Olivier Thomas is presently Full Professor of Physics at Aix-Marseille Université. He graduated from Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG) in 1979 and defended a PhD in condensed matter physics at INPG in 1986. During his career he has spent two years as a postdoc in IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (NY), 4 years in INPG (Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble) as an assistant professor and one year in Cornell University as a visiting professor. His research focuses on mechanical properties in small dimensions using mostly synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Thomas has been Deputy Director of IM2NP for 8 years. He created and directed the CNRS International Research Network MECANO (Mechanics of Nano-objects) and the Mechanics of Nano-Objects research group in IM2NP. He has been a PI for several large French and European research projects. Thomas is a member of various scientific committees and has organized many international conferences and workshops. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 publications in international scientific journals and given more than 100 invited conferences and seminars.
