Michèle Virol

Michèle Virol is a University Professor of Modern History at the University of Rouen Normandy, specializing in early modern French history with a focus on military engineering, state formation, and the works of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. She holds a Doctorate from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and has supervised numerous doctoral theses on topics ranging from siege warfare to French colonial architecture.

• Key roles: Member of UNESCO scientific committees for Vauban sites, President of the Scientific Council of the National Vauban Association, and member of academic juries for history aggregations.
• Research interests include 17th-century conflicts, state administration techniques, and the intellectual legacy of Vauban. She has authored/co-authored over 20 books and 50+ articles.
• Recipient of the National Vauban Association Prize (2004) and Knight of the Order of Academic Palms.

Her publications explore Vauban's contributions to fortification, taxation theory, and hydraulic engineering, alongside analyses of siege warfare narratives and early modern demographic policies.