Governance
The RFPU Endowment Fund is governed by a board of directors composed of 8 members, divided into two committees. It is chaired by Prof. George F. Smoot.
Board of Directors:
Committee of the funding member:
George F. Smoot, President.
George F. Smoot, Nobel Prize laureat in Physics 2006, has joined the University Paris Diderot as a professor in February 2010. He’s a major figure of cosmology research worldwide.
Antoine Kouchner, General Director.
Antoine Kouchner is professor and vice-president for international relations and strategy at the University Paris Cité. He is the PI of the international collaboration ANTARES for the detection of cosmic neutrinos.
Fabien Casse, Treasurer.
Fabien Casse is professor at the University Paris Cité and Director of the Graduate School 560 “Sciences de la Terre, de l’Environnement et de la Physique de l’Univers à Paris” STEP’UP. His research focuses on high-energy astrophysics.
Édouard Kaminsky.
Édouard Kaminsky, President of the University Paris Cité, is Professor of Geophysics at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP). Specialized in geological fluid mechanics, he studies the dynamics of planetary mantle and the functioning of volcanoes.
M. Matteo Barsuglia
Matteo Barsuglia is senior researcher at CNRS and Director of the centre « Cosmos, sciences and societies » (previously « Paris Centre for Cosmological Physics ») at the Astroparticle and Cosmology laboratory – University Paris Cité. He was the French national scientific coordinator for the gravitational-wave detector Virgo from 2020 to 2024 and he is the current coordinator of the Virgo research group at the APC laboratory.
Committee of qualified experts:
Pierre Fayet.
Pierre Fayet is senior researcher at CNRS at the Physics Laboratory of the École normale supérieure, in Paris, and a member of the French Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on particle physics, the nature of dark matter in the Universe, and the search for new fundamental forces.
Irène Jacob.
Irène Jacob is an actress, winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Festival. Since then, she has worked internationally in both theatre and cinema. She comes from a family of researchers and loves the mysteries of the sky because that is our first story and film!
Federico Musi
Federico Musi is a company executive and entrepreneur. A former consultant at McKinsey and a former executive at Piaggio, he is currently CEO of LOOK Cycle, an iconic brand in French sport. Passionate about cycling and always on the lookout for new horizons, he invests in projects that combine innovation and performance.
The Endowment fund has been created by Paris Diderot University on April 13th 2010 when George Smoot, Nobel Laureate in Physics, arrived in Paris to support the activities of the Paris Centre for Cosmological Physics (federation of Paris laboratories specialized in the physics of the universe). The Endowment Fund was originally created for ten years under registration to Prefecture of Paris published in Journal Officiel #01270 on May 15th 2010 (SIREN 794 976 043).
The Endowment Fund aims at supporting the activities of the Paris Centre for Cosmological Research. Its main purpose is to:
- Develop the research in the Physics of the Universe through Master Grants, Doctoral Grants and Post-Doctoral Grants and through financial support to research projects and high-level scientific conferences;
- Spread the scientific knowledge in the fields of cosmology and astroparticles, especially through science popularization actions toward young public, teachers and general public;
- Create more links between artists and researchers. The Endowment fund is chaired by George Smoot and his chief executive is Pierre Binétruy, professor at Paris Diderot University.
You can download a flyer with our activities here.
Legal and financial documents
The statutes
The 2020 annual report : Rapport Financier_Activité 2020
The 2020 annual accounts : RFPU Bilan 2020
Documents juridiques et financiers
2023 annual financial statement.
Legal notice
Fonds de Dotation RFPU – Physique de l’Univers
- Address : Université Paris Diderot – Laboratoire APC, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13 France
- Phone : 0157277089
- Email : univers@apc.univ-paris-diderot.fr
Director of publication : Antoine Kouchner
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