Thanks to an exceptional donation to the Friends of IHES Endowment Fund made by Claire-Lise and Philippe Tondeur, and matched by Marilyn and Jim Simons through the Simons Foundation International, IHES is proud to announce the creation of a Permanent Professor’s Chair carrying the name of Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, who was the Director of the Institute from 1994 to 2013 and who is now Nicolaas Kuiper Honorary Professor at IHES.

Following the scientific conference organised on January 26^th by Dustin Clausen, permanent professor at IHES and first holder of the Jean-Pierre Bourguignon Chair, along with Emmanuel Ullmo, Director of IHES, the Institute will hold an inaugural ceremony at the Marilyn and James Simons Conference Center on February 1st at 5:30 p.m to honor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, Claire-Lise and Philippe Tondeur on one hand and Marilyn and Jim Simons on the other hand.

The program of the Inaugural Ceremony is the following:

5.30 pm          Welcoming speech by Marwan Lahoud, President of the IHES Board of Directors
5.45 pm          Speech by Claire-Lise & Philippe Tondeur and Marilyn & Jim Simons, major donors
6.00 pm          Speech by Jean-Pierre Bourguignon
6.20 pm          A word by Emmanuel Ullmo
6.30 pm          A word by Dustin Clausen
6.40 pm          Cocktail

We are particularly pleased to have the donors join us online from the United States. In their speech, they will reflect on their longstanding relationship with Jean-Pierre Bourguignon and IHES.

To attend the ceremony online, click here (code: 160668).

The year 2023 marks the centenary of the birth of René Thom, a permanent professor at IHES from 1963 to 1990. On this occasion, IHES organizes a three-day conference on September 20, 21, and 22, 2023.

Several presentations will be given by lecturers during this three-day:

• Norbert A’Campo, Univ. De Bâle
• Daniel Bennequin, Institut Mathématique de Jussieu (IMJ-PRG)
• Alain Chenciner, IMCCE/Observatoire de Paris
• Antoine Danchin, Institut Pasteur
• Ivar Ekeland, Université Paris-Dauphine
• Sara Franceschelli, ENS Lyon
• Emmanuel Giroux, CNRS et ENS
  
• Mikhail Gromov, IHES
• Krzysztof Kurdyka, Université Savoie Mont Blanc
• Cherif Matta, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Canada
• Jean Petitot, EHESS
• Oscar Randal-Williams, Université de Cambridge
• Ana Rechtman, Université Grenoble-Alpes
• Dennis Sullivan, City University of New York, Graduate Center                     
• Bernard Teissier, IMJ-PRG
• Wolfgang Wildgen, Université de Brême

Scientific Committee: Marie-Claude Arnaud, IMJ-PRG, Marc Chaperon, IMJ-PRG, coordinateur, Antoine Danchin, Institut Pasteur, Yakov Eliashberg, Stanford University, Maxim Kontsevitch, IHES, Cédric Villani, Université Lyon I & IHES.

Registration and information on the dedicated web page.

A colloquium is also organized on September 19, 2023, at the Académie des Sciences, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. which will explore the intellectual legacy of René Thom (registration).

Presse release – 12 January 2023

Mathematics, a driving force for the reconstruction after the war: creation of the new International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine, with the support of IHES.

On January 12, 2023, the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques (IHES) hosted the first support meeting for the creation of the new International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine (ICMU), in the presence of mathematicians leading the project, representatives of European mathematical institutes and a few leading figures in mathematics philanthropy. The Ukrainian authorities were represented at this meeting by Mykhailo Podolyak, Adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while the French government was represented by Claire Giry, Director General for Research and Innovation at the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Six Fields Medal laureates[1] also participated in this meeting, showing their support and solidarity with the Ukrainian mathematical community.

In a speech welcoming the project, Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak declared: “This is a timely and exciting initiative. I am delighted to see an excellent team of our scientists who are willing to put their international experience into work for the future of Ukraine. Though at this time the major efforts of Ukrainian authorities are concentrated on solving the humanitarian and military problems, we acknowledge the importance of science in raising our economy after the war. It is of vital importance for Ukraine to be a part of the global scientific process.”

On behalf of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Claire Giry declared: “We are very proud that French mathematics supports the creation of the new International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine. I recall our collective desire to build a long-lasting partnership between our two research communities.”

Emmanuel Ullmo, Director of IHES, commented: “IHES is convinced that mathematics and science will be of paramount importance to prepare and build the future of Ukraine. We are proud to support this new International Centre for Mathematics.”

Mission of the International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine

Believing firmly that science and research will have a key role to play in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, a group of mathematicians of Ukrainian origin have joined to create a new Centre for mathematical research, forming its initial Coordination Committee[2]. Building on a strong mathematical tradition in Ukraine, the mission of this Centre is to support high level research in mathematics, with special emphasis on training younger generations of scientists and developing mathematics in Ukraine. Aimed to push the global frontiers of knowledge, the Centre values its international nature, diversity and inclusion. ICMU is supported by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU), a member of Science Europe.

Maryna Viazovska of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, laureate of the Fields Medal in July 2022 and member of the Coordination Committee, declared: “We will follow the models of other established institutions for fundamental research choosing those paths which will have maximal impact in the scientific community at this particular moment in our history.”

Organization of the new Centre

While the location of ICMU will be determined in consultation with the mathematical community, Ukrainian public bodies and partner organisations, and while scientists will be welcome physically in this Centre only once it will be safe to do so, the institution already has an official and legal existence, and will start organizing scientific events in partner institutions worldwide.

The foundation phase for the new Centre is currently led by the Centre’s Coordination Committee and an international Advisory Board[3]consisting of outstanding mathematicians, including three Fields medal laureates. Peter Scholze from the University of Bonn, Director of the Max Planck Institute in Bonn and Fields medal Laureate, member of this Board, declared: “The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics has been and is home to many Ukrainian mathematicians, including Maryna Viazovska as a PhD student, and stands in strong solidarity. I wholly welcome and support the foundation of this new center in Ukraine, which will greatly enhance and revitalize the mathematical community.”

As an independent foundation, the Centre will be governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of the leading figures of its partner organisations and donors, as well as a Scientific Board which will have the prerogative of planning its scientific activities. During the meeting, the Centre’s Coordinating Committee announced that the French mathematician Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, former director of IHES and former president of the European Research Council, had been elected as the first member of the Board of Trustees. In this capacity, he will help the formation of this Board. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon commented: “I am very honoured by the invitation made to me by Ukrainian colleagues to try and contribute to the establishment of a flexible tool focused on helping the Ukrainian mathematical community to be actively engaged in frontline research in close partnership with other institutions in the world with similar goals.”

It was also announced during the meeting that the algorithmic trading company XTX Markets was the founding and principal donor of the International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine. XTX Markets has committed up to €1m in matched funding to establish the Centre, enabling any donations or pledges in 2023 to be matched 100%. Alex Gerko, Founder and co-CEO of XTX Markets, commented: “The International Centre for Mathematics will help Ukrainian researchers to collaborate with the rest of the world and share the country’s outstanding tradition in mathematics. We look forward to the Centre opening its doors soon, in a free and peaceful Ukraine.”

[1] Those participants are: Vladimir Drinfeld, Hugo Duminil-Copin, Peter Scholze, Maryna Viazovska, Cédric Villani, Efim Zelmanov.

[2] The Coordination Committee is composed of: Oleksandra Antoniouk, Dmitri Finkelshtein, Andrey Gogolev, Kostiantyn Iusenko, Andrii Khrabustovskyi, Okleksiy Klurman, Volodymyr Nekrashevych, Pavlo Pylyavskyy, Dmytro Savchuk, Lyudmyla Turowska, Maryna Viazovska, Masha Vlasenko, Iryna Yehorchenko.

[3] The Advisory Board is composed of: Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, Vladimir Drinfeld, Pavel Etingof, Pavel Exner, Rostislav Grigorchuk, Volodymyr Mazorchuk, Adam Skalski, Peter Scholze, Marcelo Viana, Efim Zelmanov.

The last event of IHES 60th Anniversary program took place on November 16. Presided by the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Frédérique Vidal, the ceremony gathered many officials, scientists and supporters, who were there to express their commitment to the Institute.

In his speech, Emmanuel Ullmo honoured the visionary spirit of the founder, Léon Motchane, and the work of previous directors, Nicolaas Kuiper, Marcel Berger and Jean-Pierre Bourguignon. The Director presented his vision for the IHES and officially launched the Institute’s 3rd fundraising campaign. Live from his new-york Foundation, Jim Simons, Board Director of the IHES, reiterated his trust and support for the Institute’s scientific development. Marwan Lahoud, Chairman of the IHES Board of Directors, then thanked the Institute’s partners and expressed his satisfaction at contributing to the new campaign with his wife. Finally, the Minister praised the excellence of the IHES, emphasizing its ability to take risks: “The IHES does not recruit Fields medals,” she recalled, “it incubates them.”

Frédérique Vidal then inaugurated the Alix and Marwan Lahoud building. Launched in 2018, the construction of an annex to the science building had become necessary to handle the increasing activity, and to host in particular post-doctoral fellows. The Institute has chosen to name the new building “Alix and Marwan Lahoud” to express the deep bond between the IHES and its Chairman and to thank the Lahouds for their extraordinary generosity. The visit to this new research facility revealed the Grothendieck statue made by the artist Nina Douglas and donated by the Simons to the IHES.