Mathematics in Action: High School Girls Discover Research at the School

How can mathematics be used to determine the composition of a star, manage flight delays or solve puzzles? On 15 October 2026, around forty schoolgirls explored these questions at École nationale des ponts et chaussées, as part of the ‘Mathematics in Action’ day. Coming from the Bachelard High School in Chelles and the Delacroix High School in Drancy, these pupils were able to discover the diversity of mathematics and its applications, take part in interactive workshops and talk to scientists about their careers and career paths. It was a day designed to spark curiosity, share the joy of doing maths and open up new career prospects.

Following a welcome address by Anthony Briant, Director of the School, the day began with a lecture by Laura Grazioli, a researcher at the CNRS, focusing on the interactions between chemistry and mathematics. Drawing on her international and interdisciplinary background - spanning Italy, Germany and France - and her research at the interface of chemistry and mathematics, she illustrated how mathematical tools can be used to answer concrete scientific questions, such as determining the composition of a star from its light signature.

The pupils then alternated between science workshops and tours of the School and its mathematics laboratory, CERMICS. Three workshops to practise mathematics 

• ‘Managing flight delays using operational research’, led by Héloïse Gachet, a PhD student at CERMICS;
• ‘Puzzles and mathematics’, led by David Gontier, a researcher at CERMICS;
• ‘The Towers of Hanoi: from game to code’, led by Urbain Vaes, an Inria researcher based at CERMICS.

These workshops enabled the schoolgirls to approach mathematics in a practical and fun way, discovering both its applications to everyday problems and its links with computer science.

At the same time, the pupils were able to explore the School’s campus during a guided tour led by two of the School’s students, Ibrahim Afilal and Matthieu Zarka. They also visited CERMICS, accompanied by its director, Gabriel Stoltz, to discover the researchers’ working environment and how professional mathematical research is carried out.

The day concluded with the interactive talk ‘Being a Female Mathematician’, led by Élise Bonnet-Weill. Drawing on her experience as a secondary school maths teacher who chose to undertake a PhD after several years of teaching, she shared with the schoolgirls her enjoyment of mathematics and her experience of a scientific environment where gender diversity remains a significant challenge. Discussions focused in particular on career choices in higher education and gender bias, with practical advice on how to overcome these challenges. A friendly tea break then gave the pupils the chance to continue their discussions with the speakers.

The feedback from the schoolgirls and their teachers was particularly enthusiastic. “The trip gave me the chance to discover how maths is used in our everyday lives,” said one of them. Another highlighted the pleasure of meeting people: “Being able to chat with researchers about their work and their daily lives allowed us to learn a great deal about their studies and their various careers. ” A third student summed up the spirit of the day by talking about the joy of “flourishing through maths”.

The day was organised on the initiative of Gabriel Stoltz, who designed the scientific programme. The logistics were handled by École Polytechnique’s Equal Opportunities Unit, notably Juliette Toumelin and Loris Lus, with the support of Cédric Rousse from the School’s Student Experience Office. The event was funded by the Department of Mathematics at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, with the support of its president, Philippe Moireau.