CIRM receives the CNRS Crystal Medal for its commitment to the international mathematical community
For over forty years, the International Center for Mathematical Meetings (Cirm)1 , located in the heart of the Calanques park in Luminy, has established itself as one of the world's leading conference centers for mathematics. The quality of its team's work has now been recognized with the CNRS 2025 Collective Crystal Medal.
- 1Aix-Marseille Université/CNRS/Société Mathématique de France
Every year, Cirm hosts between 110 and 120 events of all sizes—residencies, conferences, research schools—and more than 5,000 participants from around the world. A unique place for scientific immersion, Cirm offers its visitors a complete environment: accommodation, catering, an auditorium, work rooms... everything is designed to promote concentration, exchanges, and collaboration. “Cirm is like a mathematical village in a large park, near the calanques of Marseille, with lecture halls, work rooms, a hotel, and a restaurant, where researchers gather every Sunday evening,” summarizes Pascal Hubert, its director.
One of its flagship initiatives is the Jean-Morlet Chair, launched in 2013, which enables a Franco-international duo to design a complete scientific semester. More recently, the “Pays du Sud” Chair, developed in collaboration with the CNRS and CIMPA, among others, has extended this ambition to include collaborations with Africa. CIRM not only cultivates this scientific richness and diversity, but also shares it. Thanks to LabEx Carmin, more than 7,600 videos have been recorded and published online, forming an audiovisual catalog that “constitutes a tremendous scientific heritage accessible to the global mathematical community,” according to the director.
Particularly committed to issues of equity and inclusivity, Cirm has made these issues a central focus of its scientific policy. In particular, it has created the École des Cigales, which twice a year welcomes high school girls for a week of immersive discovery of mathematics and computer science. “The feedback we've received from former Cigales shows us how much this school—its immersion in research, its inspiring encounters, its sisterhood—has marked them and given them momentum,” emphasizes Pascal Hubert. The initiative has now spread throughout France and beyond, proof of its success and the importance of the approach.
Behind these many projects is a dedicated, multidisciplinary team, which has now been recognized with the Cristal Collectif award. “The Cirm team is incredibly efficient. Each new project is a tour de force, but also a success. The staff are very attached to Cirm, and they deserve all our recognition. They have a sense of community, and this Cristal award really brings that to the fore,” said the director.