At 36, the French probabilistic mathematician received the prestigious prize, awarded at the 29th International Mathematics Congress held in reduced format, and mostly in videoconferencing, in Helsinki. It rewards its work on models of particles in interaction.
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and thirteen. The French Mathematics School has once again been rewarded with a Fields medal, a distinction attributed, every four years, since 1936, during the International Mathematicians Congress, for progress in the discipline made by researchers less than 40 years.
Hugo Duminil-Copin, 37 years old in August, was a pupil of the School Normale Superior on rue d’Ulm, like ten others of its national predecessors, but “conformism” stops there. Like two others only before him, he did not do his thesis in Paris, or went through the CNRS. His master’s teacher at the University of Orsay then, Wendelin Werner (Fields medal in 2006), suggested that he continue his thesis in Switzerland, at the University of Geneva, at the future Fields winner of 2010, Stanislav Smirnov. “At the pot of my thesis defense, a university manager offers me a position!” Recalls Hugo Duminil-Copin, who passes the formalities without incident to be appointed in 2013. Three years later, the mathematician cut In two, and at 31 also becomes a permanent professor at the Institute of High Scientific Studies (IHES), now crowned with eight Fields medals, and installed in the city of its adolescence, in Bures-sur-Yvette (Essonne). “We are delighted with this success which validates our model, where our teachers enjoy great freedom, an administrative aid that lightens them and the possibility of working with many visitors for long stays”, welcomes Emmanuel Ullmo, the director of the ihes.
The coincidence of place makes the new winner, probabilist who was unaware of this prestigious establishment at the time, smile. Just as he did not know when he was taking his lessons that Wendelin Werner had the Fields medal. Or as he remembered, two days before the test, that he had to pass the aggregation. “I was afraid of being the first normalien to miss this contest!”, Says, not very convincing, Hugo Duminil-Copin, who, after intense oral revisions, will be classified second, a row in accordance with that of its elders.
This kind of accelerator, or “slap” as he says, was a habit. Arrived from suburbs to the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, in Paris, at first, it is last of an elite class at the start of the year, before whipping to be first.
rigor, intuition and curiosity
“Four probabilistic laureates in five promotions, it will be talking,” said the one who chose this probabilities in smiling thanks to his “exceptional” teacher then, Jean-François Le Gall. “In fact, I prefer to say that I do physics-mathematics, rather than probabilities, because it reconciles two youth passions, math and physics, the first for rigor, the second for intuition and curiosity to understand natural phenomena. “
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