CERMA was born in 2008, from the evolution of the center previously called CERSIM (Research Center in Science and Engineering of Macromolecules) which has maintained a tradition of excellence in the field of synthetic and natural polymers since 1986. The center has seen gradually its research themes broaden towards increasingly diverse materials. This trend continues today so that CERMA covers a wide range of materials: from biological molecules to synthetic molecules including materials in the solid or viscoelastic state, nanomaterials and hybrid materials. The targeted applications range from energy to health, including the wood industry, electro-optics and photonics or the environment.

CERMA inherits and perpetuates a long tradition of collaboration and sharing, in particular its impressive instrumental fleet, and which has relied, for 34 years, on the excellence of its members. Since its beginnings, CERMA has also been able to count on governance operating in complete collegiality. It appears today as a mature center which has been able to renew its teaching staff and adapt its scientific programming to the needs of changing society.

In addition to access to cutting-edge equipment and the expertise of each research group, students have the opportunity to present their work during the annual conference in the form of oral communications or scientific posters and presentations. attend conferences given by recognized researchers in their field. The annual conference is organized by the Student Committee. This is an important player which also allows students to participate in a “technical” day during which members present instruments or techniques, thus opening up the members’ perspectives. In 2020 the Student Committee developed activities intended to develop related skills such as a popular article competition or a short video competition on members’ research projects.

CERMA is recognized for collaborating with companies in their R&D work. In addition to providing access to its instrumental fleet, CERMA makes the expertise of its members available to Quebec SMEs. They are also very active and in the majority of cases have partnerships with companies for collaborative work. CERMA thus contributes to the development and economic vitality of the region and the resilience of its innovation ecosystem. This mandate was recently reinforced by a grant from the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation aimed at supporting strategic technological platforms.

In this context, CERMA collaborates closely with Prima Québec, the research and innovation center for advanced materials. This partnership gave rise to several exchanges and the organization of a networking activity entitled “good reference point”. As CERMA has strategic orientations that integrate sustainable development, it also collaborates with the Interdisciplinary Research Center in Operationalization of Sustainable Development (CIRODD) in the context of activities linked to sustainable innovation.