The overarching goal of REALISTIC is to develop a Centre of Excellence in aerosol remote sensing technology and science in the Indian Ocean, through the creation of a Chair, with La Réunion, a European Outermost region, as a strategic pivot point of the European Research Area.

REALISTIC aims at attracting and maintaining a high-profile researcher (ERA Chair holder, Michaël Sicard) to lead a high profile supporting team with excellent research and technical capabilities in the aerosol remote sensing domain. In particular, specific applications and research endeavours will be conducted in the area of quantifying the impact of wildfire and volcanic emissions on the tropical atmosphere composition and on the Earth-Atmosphere radiative balance. REALISTIC is designed to catalyse and maximise the impact of the ERA Chair in order to raise the research, technical and innovation excellence of the Laboratory of Atmosphere and Cyclones (LACy), the Observatory of Atmospheric Physics of La Réunion (OPAR), the Observatory of the Universe Sciences of La Réunion (OSU-R), and the University of La Réunion (UR) to a level that makes them unique and essential references in the local R&I ecosystem, at the Indian Ocean-level as well as to the overall international community, and thus filling the R&I gap on atmospheric systems. REALISTIC will contribute to better integrate UR within the European Research Area, and better align with European standards and priorities.