Abstract

Larger telescopes are required by astronomers to see further into the depths of our Universe, in order to understand its origins and the origins of life. A solution is to replace conventional primary mirrors in space-telescopes by membrane reflectors that can be folded and fitted into a spacecraft before launch. Once deployed, the membrane would provide a large reflective surface necessary to obtain images of faraway celestial objects. The shape control of these membranes will be looked at in more details from a structural point of view. EDF Group employs 160,000 people worldwide and is the biggest electricity provider generated from nuclear power stations. With 58 operating reactors in France, maintenance and updates regularly need to be made to ensure safe operation. The second part of the talk will focus on my current activity, working for EDF in the seismic assessment of the buildings of the French nuclear fleet.