Every two years, the Société mathématique de France awards the d'Alembert prize (for popularizing mathematics) and the Jacqueline-Ferrand prize (for an achievement related to teaching).

This year, the d'Alembert prize was awarded jointly to two recipients. One of them is the exhibition “Ça résonne” designed by the Maison des mathématiques et de l'informatique de Lyon. Visitors are offered hands-on activities to help them grasp the science behind sound. The exhibition can be seen until June 2027 at the MMI (mmi.universite-lyon.fr). The second recipient is the company L'île logique (ilelogique.fr) for its body of work as a whole. It puts on burlesque shows starring mathematical clowns, on the grounds that humour and absurdity are a way in to exploring the limits of logic and sharpening critical thinking (“The more nonsense you make, the less nonsensically you need to make it”). After the publication of his latest novel Je ne sais pas ou la disparition des mathématiciens (POLE, 2025), Cédric Aubouy, its founder, has set off with L'île logique on a new project: Urgence ralentir. The Jacqueline-Ferrand prize was awarded to the ResCo scheme (collaborative problem-solving) of the Institut de recherche pour l'enseignement des sciences (IRES) in Montpellier. The aim? To get students (from sixth grade to the final year of high school) working collaboratively via an exchange platform used by several classes. The point of the research is to solve the same “realistic fiction” problem given to every class at the same time. The solving process runs over five weeks, with one session a week. The problem is a realistic situation that calls for making the best decision in light of stated objectives. Students are then led, at first, to think about the mathematical model to use (which will, of course, depend on the students' level) and so to ask themselves what kind of data they need (ires-fds.edu.umontpellier.fr).