Photo: Velotango, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons²³

Françoise Combes

French physicist

Françoise Combes (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swaz kɔ̃b]; born 12 August 1952) is a French astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory and a professor at the Collège de France where she has been the chair of Galaxies and cosmology since 2014.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Françoise Combes (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Aug 12, 1952.¹

About

Combes became the President of the French Academy of Sciences in 2025.

On 15 September 2017 the 'City of Success' school at Montpellier was renamed as 'High school Françoise Combes'.

From Wikipedia’s article on Françoise Combes, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

French Academy of SciencesChair 2025 to now²²

Early life and education

1975Paris Diderot University doctorate in France³
1980Paris Diderot University doctorate in France³
Date not recordedÉcole Normale Supérieure diplôme d'études approfondies³

Françoise Combes studied at the École normale supérieure from 1971 to 1975. In 1975, she obtained the Agrégation and a PhD in Physics from Paris Diderot University, writing her thesis on the dynamics and structure of galaxies.

From Wikipedia’s article on Françoise Combes (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: physicist, researcher, astronomer, university teacher, editor, astrophysicist.¹¹

Since 2025Chair, French Academy of Sciences¹⁰
2002 to 2004President, Société Française d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique⁸
2002 to 2004Chair, Société Française d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique⁹
1989 to 2014Worked at Paris Observatory, PSL University^{4 5}
Date not recordedWorked at Pierre and Marie Curie University⁴
Date not recordedWorked at École Normale Supérieure⁴
Date not recordedWorked at Astronomy and Astrophysics⁴
Date not recordedWorked at National Center for Scientific Research⁴
Date not recordedProfessor, Collège de France^{4 6}
Date not recordedBoard member, Fondation Singer-Polignac⁷

Personal life

BornAug 12, 1952, Montpellier¹²
CitizenshipFrance¹³
ResidenceParis¹⁴

Awards

2026Ernst Mach Medal^{15 20}
2021L'Oréal-UNESCO Award For Women in Science^{6 15}
2020CNRS Gold medal^{15 19}
2019Commander of the National Order of Merit¹⁵
2017Prix Jules Janssen^{15 18}
2015Officer of the Legion of Honour¹⁵
2013Petrie Prize Lecture¹⁵
2012Three Physicists Prize¹⁵
2009Officer of the National Order of Merit¹⁵
2009Tycho Brahe Medal^{15 17}
2001CNRS silver medal^{15 16}
1993Petit d'Ormoy, Carriere, Thebault Award¹⁵

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataFrançoise Combes on Wikidata
2
WikipediaFrançoise Combes on Wikipedia
3
WikidataFrançoise Combes: education, on Wikidata
4
WikidataFrançoise Combes: Worked at Pierre and Marie Curie University, on Wikidata
5
WikidataWorked at Paris Observatory, PSL University, as reported by ORCID Public Data File 2023
6
WikidataProfessor, Collège de France, as reported by list of professors at Collège de France
7
WikidataFrançoise Combes: Board member, Fondation Singer-Polignac, on Wikidata
8
WikidataFrançoise Combes: President, Société Française d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique, on Wikidata
9
WikidataFrançoise Combes: Chair, Société Française d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique, on Wikidata
10
WikidataFrançoise Combes: Chair, French Academy of Sciences, on Wikidata
11
WikidataFrançoise Combes: occupation, on Wikidata
12
WikidataFrançoise Combes: place of birth, on Wikidata
13
WikidataFrançoise Combes: citizenship, on Wikidata
14
WikidataFrançoise Combes: residence, on Wikidata
15
WikidataFrançoise Combes: award, on Wikidata
16
Wikidataaward, as reported
17
Wikidataaward, as reported
18
Wikidataaward, as reported
19
Wikidataaward, as reported
20
Wikidataaward, as reported
21
WikidataFrançoise Combes: X, on Wikidata
22
WikidataFrench Academy of Sciences, Chair
23
Wikimedia CommonsFrançoise Combes photo by Velotango, CC BY-SA 3.0