Creation and scientific directions
Summary
In January 2025 the section of the French National Research Center (CNRS) devoted to "Mathematics" (INSMI) has validated the creation for 5 years of the International Research Project PICASSO "hyPerbolIC models, numerical AnalysiS and Scientific cOmputation" .
International Research Project?
An IRP aims at structuring an international scientific community around shared themes. It promotes the organization of international workshops/seminars or thematic schools organized by partners, in France and abroad. Specific funding is received from CNRS for international mobility between the laboratories, and for the organization of international workshops/seminars, working meetings and thematic schools organized by the partners.
Diagnosis
In 2024 researchers from France, Spain and Portugal realized our the scientific relationship is genuinely strong in the "broad" themes revolving around the development and analysis of model, numerical methods and high performance simulations to solve fluid flow problems pertaining for instance from geophysical and environmental applications.
A strong relationship
For decades a large amount of researchers have intensively collaborated, exchanging, co-mentoring students, visiting each others, organizing joint events, building projects, and, most of all, writing breaking-through articles. However as a ’community’ this relationship was never truly formalized into any administrative structure. Highlighting this relationship with the creation of an International Research Project was an obvious action.
A flash of inspiration
Devising an IRP called PICASSO emerged during the ice-breaking cocktail of HYP conference which took place in Málaga in June 2022. Málaga is the birth place of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), the ultra-famous painter, Francophile and a path-finder in art. Later we found that PICASSO may stand for "hyPerbolIC models, numerical AnalysiS and Scientific cOmputation" .
Creation of PICASSO in January 2025
The French CNRS has officially approved PICASSO in 2025 for 5 years. Although all researchers from our three countries involved in the precited scientific themes are naturally part of PICASSO, the project has been structured with three "hubs" laboratories, one in Málaga, one in Coimbra and one in Bordeaux. The support from many other mathematical partners has proven that our community is far wider! Indeed PICASSO has been possible because of the active support of researchers from Sevilla, Granada in Spain, also Minho, NOVA Lisboa in Portugal, Nantes, Versailles Saint-Quentin in France.
