IBM renews its support to IHES

IBM has been supporting IHES since its creation in 1958. Both organizations have maintained strong and consistent ties ever since.

In the 1980s, IBM provided IHES with its first computer. In the picture below, one can see Oscar Lanford III, Permanent Professor of Physics at IHES from 1982 to 1989, testing the new working tool. He is surrounded by Louis Michel, Permanent Professor of Physics at IHES from 1962 to 1992, Henri Epstein, CNRS Researcher Emeritus at IHES, and Marcel Berger, Director of the Institute from 1985 to 1994. In 2021, IBM contributed to the success of the “Women in Fundamental Research” Gala organized by Friends of IHES in the United States by offering participants an exclusive visit to ProMare’s and IBM’s AI-controlled research vessel, the “Mayflower Autonomous Ship”.

IBM supports IHES because innovation has always been part of the company’s DNA, and because IBM believes in the importance of free and disinterested research at IHES; because mathematics provides the necessary tools to understand the fundamental concepts of quantum computing, giving it solid theoretical foundations; and because of the company’s goal to skill 30 million people globally on topics in science and technology by 2030.

Emmanuel Ullmo, Director of IHES, is delighted by IBM’s support: “IHES greatly values the reliable support from major companies like IBM. In addition to the essential financial backing, IBM’s patronage fosters dialogue among scientists in diverse research areas and, more broadly, strengthens the connections between academia and industry.”

Béatrice Kosowski, President of IBM France and a member of the Strategic Orientation Committee of Université Paris-Saclay, adds: “Basic research, which demands ample time and true freedom for scientists to be creative, discover, and innovate, is crucial for IBM. We take pride in supporting IHES, a founding member of Université Paris-Saclay and a unique institution in the landscape of fundamental research in mathematics and theoretical physics.“