MATH WIZZ: Bernard Arnault’s family holding company Agache is investing 50 million euros to fund the creation of a new institute for mathematics and fundamental sciences at École Polytechnique, France’s top engineering school, from which LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s chairman and chief executive officer graduated in 1969.

Set to open at the university’s Palaiseau campus south of Paris by 2030, the new building will serve as a French center of excellence and a hub for international research collaboration, and is seen as key to ensuring France and the school’s ongoing competitiveness on the international academic and technological stage.

The new center, to be named the Bernard Arnault Institute for Mathematics and Fundamental Sciences, will host around 400 faculty researchers, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows and will be a hub where mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists and students will work together on scientific and societal challenges, according to the school.

“École Polytechnique represents, for me, the academic and scientific excellence of our country,” Arnault said in a release. “I am proud to be able to contribute to the creation of the Institute for Mathematics and Fundamental Sciences. It was at École Polytechnique, and during my preparation for the entrance exams, that I learned the intellectual rigor and developed the vision that later guided my career as an entrepreneur. I also know the extent to which mathematics and the fundamental sciences can shape the world by inventing tomorrow what no one can even imagine today, particularly in addressing major societal challenges.”

The investment will fund both the construction of the institute and the launch of a mathematical residency program, which will start as early as next year, and is intended to host world-renowned international researchers, organize conferences and thematic semesters and develop innovative interdisciplinary projects between mathematics and fields including biology, materials science, computer science and physics.

“In the global landscape of higher education and research, France continues to stand out for its mathematical excellence,” stated Laura Chaubard, president and director general of École Polytechnique. “This discipline is at the heart of our technological sovereignty and underpins strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and cybersecurity. Thanks to Bernard Arnault’s unprecedented support, this institute will position [École Polytechnique] as a leading international hub for mathematical research, attracting top talent and fostering the discoveries that will shape tomorrow’s technologies.”

Arnault’s contribution is part of a 200 million euro fundraising program launched in 2024 to support the school’s future development by the Fondation de l’École Polytechnique, which is backed by 20 major French companies as well as school alumni.

France is facing ever increasing numbers of graduates of its top schools moving abroad, and investment in research capabilities is seen as key to the country’s competitiveness in the future.

According to a study published last year by the Fédération Syntec and Ipsos bva, 15,000 young graduates of France’s engineering and management schools each year choose to begin their careers abroad, costing the French state nearly 1 billion euros annually.