Archive for France
journée de la laïcité (120yo)
Posted in Kids, pictures with tags 9 décembre 1905, France, freedom of religion or belief, French history, laïcité, national day for secularism, neutrality, religious freedom, séparation des Eglises et l'Etat, secularism on December 9, 2025 by xi'an
Nature tidbits [23 October 2025]
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Running, Travel, University life with tags @ScientistTrump, academic freedom, Adolph Northen, Agents4Science 2025, Austin, Australia, Berezina, book review, Brazil, Brown University, cognitive biases, cover, dark energy, dark matter, Edwin Hubble, emigration, ERC Synergy Grant, Federal Government, France, Garching, Google, Hubble constant, imitation game, immigration, Italy, Max Planck Institute, mental health, Milky Way, MIT, Napoléon Bonaparte, Nature, PhD position, PhD students, PhD thesis, protect, quantum computing, Reionization, Royal Society, Russian campaign, Stanford University, Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, The University of Texas at Austin, Trump administration, Turing's test, UCLA, ultra-marathon, University of Pennsylvania on November 27, 2025 by xi'an
a discussion on the nature of the “little red dots” that have been recently observed and whose nature remains open, the most popular explanation (I was given during lunch) being black holes surrounded by gas (even though I cannot understand why the gas is not attracted by the black hole!) [and would have produced a more exciting cover!]
a review of the recent book Discordance: The Troubled History of the Hubble Constant by Jim Baggott, entitled Why we still don’t understand the Universe — even after a century of dispute! A review that regrets that more time is spent on the Hubble “constant” (which varies with time!) rather than more controversial issues like dark matter and dark energy (And strangely bemoans that the book is focussed on scientific developments, missing sociological ones. Duh?! (Bonus for a picture of suit-and-tie Edwin Hubble sitting at the centre of a telescope),
two entries on the well-being [or lack thereof] of PhD students, with nothing particularly surprising (eg, inclusivity and respect help!), and Brazil, Australia and Italy ranking top locations but in a comparative study that does not mention France (as often in international comparisons found in Nature) despite the place being in the top 10 countries delivering PhD degrees, not that I believe PhD students are particularly well-treated in French academia!, the (unexplained) surprise being Italy ranking so high given the close resemblance between the two countries (low stipends, shortage of postdoc and permanent positions, high teaching loads for the advisor, limited travel budgets),
a conference (purposedly) made of AI-written papers reviewed by AI referees, Agents4Science 2025, how universities are rushed into adapting to AI-fluent students, whose skills are changing, and the rise in fake authors produced by paper mills, with a limited range of acceptable solutions,
why Trump 2.0‘s blackmail on pharmaceutical companies is counter-productive and likely to slow down progress, and why his massive increase of highly qualified scientists is shooting (or nuking) USelf in the foot, given the huge proportion) of im/emigrated Nobel prize winners (for physics, chemistry, and medicine), along the (post-) Nobel prize in economics is a direct or indirect reply to this regression by awarding the Prize to economists who worked on the importance of creativity and science on growth (not very surprising at first look!)
Kaw frogs [Wildlife Photographer of the Year]
Posted in Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags caiman, France, French Amazone, French Guiana, frogs, Guyane, Kaw, London, marais de Kaw, Montagne de Kaw, Natural History Museum, overseas, pothole, The Guardian, toucan, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, wildlife photography on November 24, 2025 by xi'an
ISBA World meeting(s) 2028
Posted in Books, Travel, University life with tags Bayes at CIRM, Bayesian conference, CIRM, France, ISBA, ISBA 2028, Luminy, Marseille, Milwaukee, mirror workshop, social media, travel ban, Trump administration, United States of America, USA, visa revocation, Wisconsin on October 28, 2025 by xi'an
An item of news I had missed in the June issue of the ISBA Bulletin is that the 2028 ISBA World meeting will take place in Milwaukee, USA. As pointed out by Michelle Guindani, this is is the first time the main conference of ISBA takes place in the United States since 1993 (which I did not attend). Rotation of locations between strategically located places makes sense, esp. in countries with a large IBSA membership like the US. Unfortunately, and as for BayesComp 2027 at Texas A&M, this will take place during the Trump administration, administration that set an entry prohibition for citizens of only dog knows how many countries by then and arbitrary border checks linked with activism that runs counter to their far right ideology. I thus hope hybrid options will be available for those who cannot or fear to attend in person, with many mirror gatherings like the one we ran for ISBA 2022, towards more inclusivity and social interactions.
Fondation Sciences Mathématiques de Paris fundings
Posted in Kids, Travel, University life with tags chair, Fondation des Sciences Mathématiques de Paris, France, FSMP, Paris, PhD scholarship, postdoctoral position on October 14, 2025 by xi'an
The Fondation Sciences Mathématiques de Paris supports research and training in Mathematics and in fundamental Computer Science through its various programs: chairs of excellence, postdoctoral positions, master scholarships. The positions are located in the (Greater) Paris area. For academic year 2026-2027, see schedule of deadlines below (at 11:59 p.m., Paris time).Research Chairs of excellence:
from Thursday October 2nd to Monday December 1st 2025
Offer description: https://sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/nos-programmes-en/les-chaires-fsmp
from Thursday October 2nd to Monday December 1st 2025
Offer description: https://sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/nos-programmes-en/les-chaires-fsmp
FSMP Postdoctoral program:
from Thursday October 2nd to Monday December 1st 2025
Offer description: https://www.sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/postdoc-fsmp
from Thursday October 2nd to Monday December 1st 2025
Offer description: https://www.sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/postdoc-fsmp
Application form: https://applications.sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/2012-2013-postdoctoral-positions-380.htm
Paris Graduate School for Mathematical Sciences (master scholarships):
First call (open to international students): from Monday November 3rd 2025 to Tuesday February 3rd 2026
Second call (open to students of the FSMP network): from Monday February 23rd to Monday April 20th 2026
Offer description: https://sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/pgsm-master
First call (open to international students): from Monday November 3rd 2025 to Tuesday February 3rd 2026
Second call (open to students of the FSMP network): from Monday February 23rd to Monday April 20th 2026
Offer description: https://sciencesmaths-paris.fr/en/pgsm-master
