Marie-Françoise Roy (born 28 April 1950 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
) is a French
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
noted for her work in
real algebraic geometry. She has been Professor of Mathematics at the
University of Rennes 1
The University of Rennes 1 was a public university located in Rennes, France. It was founded in 1970, after splitting of the historic University of Rennes into two universities. On January 1, 2023, the University of Rennes 1 merged with five gra ...
since 1985 and in 2009 was made a ''Chevalier'' 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
. In 2004, she received an
Irène Joliot-Curie Prize
The Irène Joliot-Curie Prize is a French prize for women in science and technology, founded in 2001. It is awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Airbus, Airbus Group corporate foundation, the French Academy of ...
.
Research
Roy works in
real algebraic geometry in particular real spectra and, most recently, in complexity of
algorithms
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for per ...
in real algebraic geometry and also the applications.
Education and career
Marie-Françoise Roy got her education at
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 ...
de jeunes filles and was an assistant professor at
Université Paris Nord during 1973. She received her PhD at
Université Paris Nord in 1980, supervised by
Jean Bénabou.
From 1981 she spent two years at
Abdou Moumouni University
Abdou Moumouni University (French: ''Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey'', ''UAM''), formerly the University of Niamey from 1974 to 1994, is a public university based in Niamey, the capital of Niger. The main campus is situated on the right bank ...
in
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
. In 1985 she became a professor at
University of Rennes 1
The University of Rennes 1 was a public university located in Rennes, France. It was founded in 1970, after splitting of the historic University of Rennes into two universities. On January 1, 2023, the University of Rennes 1 merged with five gra ...
in
Rennes
Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Service
Roy was president of
Société Mathématique de France from 2004 to 2007.
In 1986, Roy was one of the founders of
European Women in Mathematics (EWM), and was the convenor (president) of EWM 2009–2013. In 1987 she co-founded the French organization for women in mathematics,
Femmes et Mathématiques, and became the organization's first president.
Roy is scientific officer for Sub-Saharan Africa in Centre International de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées, CIMPA.
CIMPA website
/ref> Roy is president of Association d'Echanges Culturels Cesson Dankassari (Tarbiyya-Tatali) an organization working for joint activities in a commune Dan-Cassari in Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
and the French commune Cesson-Sévigné.
Selected publications
* with Saugata Basu, Richard Pollack
''Algorithms in real algebraic geometry.'' Springer 2003.
http://perso.univ-rennes1.fr/marie-francoise.roy/bpr-ed2-posted2.pdf pdf-file freely available on author's homepage]
* with Jacek Bochnak, Michel Coste: ''Real algebraic geometry.'' 2.Edition, Springer, Ergebnisse der Mathematik Bd. 36, 1998 (first in French 1. Edition 1987).
* ''Three Problems in real algebraic geometry and their descendants.'' In: Engquist, Schmid: ''Mathematics unlimited- 2001 and beyond.'' Springer Verlag 2000, S. 991 (Hilberts 17th Problem, Algorithms, Topology of real algebraic varieties).
* ''Géométrie algébrique réelle.'' In: Jean-Paul Pier (Hrsg.): ''Development of Mathematics 1950-2000.'' Birkhäuser 2000.
* ''Introduction a la geometrie algebrique reelle'', Cahiers Sem. Hist. Math., 1991
Online
References
External links
*
Homepage in Rennes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Marie-Francoise
20th-century French mathematicians
21st-century French mathematicians
1950 births
Living people
21st-century French women mathematicians
University of Paris alumni
Algebraic geometers
20th-century French women mathematicians