Jean-François Joanny, the new president of ESPCI ParisTech

Selected following an 18-month international recruitment process, Jean-François Joanny today succeeds Jacques Prost for a five-year term, renewable once.

Jean-François Joanny was appointed, upon the recommendation of the International Scientific Council of ESPCI ParisTech, jointly by the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Geneviève Fioraso, and Jean-Louis Missika, Chair of the School’s Board of Directors and Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of innovation, research, and universities.

A professor and researcher of international stature

Jean-François Joanny, a professor of exceptional rank at UPMC, is well versed in engineering education: he teaches statistical thermodynamics at ESPCI ParisTech.
He is simultaneously an alumnus, a research director, and a faculty member at the founding institutions of Paris Sciences & Lettres, where he serves on the Research Council.
He leads the “Physical Approaches to Biological Problems” team at the Institut Curie and headed the Labex CelTisPhyBio, which received €7 million in funding as part of the Investments for the Future program.

An internationally renowned scientist, Jean-François Joanny applies concepts from theoretical physics to biology. He devises innovative ways to describe fundamental cellular mechanisms, thereby paving the way for new therapeutic strategies, particularly in the fight against cancer.

Jean-François Joanny has received numerous awards: bronze medals and, later, a silver medal from the CNRS; the Paul-Langevin Prize from the French Physical Society (SFP); the Cino-Del-Duca Foundation’s Grand Prize for Science, and the Gentner-Kastler Prize, jointly awarded by the SFP and the German Physical Society. He served as Chair of the Scientific Council at the École normale supérieure de Lyon, is a senior member of the Institut universitaire de France (IUF), and serves on the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, Germany.
He is the author of more than 270 scientific publications, and his h-index is 61.

A champion of the founding principles of ESPCI ParisTech

Jean-François Joanny brings his scientific expertise and educational vision to the leadership duo formed by the CEO and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jean-Louis Missika, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of innovation, research, and universities, and the driving force behind, among other things, the real estate development of ESPCI ParisTech in the heart of Paris.

Jean-Louis Missika commented: “Jean-François Joanny perfectly embodies the School’s founding principles: a culture of excellence, international scientific influence, the ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries to explore uncharted areas of research, a balance between knowledge and expertise, constant dialogue between basic and applied science, and a broad interface between teaching and research.
He is a world-renowned researcher who is passionate about sharing knowledge. He is particularly well-positioned to anticipate the scientific and technological advances that will shape the world of tomorrow, as well as the skills needed to invent and master them.”