 Academic researches in chemistry in Lille started in the early days of the 19th century, with Charles Frédéric Kuhlmann's innovations on sulfuric acid production and researches on using platinum catalysis for industrial production of nitric acid from ammonia (from 1823 to 1833).The faculty of sciences of Lille was however formally established in 1854 only, with a chemist as its first dean (Louis Pasteur).Hence, academic and applied researches in chemistry, catalysis, and later molecular physics, were boosted from the 19th century onwards and further developed in the 20th and 21st centuries, both in fundamental research and applied research thanks to industry applications.