Meeting with Etienne Ghys, recipient of the CNRS medal for Scientific Mediation 2022

On Friday, November 18, Etienne Ghys will be awarded the CNRS medal for his initiatives in Popular Science. While he admits that he owes his recognition more to his publications than to his involvement in popular science activities, these are nevertheless very important to him. He would like to break out of the long-established dichotomy between good researchers and good popularizers, who make science attractive to the public. What if they both go hand in hand? Q: Where did you get this appetite for Popular Science? A: Actually, I've always been involved in popular science, even if I wasn't aware of it initially. My first popular science initiatives date back to my work in the journal "Images des mathématiques" which I helped to relaunch in its digital version in 2009. But long before that, I was always aware that if you are not able to explain what you do, it is because you do not really understand it yourself. So, I proceeded first with my students and doctoral students, then I widened the circle. From 1993-94, I gave many lectures to high school teachers, then, by virtue of concentric circles, I sought to go beyond the framework of professional mathematics. One day while filling out my "CRAC" (an activity report), I finally had the satisfaction of being able to check the box "How many films have you made?". I'm referring to my film "Dimension" released in 2010. Q: How do you get into Popular Science exactly?