UM Profiles

Madhur Anand, an ecologist and professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, bridges the gap between science and the arts, even in her own work. A modeler and author, she will be taking advantage of her visit to Montpellier in the first semester of 2025 to combine interdisciplinary seminars with book signings at the Comédie du livre.

Tomasz Hueckel, professor emeritus at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, United States), joins the growing community of honorary doctorate recipients at the University of Montpellier. An engineer, researcher, and educator, he has been collaborating for over 15 years with teams at the University of Montpellier, particularly those at the Laboratory of Mechanics and Civil Engineering (LMGC). The ceremony on May 16, 2025, provided an opportunity to trace his journey step by step, from his native Poland to the United States, as well as his significant contributions to the field of civil and environmental engineering.

Noémie Coulon, a postdoctoral researcher at the Marbec laboratory, is one of nine young researchers selected by the Ocean Institute to cover the One Ocean Science Congress in early June in Nice. It’s a perfect fit for this specialist in the impact of climate change on rays and sharks in Europe.

Through the Amarok Observatory, Professor Olivier Torrès has dedicated his research to improving the health of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leaders. His career has been recognized twice: with the Julien Marchesnay Prize in 2024 and with his appointment as a Knight of the National Order of Merit in 2025.

Mircea Sofonea is an epidemiologist at the Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic and Emerging Infections (PCCEI) laboratory. While his field has only come to the public’s attention since the COVID-19 pandemic, for him it has been a calling for many years. A portrait of a researcher who stays the course.

As holder of the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at Heidelberg University and director of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Lutz Gade has, over the years, established himself as a world-renowned expert in his field. In addition to his academic career, it was also in recognition of his commitment to cooperation between Heidelberg University and the University of Montpellier that he was awarded an honorary doctorate from UM in February 2025.