Jean-François Henninot was born in France in 1966. He graduated from the university of sciences and technologies of Lille where he received his Ph.D. in 1992 (infrared spectroscopy). In 1993, he became assistant professor at the university of Artois (Lens) where he set up a research group which is studying new optical devices based on liquid crystals. In 1997, he has co-discovered the spatial optical soliton thermally induced in nematic liquid crystals. His current research interests are mainly in the field of nonlinear optics in organic material. He has added a significant contribution in the understanding of the role of the nonlocality to stabilize the spatial solitons. In 2008, he was promoted full professor. He is now working on using the spatial solitons as a spectral probe in nanocolloïds. He is the author of 35 international scientific publications.