Laure Saint-Raymond, elected as an international member of the National Academy of Sciences

Laure Saint-Raymond, permanent professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES), was elected on May 3 as an international member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States, one of the most prestigious scientific institutions in the world, in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Laure Saint-Raymond’s work focuses mainly on the asymptotic analysis of systems of partial differential equations, in particular those governing the dynamics of gases, plasmas or fluids. In particular, she has made fundamental contributions to Hilbert’s sixth problem on the axiomatization of mechanics at the heart of which lies Boltzmann’s equation.

With François Golse, she has shown that there is a continuous transition between the models of non-equilibrium statistical physics and the equations of fluid mechanics, and more recently, with Thierry Bodineau, Isabelle Gallagher and Sergio Simonella, she has studied the validity of these statistical models based on Newtonian mechanics. She is working in parallel on models in fluid mechanics that describe ocean currents, including the effect of fluid rotation and stratification on wave propagation and boundary layer phenomena.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and – with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine – provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

 

• Watch the video, produced by Philip Yam for the Simons Foundation, which explains the essence of Ludwig Boltzmann’s work and its relation to Hilbert’s challenge, as well as to Laure Saint-Raymond’s work.

 
• Watch the conversation between Nathalie Ayi and Laure Saint-Raymond sharing their views on mathematics in preparation to the 2022 International Congress of Mathematicians, where Laure Saint-Raymond will be a plenary speaker.