Founded more than a hundred years ago, the Institut Élie Cartan de Lorraine is one of the largest French mathematics laboratories and the largest in the Grand Est region. The laboratory covers the entire field of mathematics: it conducts research in fundamental mathematics [geometry, analysis, number theory] and in applied mathematics [probability, statistics, partial differential equations]. The institute offers a complete scientific training provided by dedicated teacher-researchers. A joint research unit (UMR 7502) of the CNRS and the University of Lorraine, IECL works in close collaboration with Inria Nancy – Grand Est with the three project-teams it hosts. The IECL is also part of the AM2i scientific cluster of the University of Lorraine, the Charles Hermite Federation and the CNRS Institute of Mathematical Sciences and their Interactions (INSMI). It is located on 2 sites:
Anne Gégout-Petit is the director of the laboratory since September 1, 2020.
The research activities of the laboratory are structured in 4 teams located in Nancy and Metz:
ANALYSIS AND
NUMBER
THEORY
PARTIAL
DIFFERENTIAL
EQUATIONS
GEOMETRY
PROBABILITIES
AND
STATISTICS
IECL also represents 3 INRIA project-teams:
The institute is also involved in interdisciplinary projects related to business and society. The institute is oriented towards business and provides expertise in all fields of mathematical applications. It develops and designs solutions adapted to the needs of industry.
In addition to its research and teaching activities, IECL participates in the promotion of mathematics in close collaboration with the Charles Hermite Federation and INSMI. The laboratory is involved in targeted actions for the dissemination of mathematical knowledge to schoolchildren and the general public.
The laboratory takes part in the organization of the Sciences and Society lecture series for the general public. Free and accessible to all, these conferences aim to disseminate mathematical culture in general and to promote its stakes within society.
The IECL promotes collaborations with various institutes in France and abroad. It organizes exchange conventions to promote interactions with the actors of its ecosystem. It welcomes many mathematicians from all over the world, invited or associated, who come to participate in research programs and to teach at a high level.
The Institute’s teaching is internationally oriented, as each year it welcomes about 10 foreign students.
Created in 1953 on the initiative of Jean Delsarte (secretary of the Bourbaki group until 1962), the Institut Élie Cartan of Nancy was recognized by the CNRS in 1978 under the name of Global Analysis Team. It merged with the Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Applications de Metz in 2013.
The arrival of Élie Cartan in 1903 marked the beginning of a long tradition of mathematical research in Lorraine. The laboratory has been marked by a succession of world-renowned personalities such as Jean Leray, Jean Dieudonné, Laurent Schwartz (Fields Medal 1950), Jean-Pierre Serre (Fields Medal 1954), Alexander Grothendieck (Fields Medal 1966), Jacques-Louis Lions…
To learn more about the history, you can consult and download the book 100 ans de mathématiques à Nancy
