The CNRS gold medal celebrates its 70th anniversary

“The CNRS Gold Medal embodies our mission: to promote excellence in research for the benefit of society, asserts Antoine Petit, Chairman and CEO of the CNRS. It celebrates researchers whose impact resonates far beyond our borders. It reflects our commitment to keeping the CNRS at the forefront of global research, where discoveries push the boundaries of knowledge and transform our understanding of the world.”

Created in 1954, the CNRS Gold Medal has, over 70 years, honored 78 researchers from diverse fields, reflecting the diversity of scientific inquiry. Today, it recognizes the body of work of one—or occasionally two—scientific personalities who have made exceptional contributions to the influence and dynamism of French research. “In 1954, research had just been elevated to a national priority by Pierre Mendès France’s new government, making it an opportune moment to create distinctions that would enhance the prestige of French science,” recounts Denis Guthleben, Deputy Director of the CNRS Committee for History.

A Prelude to the Nobel Prize?

The Gold Medal quickly became recognized as France’s highest scientific distinction—“a kind of national Nobel Prize,” says the historian. It stands alongside more thematic awards such as Norway’s Kavli Prizes (which honor exceptional work in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience), the Rumford Medal of the UK’s Royal Society (for achievements in optics or thermal sciences), and the Turing Award in computer science. “The Gold Medal and the publicity surrounding my work when it was awarded to me helped legitimize my research, which was somewhat at odds with that of my colleagues. Only the CNRS can so effectively spotlight an entire discipline,” says Barbara Cassin, philosopher and philologist, who received the award in 2018. “This recognition was a surprise and a great pleasure,” she continues, emphasizing her wish to share the medal with all her collaborators on the Dictionary of Untranslatables project. Some of them attended the award ceremony, which she describes as “a festive moment representative of the CNRS’s international impact.”

Serge Haroche, a physicist awarded the medal in 2009, also highlights the collective aspect of the honor: “Especially when given to an experimentalist, such an award recognizes the work of an entire team,” he explains, singling out Jean-Michel Raimond and Michel Brune of the Kastler Brossel Laboratory. “I wouldn’t have had this career if I hadn't been part of that team for many years,” adds Haroche, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics three years after winning the CNRS Gold Medal. The CNRS has often shown great foresight in identifying high-caliber scientists early in their careers, confirms Guthleben: 11 Gold Medalists have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize, while physicist Louis de Broglie won the Nobel in 1929 before being awarded the second-ever CNRS Gold Medal in 1955.

“The Gold Medal is certainly, after the Nobel Prize, the recognition that brought me the greatest joy because it was awarded by peers who had followed my career from its beginnings,” Haroche says, who has been “closely associated with CNRS laboratories” throughout his career. He found the award to be "excellent preparation for the international media exposure" that comes with a Nobel Prize: “It makes us think about how to present our work to the general public and journalists while teaching us to handle the pressures of media attention.”

A Commitment to Parity

Far from solely rewarding fundamental research, the Gold Medal honors contributions to the broader construction of knowledge, including innovation and the dissemination of science. For example, Louis Néel, known as a “laboratory builder,” created the CNRS’s first laboratory outside Paris in Grenoble in 1946. He also co-founded the Institut Laue-Langevin in 1967 and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in 1989. Similarly, Pierre Potier, who held over 20 patents, drafted the researcher incentive decrees for intellectual property while serving as Director-General of Research and Technology at France’s Ministry of Higher Education and Research, two years before receiving the Gold Medal. Jean Dalibard, honored in 2021, was celebrated by Antoine Petit during the ceremony as “a physicist and passionate researcher,” as well as “a man of conviction deeply involved in research policy” and “a knowledge ambassador, an exceptional teacher with outstanding pedagogical talent.” Françoise Combes, recognized for her pioneering contributions and “unquestioned leadership” in French extragalactic physics, and for her “globally recognized impact” could also have been among the first recipients of the CNRS Scientific Mediation Medal, according to Petit, who commended her efforts to disseminate knowledge and her commitment to gender equity in research.

“The CNRS has not been as forward-thinking on this last issue among its Gold Medal recipients,” acknowledges Denis Guthleben. The clear imbalance—with only eight women honored in 70 years—is something the organization is working to address: six women have been among the 13 most recent laureates, from biologist Margaret Buckingham in 2013 to Edith Heard in this milestone year. This compares favorably to similar honors, such as the Fields Medal, which has recognized only two women since 1936 (compared to 63 men), or the less than 7% of female Nobel Prize laureates.

“It is essential to ensure that efforts toward parity do not create the impression that women are evaluated in a separate category, which would undermine their scientific legitimacy,” warns mathematician Claire Voisin, honored in 2016. This caution is taken seriously: “The CNRS Gold Medal celebrates exceptional careers. These 70 years highlight the richness of cutting-edge research in France, which the CNRS strives to promote across all fields and all talents to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” reaffirms Antoine Petit.