Françoise Combes (; born 12 August 1952) is a French astrophysicist at the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

and a professor at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

where she has been the chair of Galaxies and cosmology since 2014. On 15 September 2017 the 'City of Success' school at

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

was renamed as 'High school Françoise Combes'.

Education

Françoise Combes studied at the

École normale supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

from 1971 to 1975. In 1975, she obtained the

Agrégation In France, the () is the most competitive and prestigious examination for civil service in the French public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all stu ...

and a PhD in Physics from

Paris Diderot University Paris Diderot University, also known as Paris 7 (), was a French university located in Paris, France. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 1970. Paris Diderot merged with Pari ...

, writing her thesis on the dynamics and structure of galaxies.

Research

Her research works are about

galaxy formation and evolution In cosmology, the study of galaxy formation and evolution is concerned with the processes that formed a heterogeneous universe from a homogeneous beginning, the formation of the first galaxies, the way galaxies change over time, and the process ...

, in a cosmological context. This work includes: galaxy dynamics, their

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

and barred structures, and interactions between galaxies, studied both through multi-wavelength observations and by numerical simulations. Additionally, she has published extensively on the

interstellar medium The interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter and radiation that exists in the outer space, space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as cosmic dust, dust and cosmic rays. It f ...

of galaxies. In particular, the molecular gas which gives birth to new stars in nearby galaxies, such as Andromeda, and which can be found in high redshift systems. She has published numerous reviews that range in her areas of interest. Françoise Combes has contributed to various models of

dark matter In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...

, and is also interested in alternative solutions, such as modified gravity. She collaborated with Daniel Pfenniger in developing a model to account under the form of cold molecular gas for a large fraction of the dark

baryon In particle physics, a baryon is a type of composite particle, composite subatomic particle that contains an odd number of valence quarks, conventionally three. proton, Protons and neutron, neutrons are examples of baryons; because baryons are ...

s, which have not yet been identified.

Awards and honors

* 2023: Oort lecture prize * 2023: Elected international member of the US Academy of Sciences (NAS) * 2022: Nick Kylafis Lectureship * 2022:

Karl Jansky Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 – February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in April 1933 first announced his discovery of radio waves emanating from the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius. He is consider ...

Lecturer * 2021: L'Oréal-UNESCO International Prize for Women in Science 2021 * 2021:

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

Fellow *2020: Gold Medal of the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

* 2019: Commander of National Order of Merit * 2017: The school ''City of Success of Montpellier'' (France) was renamed as ''High school Françoise Combes'' * 2017:

Prix Jules Janssen The Prix Jules Janssen is the highest award of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French astronomical society. This annual prize is given to a professional French astronomer or to an astronomer of another nationality in recognition ...

of the

Société astronomique de France The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the France, French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its ...

, the French Astronomical Society * 2017:

Lise Meitner Elise Lise Meitner ( ; ; 7 November 1878 – 27 October 1968) was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission. After completing her doctoral research in 1906, Meitner became the second woman ...

Prize of the University of Technology CHALMERS in Gothenburg * 2017: Honorary member of the

* 2015: Officer of the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

* 2013: R.M. Petrie Prize of the

Canadian Astronomical Society The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA; ) is a Canadian society of professional astronomers, founded in 1971 and incorporated in 1983. The society is devoted to the promotion and advancement of knowledge of the universe through research and e ...

* 2013: Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

* 2012: Prix des Trois Physiciens, ENS * 2009: Officer of the National Order of Merit * 2009: Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

* 2003: Honorary Fellow of the

, 2013 * 2009: Tycho Brahe Prize of the

European Astronomical Society The European Astronomical Society (EAS) is a learned society, founded under the Swiss Civil Code in 1990, as an association to contribute and promote the advancement of astronomy in Europe, and to deal with astronomical matters at a European lev ...

* 2006: Knight of the

* 2004: Member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

* 2001: Silver Medal of the

* 1986: IBM physics prize

Works

Françoise Combes is the author of over a thousand articles, a number of books, and has participated in collective works. Her English-language books include: * Active Galactic Nuclei, 2022 F. Combes, ISTE Editor * Active Galactic Nuclei: fueling and feedback, December 2021 F. Combes, IOP Editor * Galaxies, 2021 F. Combes, ISTE Editor * Trous Noirs et Quasars, 2021, F. Combes, de Vive Voix * Le Big Bang, 2019, F. Combes, Que-sais-je, PUF * The Milky Way (with James Lequeux), EDP Sciences, 2016, 196p (ISBN 978-2759819157) * La Matière Noire, clé de l'Univers, 2015, F. Combes, Vuibert * La Voie Lactée, 2013, (EdP-Sciences), F. Combes & J. Lequeux * Mysteries Of Galaxy Formation, Praxis, 2010, 224p (ISBN 978-1441908674) * Galaxies et Cosmologie (2009), (Ellipses), F. Combes, M. Haywood, S. Collin, F. Durret, B. Guiderdoni * A. Aspect, R. Balian, G. Bastard, J.P. Bouchaud, B. Cabane, F. Combes, T. Encrenaz, S. Fauve, A. Fert, M. Fink, A. Georges, J.F. Joanny, D. Kaplan, D. Le Bihan, P. Léna, H. Le Treut, J-P Poirier, J. Prost et J.L. Puget, Demain la physique, (Odile Jacob, 2009) * Mystères de la formation des galaxies (2008), (Dunod), F. Combes * The Cold Universe Saas-Fee Advanced Course. vol 32. Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy (with Andrew W. Blain) (editor: Daniel Pfenniger), Springer, 2004, (ISBN 978-3540408383) * Galaxies and Cosmology (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library) (with Patrick Boissé) (translator: M. Seymour), Springer, 2nd Ed 2004, 468p (ISBN 978-3540419273) * Galaxies and Cosmology (1995), (Springer), P. Boissé, A. Mazure et A. Blanchard, (réédité en 2002) * Galaxies et Cosmologie (1991), (Inter-Sciences, CNRS), P. Boissé, A. Mazure et A. Blanchard

References

External links

Publications list

Homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Combes, Francoise 1952 births Living people French astrophysicists French women astrophysicists École Normale Supérieure alumni Members of the French Academy of Sciences 21st-century French women scientists L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates