Centre national de la recherche scientifique
Encyclopedia
The National Center of Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique or CNRS) is the largest governmental research
organization in France and the largest fundamental science
agency in Europe.
It involves 26,000 permanent employees (researchers, engineers, and administrative staff) and 6,000 temporary workers.
Previously, it was divided into INSU, IN2P3 and "scientific departments".
The National Commission for Scientific Research (CN), which is in charge of the recruitment and evaluation of researchers, is divided into 47 sections (e.g. section 1 is mathematics; section 7 is computer science and control). Research groups are affiliated with one primary institute and optional secondary institute; the researchers themselves belong to one section.
For administrative purposes, CNRS includes 18 regional divisions (including four just for the region of Paris).
CNRS runs its research units either independently or in association with other institutions, including those in higher education. In French these units are called laboratoires informally and unités de recherche in administrative parlance. The research groups are either operated solely by CNRS (and then known as unités propres de recherche or UPR or as mixed organizations (unités mixtes de recherche or UMR. Each research unit has a unique numeric code attached and is headed by a director (typically, a university professor or CNRS research director). A research unit may be divided into groups.
CNRS also has support groups: UPS (unités propres de service), or UMS (unités mixtes de service). A UPS or UMS may for instance supply administrative, computing, library or engineering services.
Currently CNRS researchers are active in 1,256 research groups, 85 percent of which are jointly run and also include non-CNRS researchers. The prevalence of such "mixed" research groups is an unusual characteristic of the French system. This mixing may hinder those outside the French higher education system from properly attributing works, since each laboratory may have many different names (UMR code, full name, acronym, CNRS address, university address, department inside university address).
The headquarters of CNRS are in the Campus Gérard Mégie, rue Michel-Ange, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. (48.847719°N 2.264065°W)
Theoretically, research directors tend to head research groups, but this is not a general rule (a research associate can head a group or even a laboratory).
Employees for support activities include research engineers, studies engineers, assistant engineers and technicians. Contrary to what the name would imply, these can have administrative employments (e.g. a secretary can be "technician", an administrative manager of a laboratory an "assistant engineer").
All permanent employees (research engineers, technical and administrative personnel) are recruited through annual nationwide competitive campaigns. Following a 1983 reform, the candidates selected have the status of civil servants and are part of the fonction publique.
, Beijing, Tokyo, Hanoi
, Washington, D.C., Bonn
, Moscow, Tunis
, Johannesburg
, Santiago de Chile and New Delhi
.
. Since 1954, the centre has annually awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals to French scientists and junior researchers. In 1966, the organisation underwent structural changes, which resulted in the creation of two specialised institutes: the National Astronomy and Geophysics Institute in 1967, which became the National Institute of Sciences of the Universe (INSU) in 1985, and the National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics (IN2P3) in 1971.
The performance of CNRS has been brought into question, with calls for wide-ranging reforms. In particular, the effectiveness of the recruitment, compensation, career management, and evaluation procedures were under scrutiny. Governmental projects include the transformation of CNRS into an organ allocating support to research projects on an ad hoc
basis, and the reallocation of the CNRS researchers to the universities. Another controversial plan advanced by the government involves breaking up CNRS into six separate institutes.
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
organization in France and the largest fundamental science
Fundamental science
Fundamental science is science that describes the most basic objects, forces, relations between them and laws governing them, such that all other phenomena may be in principle derived from them following the logic of scientific reductionism. Biology, chemistry and physics are fundamental sciences;...
agency in Europe.
It involves 26,000 permanent employees (researchers, engineers, and administrative staff) and 6,000 temporary workers.
Organisation
Following a 2009 reform, the CNRS is divided into 10 institutes:- Institute of Chemistry (INC)
- Institute of Ecology and Environment (INEE)
- Institute of Physics (INP)
- National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics (IN2P3)
- Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB)
- Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (INSHS)
- Institute for Computer Sciences (INS2I)
- Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences (INSIS)
- Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INSMI)
- National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy (INSU)
Previously, it was divided into INSU, IN2P3 and "scientific departments".
The National Commission for Scientific Research (CN), which is in charge of the recruitment and evaluation of researchers, is divided into 47 sections (e.g. section 1 is mathematics; section 7 is computer science and control). Research groups are affiliated with one primary institute and optional secondary institute; the researchers themselves belong to one section.
For administrative purposes, CNRS includes 18 regional divisions (including four just for the region of Paris).
CNRS runs its research units either independently or in association with other institutions, including those in higher education. In French these units are called laboratoires informally and unités de recherche in administrative parlance. The research groups are either operated solely by CNRS (and then known as unités propres de recherche or UPR or as mixed organizations (unités mixtes de recherche or UMR. Each research unit has a unique numeric code attached and is headed by a director (typically, a university professor or CNRS research director). A research unit may be divided into groups.
CNRS also has support groups: UPS (unités propres de service), or UMS (unités mixtes de service). A UPS or UMS may for instance supply administrative, computing, library or engineering services.
Currently CNRS researchers are active in 1,256 research groups, 85 percent of which are jointly run and also include non-CNRS researchers. The prevalence of such "mixed" research groups is an unusual characteristic of the French system. This mixing may hinder those outside the French higher education system from properly attributing works, since each laboratory may have many different names (UMR code, full name, acronym, CNRS address, university address, department inside university address).
The headquarters of CNRS are in the Campus Gérard Mégie, rue Michel-Ange, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. (48.847719°N 2.264065°W)
Employment
Researchers who are permanent members of CNRS are classified in two categories, in order of seniority:- Research associates (chargés de recherche): 2nd class (CR2), 1st class (CR1).
- Research directors (directeurs de recherche): 2nd class (DR2), 1st class (DR1), exceptional class (DR0, also known as DRCE).
Theoretically, research directors tend to head research groups, but this is not a general rule (a research associate can head a group or even a laboratory).
Employees for support activities include research engineers, studies engineers, assistant engineers and technicians. Contrary to what the name would imply, these can have administrative employments (e.g. a secretary can be "technician", an administrative manager of a laboratory an "assistant engineer").
All permanent employees (research engineers, technical and administrative personnel) are recruited through annual nationwide competitive campaigns. Following a 1983 reform, the candidates selected have the status of civil servants and are part of the fonction publique.
International relations
CNRS is represented through administrative centers in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Beijing, Tokyo, Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Washington, D.C., Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Moscow, Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, Santiago de Chile and New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
History
The centre was created on October 19, 1939 by decree of President Albert LebrunAlbert Lebrun
Albert François Lebrun was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the center-right Democratic Republican Alliance .-Biography:...
. Since 1954, the centre has annually awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals to French scientists and junior researchers. In 1966, the organisation underwent structural changes, which resulted in the creation of two specialised institutes: the National Astronomy and Geophysics Institute in 1967, which became the National Institute of Sciences of the Universe (INSU) in 1985, and the National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics (IN2P3) in 1971.
The performance of CNRS has been brought into question, with calls for wide-ranging reforms. In particular, the effectiveness of the recruitment, compensation, career management, and evaluation procedures were under scrutiny. Governmental projects include the transformation of CNRS into an organ allocating support to research projects on an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
basis, and the reallocation of the CNRS researchers to the universities. Another controversial plan advanced by the government involves breaking up CNRS into six separate institutes.
Leadership
Alain Fuchs was appointed president on January 20, 2010. His position subsumes the previous positions of president and director general.Past presidents
- René Pellat: 1989–1992
- Edouard BrezinEdouard BrezinÉdouard Brézin is a French theoretical physicist. He is professor at Université Paris 6, working at the laboratory for theoretical physics of the École normale supérieure since 1986....
: 1992–2000 - Gérard Mégie: 2000–2004
- Bernard Meunier: 2004–2006
- Catherine BréchignacCatherine BréchignacCatherine Bréchignac is a French physicist. She is an Officer of the Légion d'honneur, President of the International Council for Science and former president of the CNRS , Europe's largest scientific body...
(January 11, 2006 – January 19, 2010)
Past directors general
- Jean Coulomb: 1957–1962
- Hubert CurienHubert CurienHubert Curien was a French physicist and a key figure in European science politics, as the President of CERN , the first chairman of the European Space Agency , and second President of the Academia Europæa and a President of Fondation de France.-Biography:Born in Cornimont, Vosges in Lorraine,...
: 1969–1973 - Robert Chabbal: 1976–1980
- Pierre Papon: 1982–1986
- François Kourilsky: 1988–1994
- Guy Aubert: 1994–1997
- Catherine BréchignacCatherine BréchignacCatherine Bréchignac is a French physicist. She is an Officer of the Légion d'honneur, President of the International Council for Science and former president of the CNRS , Europe's largest scientific body...
: 1997–2000 - Geneviève Berger: 2000–2003
- Bernard Larrouturou: 2003–2006
- Arnold Migus: (January 18, 2006 – January 19, 2010)
Some selected CNRS laboratories
- Centre d'Etude Spatiale des RayonnementsCentre d'Etude Spatiale des RayonnementsThe Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements is a French laboratory of space astrophysics. It is located in Toulouse. The centers main areas of investigation are: space plasmas, planetology, the high energy universe, the cold Universe....
- Centre européen de calcul atomique et moléculaireCentre européen de calcul atomique et moléculaireCECAM - Centre européen de calcul atomique et moléculaire is a European Association founded in 1969. The aims of the association are to promote cooperation amongst European research organisations and their scientific communities in furthering research involving computationally intensive methods...
- Centre de Recherches Linguistiques sur l'Asie Orientale
- Centre de Recherche et de Documentation sur l'OcéanieCentre de Recherche et de Documentation sur l'OcéanieThe Centre de Recherche et de Documentation sur l'Océanie, also known as CREDO is a cross-disciplinary research laboratory in social and cultural anthropology, history and archaeology including researchers and lecturers from three institutions: the CNRS , the EHESS The Centre de Recherche et de...
- Institut de l'information scientifique et technique
- Institut de recherche en informatique et systèmes aléatoires
- Institut d'astrophysique de ParisInstitut d'astrophysique de ParisThe Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris is a research institute of the CNRS, located at 98bis, Boulevard Arago in Paris, France.Among its research priorities, there are strong groups involved in extragalactic astronomy and physical cosmology....
- Institut de biologie moléculaire et cellulaireInstitut de biologie moléculaire et cellulaireThe Institut de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire is a research institute of molecular and cellular biology that is owned by the French National Centre for Scientific Research and operated by the University of Strasbourg.- External links :*...
- Institut Jean NicodInstitut Jean NicodThe Institut Jean Nicod is a CNRS research center based in Paris, France. Founded in 2000, its name commemorates the French philosopher and logician Jean Nicod...
- Laboratoire d'Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules
- Laboratoire Cités, Territoires, Environnement et Société
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage
- Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructure
- Laboratoire de Phonétique et PhonologieLaboratoire de Phonétique et PhonologieThe Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie is a CNRS laboratory affiliated with the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, France. Its directors are Jacqueline Vaissière and Annie Rialland ....
- Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
- Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de MontpellierLaboratoire d'Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de MontpellierThe Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics is a cross-faculty research entity of the University of Montpellier II and the National Center for Scientific Research - Department of Information and Engineering Sciences and Technologies .The spectrum...
- Laboratoire d'analyse et d'architecture des systèmes
- Laboratoire d'Informatique de Paris 6LIP6The Laboratoire d'Informatique de Paris 6, or LIP6, the computer science laboratory of Pierre & Marie Curie University , is a joint research laboratory of UPMC and CNRS, the French national research organization. It was founded in January, 1997, with the fusion of three smaller laboratories:...
- Laboratoire d'informatique pour la mécanique et les sciences de l'ingénieur
- SOLEILSoleilSoleil may refer to:* French for the Sun* Soleil , a 2002 album by female Japanese pop artist Watanabe Misato* Soleil , a 1971 album* Soleil , a 1997 French film by Roger Hanin...
- Institut d'Histoire du Temps Présent
- Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie