Françoise Combes: Understanding how Galaxies Form

Astrophysics - Laureate for Europe

Professor Françoise Combes is awarded for her groundbreaking contribution to astrophysics, and in particular, the critical role she has played in informing our understanding of how stars and galaxies form and evolve. Her pioneering discoveries in galactic dynamics range from identifying numerous molecules in interstellar space to decoding the precise stages of galactic evolution – all the way back to the Big Bang.

Prof. Combes first realized the incredible impact of scientific research for human life as a teenager, and knew she wanted to play a part in future discoveries. She marveled at Nicolas Copernic’s ‘controversial’ hypothesis that the Earth was not, in fact, at the center of the universe, and Louis Pasteur’s revolutionary medical breakthroughs. Encouraged by her physics teacher at school, she pursued physics and later astrophysics and cosmology at university, where she was fortunate to learn from the dynamic and visionary Professor Evry Schatzman.

On her journey to becoming a senior woman scientist, Professor Combes faced challenges in balancing her many research, teaching and family responsibilities, particularly when travelling to conduct observations from foreign telescopes. The “long and uncertain path” after PhD is also cited by Professor Combes as a barrier for women’s progression in science. In those initial precarious years of her career, it was 14 years before she obtained her first permanent position at the Paris Observatory, a journey requiring immense fortitude and perseverance.

“Women scientists have so much to offer – they bring diversity and originality to a laboratory, and a practical, results-oriented approach.”

Encouraging more women to enter science starts with overturning societal stereotypes and prejudices, with girls, in particular, and boys encouraged to understand that they can do anything they want, she believes.