Florent Renaud

• Full research professor (Directeur de Recherche) in Astrophysics at CNRS / Strasbourg Observatory
• Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Université de Strasbourg
• President of the International Astronomy Union commission on stellar clusters

About me

I obtained my PhD in 2010 from the Universities of Vienna (Austria) and Strasbourg (France), on the topic of the dynamics of tidal fields. Then, I did two postdocs in Saclay (France) and Surrey (UK), before taking a permanent senior researcher position in Lund (Sweden), where I got my docentship (equivalent to an HDR or Habilitation) in 2022. In 2023, I have been awarded a lifetime fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study of Strasbourg University, quickly followed by a CNRS Directeur de Recherche position (full research professor) at Strasbourg Observatory.

My work focuses on galaxy and star formation across cosmic times, by adopting a multi-scale, multi-physics, and multi-wavelength approach. I design, run, and analyze hydrodynamics simulations of cosmological volumes and isolated galaxies, and also star-by-star N-body simulations of star clusters.

Having witnessed and suffered from harassment, discrimination, and violence at Lund observatory (as reported in Nature in June 2021 and again in December 2023), I fight against these practices and their protection in academia. Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you seek an ally.

Beside work, you will likely find me exploring the great outdoors, with a camera in my hand, flying a drone, or watching northern lights. My adventures on top of glaciers, volcanoes, in the middle of deserts or jungles, put me, way too often, in --what's the word?-- challenging situations...

Contact details

florent.renaud@astro.unistra.fr

Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg
11 rue de l'Université
67000 Strasbourg, France

Bsky: @florenaud.bsky.social
Orcid: 0000-0001-5073-2267