory are listed below:

Referent person Laboratory
Patrice Hello (IJCLab)

IAS

IJCLab
Guillaume Mention (Irfu)  Irfu
Didier Franck (IRSN)


 

Soleil

CEA/LIST

CEA/DEN

CEA/DAM

IRSN

David Verney (IPN)

IJCLab

 

  • If your laboratory is not on this list, please contact the PHENIICS secretary

Joint International Thesis (Cotutelle)

Check out the Paris Saclay page for more information on how to do a joint international thesis (cotutelle)

 

Student Teaching Opportunities

PHENIICS students may participate in teaching experiences during their thesis. More information about these and other non-research activities may be found here.

Coming to France ?

If you are coming to France, have a look to the international support webpage of Paris-Saclay

 

Formation doctorale et suivi
Soutenance
Contact

Directeur

M. VERNEY David
dir_pheniics@universite-paris-saclay.fr
Université Paris-Saclay (UPSaclay)
Laboratoire de Physique des 2 infinis Irène Joliot Curie (IJCLab)
 

Assistante administrative

Mme BOURGE Catherine
ed_pheniics@universite-paris-saclay.fr
Université Paris-Saclay (UPSaclay)
Laboratoire de Physique des 2 infinis Irène Joliot Curie (IJCLab)