Henri Berestycki
Professor, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and Chair of the Mathematical Analysis and Modeling program, Paris, France
A graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Henri Berestycki began his relationship with the University of Chicago shortly after he earned his PhD in Mathematics at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, in 1975. He then taught for two years at the University of Chicago as a “L.E Dickson Instructor in Mathematics.” Henri returned to France in 1997 to work as a researcher at the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS). Having obtained his “habilitation to direct research” in France in 1981, he became a Professor of Mathematics at Université Pierre et Marie Curie (University Paris VI) in 1988, while simultaneously lecturing at other prestigious higher learning institutions in France such as the Ecole Normale Supérieure and Ecole Polytechnique. In the 1990’s and 2000’s, Henri served as an advisor to La Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and worked as a consultant on the trading floors of CCF and HSBC in Paris, developing mathematical models and conducting research at the forefront of the financial industry. He joined EHESS, the celebrated Institute for Higher Studies in Social Sciences, in 2001.
Henri directed the Financial Mathematics Program at the University of Chicago between 2010 and 2012. He was also a visiting Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Chicago, and co-director of the Stevanovich Center of Financial Mathematics.
His research is focused on nonlinear partial differential equations and modeling in physics, biology, finance and social sciences.
A highly respected mathematician, Henri Berestycki was the recipient of the Prix Sophie Germain of the French Academy of Sciences (2004), the Humboldt- Gay-Lussac Prize in Germany (2004) and was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2010.