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"The Chaos theory gradually led me to become
interested in wave equation. This is an equation which describes
wave propagation used to model concrete physical phenomena in
order to think about these phenomena in a mathematical way. The
power of mathematics comes from the fact that roughly the same
equation can describe waves with very different physical origins.
I wanted to understand how the chaos theory, which comes from
dynamic systems, can be applied to waves. In the equations, we
see interference or diffraction phenomena; when a wave propagates
in an environment with a very complicated geometry, it is nigh
on impossible to predict what will happen. Dynamic systems theory
is not suitable a priori, but chaos theory seemed to give me
relevant ideas.
A
love for thinking, a desire for understanding, this
is what we have to pass on to children. When we don't understand
something, it is important to take the time to think it over.
We live in a society where being slow is often considered a flaw,
but from discussing among researchers we came to realise that
we need these moments of slowness and that it isn't by always
doing things very quickly that we properly understand phenomena.
By allowing ourselves to be slow, we can really understand things
and explaining that to children would remove the shame of many
who need time to learn.
Receiving several awards, including the Salem prize, the Henri
Poincaré Prize and the Silver Medal from the CNRS, has
earned me respect from my colleagues and confirmed my intellectual
choice of research projects." |
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