Two women newly elected to the mathematics section at the Institut --------------------------------------------------------------
The first, born in 1976, is a professor at the Institut de recherche mathématique avancée in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin). Her research focuses in particular on quantum mechanics, chaos in wave propagation, dynamical systems and harmonic analysis on large graphs. A native of Orléans (Loiret), where her mother, Claire Anantharaman-Delaroche, is also a mathematician, she already has an impressive mathematical record: the Gabrielle Sand Prize (2007) and the Académie des sciences' Grand Prix Jacques Herbrand (2011) in 2007, the Raphaël Salem Prize in 2010, the Henri Poincaré Prize for her entire body of work in mathematical physics in 2012, the CNRS Silver Medal in 2013, and a plenary speaker at the international congress in Rio in 2018…

Nalini Anantharaman.

The second, born in 1967, is a senior researcher at the Laboratoire bordelais de recherche en informatique (Gironde). Her research lies in enumerative combinatorics, particularly the asymptotic properties of large objects, such as systems comprising a great many particles. This research has applications in computer science, typically in studying the efficiency of algorithms. The new academician is also interested in certain phenomena in statistical physics: how water freezes at low temperatures, how a heated metal loses its magnetic properties… This body of research has earned her the recognition of her peers: the CNRS Bronze Medal (1993), followed by its Silver Medal (2014); an honorary doctorate from Linköping University (Sweden) in 2005; an invited speaker at the international congress in Madrid in 2006; and the Académie des sciences' Freycinet Prize in 2009…

Mireille Bousquet-Mélou.

Académie des sciences: women mathematicians out in force! -------------------------------------------------------
In addition to Nalini Anantharaman and Mireille Bousquet-Mélou (see above), two other women mathematicians have also been elected to the Académie des sciences.
Claire Mathieu, born in 1965, will join the mechanical and computer sciences section. A senior researcher at the Institut de recherche en informatique fondamentale (Paris), she is known for her research on approximation algorithms, which make it possible to find optimal solutions to problems that are difficult to solve exactly.
Marie-Paule Cani, also born in 1965, has been elected to the human biology and medical sciences section. A professor at the École polytechnique, she specializes in 3D computer graphics, which uses the mathematical concept of an implicit surface to reduce the computation required for soft objects such as liquids and skin. These approaches are used, for example, in video-game animation.
The eighteen newly elected members will be formally received beneath the dome of the Institut de France on Tuesday, June 2.