In 2012, Brigitte Plateau became the first woman elected as general administrator of the Grenoble Institute of Technology, a cluster she has led through multiple terms since her appointment. A specialist in the performance evaluation of parallel computing systems, her trajectory spans several decades of research into stochastic automata and massively parallel architectural models.
Early Academic Formation
Born in Paris in 1954, Plateau attended the École normale supérieure de Fontenay-aux-Roses. Her initial academic training focused on mathematics with an emphasis on probability theory. Following her studies, she earned a postgraduate degree in computer science from the University of Paris XI in 1980, completing her state thesis in the same discipline in 1984. Early in her career, she held a tenured research position at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and spent time as a visiting scholar at the University of Maryland.
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Appointed as a full professor at the Grenoble Polytechnic Institute in 1988, Plateau focused her research on the architecture and efficiency of computer networks. She founded the IT and distribution Laboratory in 1999, directing it until 2004. In 2007, she established the Grenoble Informatics Laboratory in association with the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation. Her scientific contributions involve solving Markov models, performance evaluation, and the stochastic structure of synchronization models for distributed algorithms.
Institutional Leadership
Plateau served as director of the Ensimag school starting in 2010. Following her 2012 appointment as general administrator of the Grenoble Institute of Technology, she secured re-election to the position in 2016 for a four-year term. Beyond institutional management, she has led professional advocacy groups. In 2014, she became president of the Association of Women Leaders of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, aiming to address barriers for women in academia. She also served as president of the Allistene research alliance.
Fast facts
- Born: 1954, Paris, France
- Education: École normale supérieure de Fontenay-aux-Roses
- Appointed professor: 1988, Grenoble Polytechnic Institute
- Knight of the Legion of Honour: 2011
- Grand Prize of the EADS Corporate Foundation: 2012
- Officer of the National Order of Merit: 2015
- First female director of Grenoble INP cluster: 2012
Questions readers ask
What is Brigitte Plateau's main research area?
She specializes in the performance of computer systems, specifically distributed algorithms, queueing models, and massively parallel computing systems.
Did she lead any major research organizations?
Yes, she headed the IT and distribution Laboratory, the Grenoble Informatics Laboratory, and the research alliance Allistene.
Achievements
- Knight of the Legion of Honour — 2011
- Officer of the National Order of Merit — 2014
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