Gérard Toulouse

The center of Prof. Toulouse’s scientific life was the Ecole normale supérieure in Paris. Thematically, the focus of his work has been on theoretical physics, moving from studies of matter (condensed matter, phase transitions, disordered systems) to studies of life (neural networks, brain theories) and higher functions of the mind (cognition, ethics). Prof. Toulouse received international distinctions such as the British-French Holweck Prize (1983) and European Cecil Powell Memorial Medal (1999). A short selection of his books includes Introduction to the Renormalization Group and to Critical Phenomena, with Pierre Pfeuty (Wiley, 1977); Biology and Computation: a Physicist's Choice, with Hanoch Gutfreund (World Scientific Pub., 1994); Regards sur l'éthique des sciences (Hachette-Littératures, 1998); and Mirada Sobre la Etica de las Ciencias (Ediciones del Laberinto, 2003). Currently, he is Chair of the Standing Committee on Science & Ethics of All European Academies (ALLEA) and Chair of the Committee for Exact and Natural Sciences of the French National Commission for UNESCO.