Professor Étienne Ghys is a renowned mathematician and Emeritus Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He played a pivotal role in the creation and development of the mathematics laboratory at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon) and has been serving as the Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences since 2019.

His research primarily focuses on geometry, topology, and dynamical systems. His work has contributed to a deeper understanding of the topology of the famous Lorenz butterfly, a fundamental object in chaos theory. His contributions extend beyond research—he is a passionate advocate for the dissemination of mathematics, striving to make complex mathematical ideas accessible and engaging for diverse audiences.

A dedicated science communicator, Professor Ghys has spearheaded numerous initiatives to popularize mathematics in France and beyond. His outreach efforts encompass general-audience books, educational films for teachers, audiobooks for visually impaired individuals, websites, public conferences, media appearances, and leadership roles in major national initiatives such as the "Year of Mathematics." In 2009, he founded the online journal "Images des Mathématiques", designed to showcase recent advances in mathematical research as well as its historical, cultural, and sociological dimensions. The platform has garnered over ten million views, significantly enriching public engagement with mathematics.

His unwavering commitment to mathematics has earned him prestigious accolades, including the CNRS Silver Medal (1991), the Clay Award for Dissemination of Mathematical Knowledge (2015), the CNRS Médaille de la Médiation Scientifique (2022), and Commandeur de l'ordre des arts et des lettres (2024), etc.
 

Education

• Ecole Normale Supérieure de Saint-Cloud, France
• Licence, Orsay, France
• Maitrise, Lille, France
• Agrégation, France
• Thèse de troisième cycle, Lille, France
• Habilitation à diriger des recherches, Lille, France

Experience

• Permanent Secretary, French Academy of Sciences (2019-present)
• Directeur de recherche classe exceptionnelle, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UMR 5669 (2008-present)
• Directeur de recherche première classe, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UMR 5669 (1993-2008)
• Directeur de recherche deuxième classe, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UMR 128 and 5669 (1988-1993)
• Chargé de recherche, CNRS, Lille, URA 751 (1983-1988)
• Assistant Professor, CUNY, New York, USA (1982-1983)
• Attaché de recherche, CNRS, Lille, France (1981-1982; 1978-1979)
• VSNA Rio de Janeiro, IMPA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1979-1981)

Awards

• Commandeur de l'ordre des arts et des lettres (2024)
• Officier de l'ordre du mérite (2024)
• Prix Tangente des lycéens (2023)
• Prix du livre scientifique, Paris Saclay (2023)
• Médaille de la médiation scientifique CNRS (2022)
• Chevalier de l'ordre des palmes académiques (2018)
• Clay Award for Dissemination of Mathematical Knowledge (2015)
• Chevalier de la légion d'honneur (2012)
• D'Alembert Prize, SMF (2010)
• Silver Medal, CNRS (1991)
• Servant Prize, Académie des Sciences, Paris (1990)

Five Significant Scholarly Outputs

1. E. Ghys: Actions localement libres du groupe affine. Invent. Math. 82 (1985), no. 3, 479-526
   (S7f :58084). - Flots d'Anosov dont les feuilletages stables sont diffréntiables. Ann. Sci. École Norm. Sup. (4) 20 (1987),no.2,251-270 (89h :58153).
2. E. Ghys: Rigidité différentiable des groupes fuchsiens. Inst. Hautes Études Sci. Publ. Math. No. 78 (1993), 163-185 (1994) (95d :57009).
3. E. Ghys: Topologie des feuilles génériques. Ann. of Math. (2) 141 (1995), no. 2, 387-422
4. E. Ghys: Actions de réseaux sur le cercle, Invent. Math. 137 (1999), no. 1, 199-231
5. E. Ghys: Séminaire Bourbaki, April 2023