Pierre Pansu

Pierre Pansu is a Professor at the Laboratory of Mathematics, Orsay (LMO - Univ. Paris-Saclay, CNRS) and serves as Director of the Mathematics Graduate School at Université Paris-Saclay. He has held numerous leadership positions in mathematical institutions across France, including Director of the Laboratory of Mathematics at Orsay since 1998, management of the Doctoral School of Mathematics for the Paris-Sud region since 2005, and Vice Presidency of the French Mathematical Society since 2011.

His educational background includes studies at the École normale supérieure in Paris, completion of his PhD at Université Paris Diderot in 1982 under Marcel Berger, and passing his Habilitation à diriger des recherches in 1987. He joined CNRS in 1983 and became a professor at Université Paris-Sud (now Université Paris-Saclay) in 1990.

Pansu specializes in differential geometry, hyperbolic spaces, and the geometric theory of groups. His groundbreaking work includes developing an isoperimetric theorem in 1999 that explains why certain crystalline materials naturally form flat-faced polyhedra. He has established important connections between geometry and theoretical computer science, identifying geometric properties of computer models to understand algorithm limitations and develop new approaches. His research bridges pure mathematics with applications in physics and computer science.

As Director of the Mathematics Graduate School since 2020, which comprises twelve laboratories and approximately 700 researchers, Pansu focuses on maintaining excellence in mathematics education, facilitating PhD student integration, improving international student reception, attracting diverse talent (particularly more women), and strengthening mentoring systems. He previously managed mathematics courses at the École normale supérieure in Paris since 2009, where he promoted mentoring to help students identify suitable career paths.

Pansu is deeply committed to mathematics dissemination, serving as Vice President of the French Mathematical Society responsible for public initiatives. He travels throughout France to lead regional representatives and collaborate with associations like the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Public Education (APMEP), recognizing the vital work of mathematics educators in classrooms.