The signing of this basic agreement is part of the reinforced strategic partnership established between the French and Australian governments.
With the purpose of creating a collaborative plan for science and technology, the agreement involves the new French research universities such as Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)and the main Australian research universities.
« /Higher education and research are at the heart of the new strategic partnership; the agreement between the ANU and PSL illustrates the role that first rate universities should play in an increasingly world wide system/», declared Professor Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of the ANU and a Physics Nobel Prize winner.
Astronomy, a fertile terrain for cooperation
During a three day visit to the ANU, astronomy was quoted as an example where the franco-ausrtalian scientific collaboration is current and fruitful.
And in particular, exoplanet research and the search for the origin of life are a particulrly fruitful terrain for cooperation, emphasized Claude Catala, President of the Paris Observagtory, founding member of the PSL and Matthew Colless, director of the Research School in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) of the ANU.
Not less than 100 scientific articles signed by the Paris Observatory and the RSAA published during the last three years have been noted, thanks to a detailed bibliometric study carried out by Daniel Egret,emeritus astronomer at the Paris Observator and responsible for the reference and evaluation mission for the PSL.
« /The ANU and the PSL are already working on a range of collaborative activities, and notable on advanced technology instrument for space exploration; this collaborative plan is reinforced still farther by our increasing links with industry, as for example with our collaboration with Airbus on the use of satellite imagery and the technology of
instruments/» reiterated Thierry Coulhon, President of the PSL.
Numerous start-ups related to this framework agreement concern astrophysics, and in particular the subject of galactic archeology, the search for exoplanets, the origins of life, and high angular resolution astronomy. .
