Michel Vert, formally at INSA Rouen, founded the laboratory in 1991 and led it as director until he retired in 2007. He remains member of the department as Emeritus CNRS Research Director. His main fields of interest are: – optically active polymers, – multifunctional polyelectrolytes, -polymers of therapeutic interest, – macromolecular drugs and prodrugs, -degradable and bioresorbable polymers, – smart polymeric systems. He authored or co-authored more than 400 major scientific contributions (articles, book chapters, patents, etc…). He contributed to the creation of three companies, two as co-founder. Two stopped after many years of activity. One, MedinCell, is still alive. He is presently member of the IUPAC Sub-Committee for Polymer Terminology. He was awarded a CNRS Silver Medal, a “Jungfleish” Grand Prix of the French Academy of Sciences and a Grand Prix Georges Winter of the European Society for Biomaterials.