Pierre Binétruy

he Center is named after the late Pierre Binétruy (1955-2017), professor at the University Paris-Diderot and a renowned theorist who made important contributions to many areas relevant for the Center: particle physics, gravitation, and cosmology as well as their interfaces. Pierre was an internationally recognized scientific leader and his scientific career involved prominently France and Berkeley.

Pierre was one of the founders of the AstroParticule et Cosmologie Laboratory in Paris and its director from 2005 till 2013. He was also a co-director (together with Prof. George Smoot) of the Paris Center for Cosmological Physics (PCCP).

He was also known for his educational efforts, which culminated in very popular, massive, open, on-line courses (MOOCs) (in French) titled "Gravité ! Du Big Bang aux trous noirs".

In 1999 he was awarded Prix Paul-Langevin by the French Physical Society for his contributions to theoretical physics.

Hi died suddenly after a short illness in April 2017.

Pierre inspired many people around him on a personal and professional level. On May 3-4, 2018 a commemorative conference was hold at the AstroParticle and Cosmology Laboratory with a title "Pierre Binétruy: From theory to strategy of discovery.", which through numerous spoken and written testimonials evidenced Pierre's impact on science and others.

The Center aims at continuing the scientific legacy of Pierre.