Three researchers from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris receive the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents Award 2025
This year, the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award recognizes three young female researchers who all studied at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris.
Manon Blanc completed her PhD at the Computer Science Laboratory of the École Polytechnique. Her work focuses on fundamental research and aims to determine the computing time and memory required to solve certain problems.
Polina Pestneva is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Applied Mathematics (CMAP) of the École Polytechnique. Her highly theoretical research aims to establish a complete classification of particle behavior through a gas. For example, it can explain the movement of a Covid-19 virion in the lungs.
Finally, Bianca Marin Moreno graduated in 2018 at the École Polytechnique. She is currently in her third year of her thesis at INRIA Grenoble and EDF R&D, where she is developing algorithms based on machine learning to exploit the flexibility of electricity demand, manage it, and contribute to a low-carbon smart electricity system.
Find out more on the École Polytechnique website
All are rewarded for the excellence of their work and the remarkable expertise they demonstrate in their fields. The award also recognizes their commitment to a more just and sustainable future.
Today, women remain underrepresented in scientific research, particularly in France, where they account for only 29.7% of researchers. The L'Oréal-UNESCO award opens the doors to a network of more than 4,700 female researchers around the world, a source of synergy, inspiration, and support in the face of the obstacles they may encounter in their careers.
Manon Blanc, a doctoral student in fundamental computer science, recently defended her thesis on the complexity and verification of computer systems. She began her thesis in September 2022 at École Polytechnique and Paris-Saclay University. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at IT University of Copenhagen.
Polina Perstneva is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Applied Mathematics at École Polytechnique. She previously defended her thesis at the Institut Mathématiques d'Orsay.
Bianca Marin Moreno joined École Polytechnique after earning a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics. Fascinated by the power of applied mathematics and artificial intelligence, she specialized in this field and is now pursuing her thesis at Inria Grenoble.
* LIX : a joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
** CMAP : a joint research unit CNRS, Inria, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France