Lecture by Jean-Yves Mérindol

Jean-Yves Mérindol
Jean-Yves Mérindol, Director of ENS Cachan from 2009 to 2012, advisor to the President of the Republic F. Hollande, then President of the University Sorbonne Paris-Cité, will give a conference on Wednesday 19 January from 12:30 to 13:30 entitled Sciences and campus: Saclay from 1945 to 2021
Event - Open day

Lecture by Jean-Yves Mérindol

The conference is organised for physics students, and is open to all. It will take place in amphitheatre A1 of building 625 (10-15 minutes walk from the ENS) or in remote mode by following this link.

Summary of the conference

The insufficiency of university premises in the centre of Paris, already denounced at the very beginning of the 20th century, led to extension projects, particularly in the South. In 1952, the CEA moved to the Saclay plateau, followed in 1958 by a first science cycle in Orsay, the embryo of the faculty created in 1965. Schools (Supélec, Polytechnique, SupOptique, etc.), institutes (including the IHÉS), the University of Paris-Sud and research centres (CNRS) followed, without any overall vision.

Although the need for coordination seemed obvious, little progress was made before the 2000s, marked by the political decision (2008) to create a large university in the area, bringing together, if possible, all the research and training institutions already present on the site and attracting new ones (public schools or private research centres). This is the history that we will present, by linking it to the important changes affecting higher education and research from 1950 to the present day.

 

Biography of Jean-Yves Mérindol
Jean-Yves Mérindol is an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de la rue d'Ulm and the universities of Paris 7 and Paris 11.
He began his career at the University of Angers, became a professor in 1988, then President of the University of Strasbourg 1 Louis Pasteur from 1997 to 2002.
President of the Confederation of Upper Rhine Universities (2002), he also chaired the Couperin consortium from 1999 to 2003, and was a member of the Higher Council for Research and Technology and the National Evaluation Committee.
From 2005 to 2008, he became advisor in charge of school, higher education and research issues in the cabinet of the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë. He then directed the ENS Cachan from 2009 to 2012 and was advisor on higher education and research to the President of the Republic from May 2012 to October 2013.
Between 1999 and 2001, he was a member of the board of directors of Inria (the French institute for research in computer science and control), and of ENA from 2005 to 2009.
He chaired the research commission of the CPU (Conference of University Presidents) from 1998 to 2000, and the monitoring committee on masters from 2003 to 2005.
Since 2002, he has been a member of the scientific and prospective council of the Observatoire des sciences et des techniques.
His research work focuses on algebraic geometry and the history of higher education.
Jean-Yves Mérindol is a night of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit.