Tangente: A few months ago, you were elected president of the SMF. Tangente readers would probably like to get to know you better. Could you briefly introduce yourself?**
Fabien Durand: I have been a lecturer and researcher at the Université de Picardie Jules-Verne since 1998. Before that, I earned my doctorate in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) in 1996. My research focuses on dynamical systems of a combinatorial nature—or, more simply, on infinite sequences of 0s and 1s whose dynamical, ergodic and geometric properties we seek to understand…
Have you been interested in mathematics for a long time?
Yes, although when I was younger, I wanted to become a sports teacher! Discovering university life in Reims (Marne), and the freedom it offered me to study, allowed me to flourish in mathematics. I followed a strictly university-based path, without attending classes préparatoires (post-secondary preparatory classes), the ENS or the École polytechnique, unlike many of my predecessors and colleagues. I have been reading Tangente since issue 2, published in December 1987 (when it cost 25 francs). I have since tracked down issue 1. That may explain my enthusiasm for bringing mathematics to the general public. I have been giving popular mathematics talks for fifteen years, mainly in middle and high schools, at a rate of about fifteen a year. I have also helped supervise several MATh.en.JEANS workshops in the Amiens education district.
Have you set yourself any particular goals or priorities for your term?
