16
Apr
2026
Biography
Françoise Combes is a French astrophysicist internationally recognized for her contributions to galaxy dynamics, dark matter, and the evolution of galaxies. She is Professor at the Collège de France, holding the Chair Galaxies and Cosmology, and is also a senior researcher at the Paris Observatory.
She studied physics at the École Normale Supérieure and completed her doctoral research in astrophysics in the late 1970s. Over the course of her career, Combes has become one of the leading figures in galactic dynamics, particularly through her theoretical and numerical work on:
- the role of dark matter in galaxies,
- galactic bars and spiral structures,
- gas dynamics and star formation,
- and the formation and evolution of galaxies across cosmic time.
She has authored more than 900 scientific publications and is among the most cited astrophysicists in Europe. Her research combines observations from major telescopes with numerical simulations to understand how galaxies form, evolve, and interact.
Françoise Combes has received numerous international distinctions. She is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and has been awarded several major scientific prizes, including the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Sciences and the CNRS Gold Medal, one of France’s highest scientific honors.
Beyond her research, she has played a significant role in international astronomy collaborations, including work with the European Southern Observatory and major radio astronomy projects studying molecular gas in galaxies.