Gérard Berry (born December 25, 1948) is a distinguished French computer scientist currently serving as Professor at the Collège de France, holding the permanent chair Algorithmes, machines et langages (Algorithms, Machines, and Languages) since 2012. He previously held the Informatique et sciences numériques chair (2009-2010) and the Technological Innovation Liliane Bettencourt chair (2007-2008) at the same institution. Before joining Collège de France full-time, he served as Director of Research at INRIA Sophia Antipolis (2009-2012) and at École des Mines de Paris (1977-2001). His research spans over 30 years in three main fields: lambda calculus and functional programming, parallel and real-time programming languages, and design automation for synchronous digital circuits. He is particularly renowned for developing the Esterel programming language. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical industrial applications. Berry's research has evolved to include current work in Hop and HipHop for Web programming, formal verification of compilers, and languages for computer music. His publications demonstrate consistent contributions to programming language theory, formal methods, and their applications in hardware and software systems. Gold Medal of CNRS (2014) Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur (2012) Member of French Academy of Sciences (2002) Member of Academia Europaea (1993) Monpetit Prize of Académie des sciences (1990) Berry has advised 17 PhD students and reviewed numerous theses. His industrial experience includes serving as Chief Scientist Officer of Esterel Technologies (2000-2009), where he directed the implementation of the Esterel v7 compiler. He has also held significant leadership roles including President of the Scientific Council of IRCAM and membership on the Scientific Council of the National Education. His teaching at Collège de France has covered topics ranging from the foundations of computation to the societal impact of digital technology, with courses including The Informatics of Time and Events and Proving Programs: Why? When? How? His laboratory work has focused on developing practical applications of theoretical computer science concepts.









