10 September 2020

Françoise Combes Awarded CNRS 2020 Gold Medal

Richard Fienberg

Richard Fienberg American Astronomical Society

This post is adapted from a CNRS press release (PDF):

Francoise CombesThis year the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Gold Medal, one of France’s most prestigious scientific distinctions, has been awarded to astrophysicist Françoise Combes, who was elected as an honorary member of the AAS in 2017. As a specialist in the dynamics of galaxies, she has uncovered a wide range of phenomena that explain their formation and evolution. Now a professor at the Collège de France, she continues to carry out research at the Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (LERMA: Observatoire de Paris–PSL/CNRS/Sorbonne Université/Université de Cergy-Pontoise).

Françoise Combes’s research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxies, their dynamics and structure, and the interactions between them, using both direct observations and numerical simulations. Her work has enabled us to understand the relationship between the shapes of galaxies and their histories, and thus comprehend the various stages in the growth of galaxies throughout the history of the universe. She has also shown that the supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies cause star formation to slow down within them.

According to Antoine Petit, Chairman and CEO of the CNRS, “Françoise Combes is an undisputed world scientific authority in extragalactic physics, as evidenced by her numerous international awards. Her influence extends beyond her own disciplinary field to the entire domain of astronomy. She has had an exceptional and remarkably influential scientific career that the CNRS wishes to honor by awarding her its Gold Medal for 2020.”

Born on 12 August 1952 in Montpellier, Françoise Combes studied at the École Normale Supérieure (ENS). She held an advanced teaching diploma (Agrégation) in physical sciences before obtaining a PhD in astrophysics in 1980. She then joined the Paris Observatory in 1989, having previously taught and held the position of deputy director of the physics laboratory at the ENS (CNRS/ENS Paris/Sorbonne University/University of Paris). Combes was appointed Professor at the Collège de France in 2014 and continues to carry out research at LERMA. She also plays an extremely active role in her field: she was President of the French Astronomical and Astrophysical Society from 2002 to 2004, has been editor of the European journal Astronomy & Astrophysics since 2003, and chaired the French Committee of International Scientific Unions from 2009 to 2015.

Enthusiastic and always approachable, Françoise Combes has taught several generations of students who have gone on to have highly successful careers, and she also plays an important role in disseminating scientific culture to the general public through her writings and her appearances in the media.

The CNRS Gold Medal is one of France’s most prestigious scientific prizes. Each year since its creation in 1954, it rewards the careers of one or more scientific personalities who have made an exceptional contribution to the vitality and reputation of French research.

For more information about Françoise Combes, see the article on the CNRS website.