The scientific heritage of IHES
Scientific activity at IHES is organized around the research of permanent professors and also that of invited researchers, who may spend anything from a few days to a few years at the Institute.
Seminars
Since 1958, recurring or one-off seminars organized by professors and invited researchers have been regular fixtures at IHES.
The “Thom style”
“An unforgettable experience is how I would describe following Thom’s presentations at his seminar. His thought process in mathematics astounded me. He could move very quickly from a very concrete and illustrative approach to one that I found very abstract. As to the way he handled an audience, it was show time, every time: the cream of Parisian mathematicians was in the audience, firing off objections that would have unsettled anyone else and I would hold my breath wondering how Thom would address them.”
Frédéric Pham, 2004
Thematic years and attractors
With Nicolaas H. Kuiper, IHES’ second director, the working year was organized more scientifically. He based his invitation program on “attractors”, scientists around whom visitors would gravitate, and suggested “thematic years”, such as analysis and astrophysics.
Today
The topics studied at IHES and the scientific activities undertaken there change constantly. For example, permanent professors now give a “cours de l'IHES” each year and when the weather is fine, the park and lecture theaters are filled with young scientists attending a summer school.
