Call for nominations for the JK Prize

We are preparing the 2026 edition of the Jean Kuntzmann Prize and are writing to ask for your help in nominating potential candidates.

The Jean Kuntzmann Prize was established in 2014 as a scientific policy tool for the Grenoble MSTIC community. In keeping with the spirit of Jean Kuntzmann, it honors exceptional scientists based on the following criteria:
- candidates are recognized for the originality, quality, and importance of their work conducted in a laboratory outside the University of Grenoble,
- the award-winning work, spanning mathematics and computer science, transcends disciplinary and thematic boundaries,
- this work demonstrates a strong awareness by its authors of applicative and societal aspects.

The early laureates were Emmanuel Candès (Professor at Stanford) in 2014, Joachim Weickert (Professor at Saarland University) in 2016, and Eva Tardos (Cornell University) in 2019, all of whom agreed to spend a week in Grenoble. During their stay, they gave a series of talks, visited laboratories, interacted with researchers, and gave interviews to PhD students. They also presented their work to a broad audience during the Prize award ceremony at the auditorium of the Musée de Grenoble.

The Prize therefore makes it possible to invite top-tier scientists to our laboratories and introduce them to researchers and students in our community. It helps raise the community's profile: as witnesses to its vitality and dynamism, the Prize winners serve as excellent ambassadors. 

The 2026 edition concerns all laboratories associated with Persyval-lab. 
We invite all researchers from Persyval-Lab to suggest names of potential candidates. The committee has not defined a specific profile; however, nominations of women and early-career researchers with high potential will be particularly appreciated.

A local search committee, consisting of Sophie Achard, Eric Bonnetier, Didier Bresch, Louis Esperet, Jean Fasel, and Sihem Amer-Yahia, will draw up a shortlist of 3 to 6 names based on the suggestions received and forward it to the Persyval-lab scientific committee, which will select the winner.

Merci de faire remonter vos propositions à Anne-Laure Bernardin <anne-Laure.Bernardinuniv-grenoble-alpes.fr (anne-Laure[dot]Bernardin[at]univ-grenoble-alpes[dot]fr)>,

addressed to the search committee, specifying “Nomination for the JK Prize” in the subject line of the email, by November 30.

For each proposed name, any relevant information, even very concise, will be helpful to the committee. This could be a simple link to the nominee's webpage, a CV, a short sentence describing their research field and contributions, or the potential impact of their visit.

We are, of course, available to clarify any elements regarding the award process if necessary, and we thank you in advance for your contributions!

The Search Committee:
Sophie Achard, Eric Bonnetier, Didier Bresch, Louis Esperet, Jean Fasel, Sihem Amer-Yahia