For Jacques Lewiner, investing in R&D is not an option for companies. Honorary Professor at ESPCI Paris Tech.

"The man with a thousand patents". This is the nickname of Jacques Lewiner, Honorary Professor at ESPCI Paris Tech, physicist and successful entrepreneur. For this iconoclast who has worked all his life for uninhibited research, investing in R&D is not an option for companies.

Disruptive innovation, a question of survival for companies

 "Wanting to improve a candle will never give you a light bulb".

"To innovate is to survive," Jacques begins, drawing a parallel between business research and the theory of the evolution of species. Before continuing: "You have to differentiate between incremental and disruptive innovation. The former improves an industry, the latter changes it forever. According to the physicist, French companies are still too attached to incremental innovation, which does not lead to major advances. "Wanting to improve a candle will never produce a light bulb. You have to change your perspective. The Americans and Israelis have understood this much better than we have for the moment.

"The most successful companies do not sanction failure.

To be disruptive, you have to take risks. How do you do that? By accepting the element of failure inherent in any attempt at discovery. "The companies that are most successful in R&D are those that do not sanction failure. For Jacques, cultures must also be mixed within R&D departments. "Human sciences, physics, chemistry... the greatest inventions are born from the confrontation of several disciplines. On the question of timing, Jacques warns of the dangers of an often short-termist vision of companies, which favour shareholder strategies that are not very coherent and give primacy to cost reduction, to the detriment of research budgets. Finally, patents. "For every 10 research projects, particularly in the pharmaceutical world, less than one ends up with an invention, which is then transformed into a commercial success. The risks taken by companies are enormous, and it is therefore perfectly legitimate for them to protect themselves on the global market by patenting their innovations.

Bringing business into universities

Jacques regrets that the public/private relationship is far too sporadic in France. He takes as an example the indicator of economic activity creation from university incubators. "Even for highly reputable establishments, the cumulative turnover over 10 years of start-ups created by these establishments is typically in the order of a hundred million euros. A ESPCI Paris TechWe are at more than 1.4 billion, but this is still ridiculous, especially compared to American universities, which do not have a better level of teaching and research than us.

"As if research could not be compromised with the economy

According to Jacques, the cause is theintelligentsia French and its outdated vision of research. "As a young researcher, I was looked at like a Martian because I preferred to exhibit my inventions at the electronic components fair rather than at the physics fair. As if research was something so sacred that it could not be compromised with the economic sphere. He also points to an obsolete regulation that for a very long time did not even allow a researcher to join boards of directors. Although things have changed since 2000, both legally and in terms of mentality, our professor knows that there is still a long way to go. "When I talk to my graduating students in the United States, it is not unusual to hear them say that they are reluctant to work in such and such a company. start-up from their American thesis supervisor. When we have such responses from French students, we can say that we have succeeded in changing mentalities. Furthermore, Jacques recommends that in addition to the research contracts traditionally awarded by industrialists to research centres, bridges should be created through partnerships between companies and universities, which are more likely to generate breakthrough innovations by mixing cultures.

Research, the pillar of the cosmetics industry

"A real societal sense: making people happier and better in their bodies

On the main challenges of tomorrow's cosmetics, the physicist is talkative. "The stakes of cosmetics are considerable. It is a key sector, at the crossroads of disciplines such as biology, chemistry and physics, and its vocation carries a real societal meaning: to make people happier and better in their bodies. Among the main challenges, Jacques gives some examples. Improved sunscreens now provide better protection against UV rays. Hair regrowth in men is also a major priority, with the development of stem cells in the hair follicle. The appearance of sol-gel technology in the L'Oréal care allows a skeleton to be recreated inside weakened hair. On this last point, the researcher recognises a real disruptive innovation.

"There is no innovation without disruption".

But according to Jacques, innovation in the field of cosmetics should be based on two components. On the one hand, research within the companies concerned must be conducted with a long-term perspective, avoiding an overemphasis on short-term research. On the other hand, it will be beneficial to rely on start-ups, which will increasingly drive innovation. Connected objects are a good example: "Today, start-ups like Withings offer products for connected health. These concepts of connected objects will probably be transposable tomorrow to the world of cosmetics".

Jacques gives a final example of an innovation that originated in academic research, initially implemented in a start-up company that encapsulates active ingredients inside a small envelope that disappears when the cosmetic product is applied to the skin. The world leader in this field, the company CAPSUMThe company uses one of the physicist's quotes as its slogan: "There is no innovation without disruption". "The president of the company and co-founder of CAPSUM is an alumnus of ESPCI Paris Tech. This is the best gift he could give me. It just goes to show that the links between the public and private sectors are always there, one way or another..."

 

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.monthly-digest-loreal.com