Research: the vital balance between targeted innovation and scientific freedom
Interview with Frédéric Grillot, professor at Télécom Paris, Optical Communications research team, January 2026
Many of the greatest scientific revolutions were born out of chance: penicillin, microwave oven, laser, Wi-Fi, transistor…
Supporting fundamental research with no immediate purpose is essential for major scientific breakthroughs to occur.
Frédéric Grillot invites us to find this balance between applied research and fundamental research, open to the unexpected.
French scientific research is based on two inseparable pillars: on the one hand, targeted research, funded by projects to address major societal challenges and remain competitive internationally; on the other hand, fundamental research, which is free and open to the unexpected, often at the origin of the greatest technological revolutions. Frédéric Grillot, a professor and researcher at Télécom Paris, strongly emphasizes the importance of preserving this balance, without which France would risk losing its technological sovereignty and its capacity for innovation.
Interview by Isabelle Mauriac, in French with English subtitles
Video Michel Desnoues, Télécom Paris
Video frame: Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin
