Philippe G. Ciarlet is a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

mathematician, known particularly for his work on mathematical analysis of the finite element method

Finite element method

The finite element method is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions of partial differential equations as well as integral equations...

 especially applied to elasticity. He has contributed also to analysis of partial differential equations and differential geometry.

After undergraduate study at the École polytechnique

École Polytechnique

The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...

, and École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées

École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées

Founded in 1747, the École nationale des ponts et chaussées , often referred to as les Ponts, is the world's oldest civil engineering school...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Ciarlet earned a Ph.D. from Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 in 1966 for a thesis entitled Variational Methods for Non-Linear Boundary-Value Problems under Richard S. Varga

Richard S. Varga

Richard Steven Varga is an American mathematician who specializes in numerical analysis and linear algebra. He is currently a University Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio...

.

Returning to Paris, Ciarlet was awarded a higher doctorate under the supervision of J-L Lions

Jacques-Louis Lions

Jacques-Louis Lions ForMemRS was a French mathematician who made contributions to the theory of partial differential equations and to stochastic control, among other areas. He received the SIAM's John Von Neumann prize in 1986. Lions is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher.-Biography:After...

. From 1974 to 2002, Ciarlet held the post of Professor at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. He currently holds a chair in the Department of Mathematics at the City University of Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...

.

Ciarlet has been awarded the Grand Prize (Prix Jaffé) of the French Academy of Sciences

French Academy of Sciences

The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...

 in 1989, membership of the French Academy of Sciences

French Academy of Sciences

The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...

 and the Légion d'honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

, both in 1999. He is a member of the Academies of Science of several other countries.

External links

• home page at City University of Hong Kong