News

Find opportunities for mathematical cooperation between Canada and France on the website:

https://canadafrance.pages.math.cnrs.fr

Small Research Groups

The CRM and the Centre international de rencontres mathématiques (Cirm) in Marseille offer the possibility to:

  • meet as a team to carry out research work, including a stay at Cirm and a stay at CRM (deadline: December 15);
  • organize mirror conferences, held simultaneously at CRM and Cirm.

Information: https://www.crmath.ca/en/mobility-fellowships-and-visitors/scholarships-and-special-programs/call-for-proposals-and-applications-2025-cirm-crm/

Mobility to France / Hosting of Scientists from France

Thanks to funding from FRQ, the CRM supports mobility from Québec to France by financing research stays or participation in conferences (deadline: October 1).

Information: https://www.crmath.ca/en/mobility-fellowships-and-visitors/frq-support-for-the-crm-cnrs-irl/

Medium-Term Stay in France

The Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) offers mathematicians holding a position in an institution outside France the possibility of carrying out a two- to three-month stay in a French laboratory between February 1, 2026, and November 30, 2026.

This stay is supported financially: travel, visa, accommodation, and subsistence expenses are covered for the duration of the stay.

Information: https://canadafrance.pages.math.cnrs.fr/posts/2025_09_30_postes_rouges/

Funding for New Collaborations between Québec and France

The Samuel-de-Champlain program funds partnerships between Québec and France. The maximum grant awarded to each project is CAD 30,000 for the Québec side and EUR 20,000 for the French side, for a total of two years.

Information: https://canadafrance.pages.math.cnrs.fr/posts/2026_09_17_champelain/

Christophe BESSE, Director of the National Institute for Mathematical Sciences and their Interactions (Insmi, CNRS), and Frédéric HÉRAU, Deputy Scientific Director in charge of Europe and International Affairs, will visit the CRM–CNRS IRL on October 20 and 21, 2025

The CRM-CNRS will hold the general assembly of its scientific staff on September 8, 2025, at 11 AM in room 5374-1.

The CRM-CNRS will hold its internal seminar on June 17, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 4336 of the Aisenstadt Pavilion (Université de Montréal).

9:30 a.m.: Nicolas Crampé
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA

10:15 a.m.: Claire Guerrier
Title: Following the max in the heat equation: signal propagation and myelin plasticity.
Abstract: How do myelin sheath characteristics influence spike transmission within myelinated axons and vice versa? To address this question, we develop a model for signal transmission in the myelinated axon where myelin compartments alternate with nodes of Ranvier. Using a computational approach coupled with mathematical analysis, we search for an analytical solution corresponding to signal propagation within a single myelin compartment, and investigate the transmission time for different neuronal morphologies.

11:00–11:30 a.m.: Break

11:30 a.m.: Michèle Couderette
Title: Can computer programming foster the emergence of algebra in secondary school?Abstract: Although computer science is not explicitly included in the mathematics curriculum in Québec, some teachers integrate programming tasks into their instruction. Based on a case study conducted in a secondary school classroom in Québec, this talk explores how a teacher attempts to articulate the Mathematical Work Space (MWS) and the Algorithmic Work Space (AWS) to support the construction of early forms of generalization, as a prelude to the introduction of algebra.

12:15 p.m.: Pierre Baumann
Title: Perspectives on Representations
Abstract: Representation theory studies the actions of groups on vector spaces, and more generally modules over rings. Initially conceived as a generalization to non-commutative groups of certain computations in arithmetic, the theory has developed throughout the 20th century along several lines: the study of Lie groups, indecomposable modules and representations of oriented graphs, and an increasing use of the language and methods of algebraic topology and algebraic geometry. In this talk, I will introduce the subject by recalling the structure of the solutions to the Schrödinger equation for the hydrogen atom, and then I will attempt to present the two topics I have worked on during my stay at the IRL.

Women and Mathematics in Interaction

The CRM-CNRS supports the scientific meeting “Women and mathematics in interaction” held on June 12, 2025, at the Pavillon André-Aisenstadt of the Université de Montréal.

For more information

The CRM-CNRS is holding its internal seminar on Tuesday February 18, 2025, in room 4336 (Pavillon André Aisenstadt), from 9:30 am to 1 pm.
Speakers will be Denis Ewen Gallic, Thierry Daudé, Emmanuel Royer and Sébastien Darse.

Members of the IRM CRM-CNRS will be hosting the following mathematical outreach activities in January and February:

January 22: “Hands-in-the-pocket mathematics”, ten-minute flash presentations
Between 9.15 and 10.10 a.m.: 3rd grade
Between 10:30 and 11:25 a.m.: 3rd grade
Between 12:30 and 13:30: high school level
The aim is to talk about a mathematical subject in a relaxed way, with minimal written support, in order to provide students with ideas for the oral exams of the diplôme national de brevet and the baccalauréat.
Nicolas BOUSQUET (CRM-CNRS IRL3457, CNRS): mathematics and computer science
Sébastien DARSES (CRM-CNRS IRL3457 & Aix-Marseille Université): mathematics and astronomy
Claire GUERRIER (CRM-CNRS IRL3457, CNRS): mathematics and life sciences.

january 23: comparison of french and quebec programs
Discussions with mathematics teachers
Emmanuel ROYER (CRM-CNRS IRL3457, CNRS & Université Clermont-Auvergne)
Michelle COUDERETTE (CRM-CNRS IRL3457 & Université Paris-Est Créteil)

January 24: arithmetic questions
Discussions with high school students from 8.15am to 10.10am
Emmanuel ROYER (CRM-CNRS IRL3457, CNRS & Université Clermont-Auvergne)

February 12: counting prime numbers
Lecture for high school students from 12:30 to 1:30 pm
Emmanuel ROYER (CRM-CNRS IRL3457, CNRS & Université Clermont-Auvergne)

February 19: prime numbers
Lecture for 4th graders from 9:15 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. then 10:30 a.m. to 11:25 a.m.
Emmanuel ROYER (CRM-CNRS IRL3457, CNRS & Université Clermont-Auvergne)

NB. The level indicated is the level in the French system used by Collège Stanislas.

The CRM-CNRS will hold its internal seminar on November 12, 2024, from 9 AM to 1 PM in room 4336 of the Aisenstadt Pavilion (Université de Montréal).

 

The speakers are Denis Grebenkoy, Sophie Dabo-Niang, Antoine Zurek, and Nicolas Bousquet.

The CRM-CNRS will hold the general assembly of its scientific staff on October 4, 2024, at 10 AM in room 5374-1.

Dear CRM colleagues, dear IRL colleagues,

My term of office as Director of the IRL (or UMI) is coming to an end after one more year, and Emmanuel Royer will take over from me on September 1. Emmanuel is a university professor at the Université Clermont-Auvergne, where he headed the mathematics laboratory (laboratoire de mathématiques Blaise Pascal) from 2024 to 2018, before becoming deputy scientific director of the Institut national des sciences mathématiques et de leurs interactions of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique from 2018 to 2023.
Since completing his thesis under the supervision of Étienne Fouvry and Philippe Michel in 2001, he has been working in number theory, with a particular interest in modular forms and related functions.

I’d like to thank everyone, and in particular the two directors of the CRM with whom I had the pleasure of working: Luc Vinet and Octave Cornea.

Luc Vinet was a great help to me in bringing to fruition the CNRS’s plans to create a mathematics-informatics IRL. He won the full support of the vice-rector of the Université de Montréal for the mathematicians of the CRM, so that two distinct entities would exist rather than one. His role was also crucial during the pandemic, keeping both the CRM and the IRL running smoothly. The research traditions of the mathematicians were validated for a resumption of activity, by authorizing the holding of working groups that bring together several professors, whereas the UDM model proposed for a resumption of activity a research group around a professor and his assistants, post-docs and students.

Octav Cornea, for his part, helped me learn to take an overall view of mathematics, giving me a real feel for the characteristics and uses of each branch of mathematics and the applications of mathematics, including the sciences.
applications of mathematics, including data sciences and computer sciences, since the scope of the CRM is broader than that of INSMI, by advising me when it came to proposing new IRL members, including by suggesting names of participants to the organizers of thematic semesters, and by liaising with the various CRM laboratories.

Octav Cornea has also completely reorganized the administration of the CRM:Over the past five years, I’ve made some wonderful acquaintances with the people assigned to the CRM, whatever their research theme, I’ve been able to discover the diversity of mathematics in Quebec, in all the universities as well as at the University of Ottawa, and I’ve forged links with many colleagues who will remain friends.

I wish my successor Emmanuel every success and new projects.
For my part, I shall remain a tireless advocate of international laboratories and, above all, of course, of the IRL CRM CNRS.

Olivier Lafitte, Professor at Sorbonne Paris Nord University

Séminaire 7 de l’IRL CRM-CNRS, for master’s and doctoral students in mathematics and computer science
May 24, 2024, McGill University, 1:15pm to 5:00pm
Speakers: S. Brugapaglia and O. Lafitte.

Jim Simons, a mathematician who, through his foundation, supports the CRM and IRL-CRM international exchange programs, passed away this week on May 10. We will lose a philanthropist for our community, in particular for exchanges between France and Quebec in mathematics.

Olivier Lafitte, IRL Director