Transfer of power at the Inria at Sophia

Michel Cosnard will replace Marc Berthod on May 3rd at the head of the research department. On this occasion, the national president of the INRIA will present an ambitious development programme.

From May 3rd 2001, Michel Cosnard who will replace Marc Berthod will head up the management of the Research Unit of the INRIA at Sophia Antipolis. The arrival of a new manager is an important event for the Research Unit and for the Inria as well. This importance is all the more strengthened by the high growth the Inria will face, within the implementation of the Quadrennial contract signed with the ministries in charge in July 2000. This is a contract which asserts the active role that the national research institute wants to have in the development of the French Riviera and the Paca. On the occasion of this transfer of power on Thursday May 3rd, the president of the INRIA, Bernard Larrouturou will introduce the new manager and the development perspectives of the Inria, and more particularly the Research Unit of Sophia in the years to come.Michel Cosnard is the manager of the INRIA Lorraine and of the Loria (research laboratory in computers and its applications in Lorraine) at Nancy since 1997. He entered the CNRS in 1979. His career led him to be a lecturer at the higher teacher training college (ENS) of Lyon, to manage the computer laboratory of parallelism (LIP) that he set up in September 1988. As well as teaching, he was in charge of research activities in close collaboration with the industry (Elf, Intel, Maspar, Dec, CGE, Matra Systems and Information, Thomson, CSTI…). He managed in particular the European Centre of technology transfer TTN ProHPC and the Laboratory for high performances in arithmetic (LHPC), common to the LIP and to Matra Systems & Information. In 2001, he was appointed Manager of the Incentive Concerted Action “Globalisation of Computer and Data Resources” (GRID) of the research ministry.He succeeds Marc Berthod, who was at the head of the research Unit since 1996 until now as well as the presidency of Persan until December 2000 (association of Education and Research Pole of Sophia Antipolis-Nice), Marc Berthod joins the national scientific management of the INRIA.