Michelle Schatzman

Michelle Véra Schatzman (8 December 1949 – 20 August 2010) was a French analyst and mathematician, specializing in applied mathematics, particularly in topics related to nonlinear analysis and numerical analysis. In physics, the model is used to describe type-II superconductors.

Early life and education Michelle Véra Schatzman was born in a secular Jewish family. Her father was French astrophysicist Evry Schatzman, who also was president of the Rationalist Union. Her mother Ruth Schatzman (née Fisher) took a keen interest in Russian folk tales. She was an associate of Russian in high schools in Lille and Paris, then a lecturer at the Paris VIII University.

Schatzman entered the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles in 1968 and was top of the class. She earned the agregation and a PhD in 1971, under the leadership of Haïm Brezis and a state doctorate in 1979 under the direction of Jacques Louis Lions.

Career

Schatzman led something of a hybrid career, dividing her time between research and teaching.

She returned to the CNRS in 2005 as a research director while continuing to teach, especially master students.

Honours and awards Knight of the Legion of Honor (2008). Prize of Mme Claude Berthault awarded by the French Academy of Sciences in 2006. In 2026, Schatzman was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names were to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The plan was conceived by a student and tour guide named Benjamin Rigaud and it was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of Femmes et Sciences and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower.

Selected publications Over the years, Schatzman published over 70 papers, many of which continue to be cited today.

Her books include:

Numerical Analysis, A Mathematical Approach, first published by Masson in 1991 and reprinted by Dunod in 2001 Numerical Analysis: A Mathematical Introduction (2002), Clarendon Press, Oxford. .