Ludovic Berthier

Ludovic Berthier is a Research Director in statistical physics at the Charles Coulomb Laboratory (joint unit of CNRS and University of Montpellier) and an Associate Researcher at the University of Cambridge since 2019. With over 200 publications, he received the CNRS Silver Medal in March 2025 for 25 years of research on disordered systems. He previously held teaching positions at ENS de Lyon and will transition to ENS de Paris in the upcoming academic year.

His research centers on statistical physics of disordered and out-of-equilibrium systems. He pioneered studies on glassy materials (e.g., window glass, emulsions) where particles remain disordered like a pile of oranges, exhibiting aging phenomena that prevent equilibrium. His work expanded to granular materials (e.g., sand grains) and biological tissues, investigating collective dynamics, mechanical properties under deformation, and self-organization during healing processes. Key innovations include the Monte Carlo swap algorithm for simulating ultra-long timescales in disordered systems.

Berthier's scientific accolades include:

• CNRS Silver Medal (2025)
• CNRS Bronze Medal (circa 2010)
• Prix Saint Gobain Jeunes Chercheurs (thesis)
• Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship (Oxford postdoc)
• ERC Grant (2012)

He secured significant funding including an ERC grant in 2012 and 8-year Simons Foundation support for the "Cracking the glass problem" international collaboration. Despite challenges in France's competitive funding landscape—where he notes competing against Nobel laureates and well-resourced Max Planck Institutes—he maintains strong international ties with the University of Chicago (granular materials) and University of Cambridge. Current projects focus on biological tissue dynamics, extending his work further from equilibrium.

Berthier operates within the Charles Coulomb Laboratory ecosystem in Montpellier while leveraging Cambridge's research density. He leads the "Cracking the glass problem" collaboration and is preparing a new ERC proposal on collective biological dynamics, building on collaborations with Nobel laureate Giorgio Parisi.