The Jean Mandel Prize

The Prize

The Jean Mandel Prize, organized by Mines Paris – PSL and École Polytechnique, is a biennial award for innovative research in the mechanics of solids and materials. Created in memory of Jean Mandel, an emblematic figure in these disciplines, the prize embodies his legacy by encouraging younger generations of researchers. Endowed with 8,000 euros, it highlights contributions.

Jean Mandel (1907-1982) left his mark on the history of the mechanical sciences through his pioneering work in plasticity, rheology and the modeling of heterogeneous materials. Professor at Mines Paris – PSL and École Polytechnique, he founded the Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides and contributed to fundamental advances with industrial applications.

How to enter

The competition is open to young researchers or teams of researchers under 40, French or working in France, or for French researchers abroad, who have joined a laboratory in France. Candidates will be required to present a dossier at Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches level, or to demonstrate an innovative application of known work. Applications, comprising a CV, scientific documents and independent assessments, must be sent electronically by the deadline.

Contact and information

If you have any questions, please contact the jury secretary, Samuel Forest, at the Centre des Matériaux de Mines Paris – PSL :

• Email: samuel.forest@minesparis.psl.eu
• Postal address: BP 87 – 91003 Évry – France

Jean Mandel Award winners

Since its creation, the prize has rewarded many researchers who have made their mark in their field:

1982 – Bernard Halphen

Pioneering contributions to modeling the plasticity of materials, paving the way for advances in structural mechanics.

1983 – François Mudry

Development of a local approach to fracture, taking into account the statistics of defects in industrial materials and components, notably nuclear.

1984 – Jean-François Agassant

Work on polymer rheology, with applications to industrial forming processes.

1985 – Olivier Coussy

Recognized for his research into the mechanics of porous media, essential for geomechanics and cement structures.

1986 – Marc Abouaf

Innovations in numerical simulations applied to powder metallurgy and materials behavior.

1987 – Patrick de Buhan

Theoretical contributions to soil mechanics, particularly in assessing the stability of geotechnical structures.

1988 – Pierre Suquet

Major advances in the homogenization of heterogeneous materials and multi-scale behavior laws.

1989 – Jean-Baptiste Leblond

Innovative research into plasticity and fracture models for metals and alloys.

1990 – Philippe Bensussan

Theoretical and experimental approaches to high-temperature fracture mechanics.

1991 – Luc Dormieux

Development of models for the mechanics of porous media, with applications in petroleum engineering.

1992 – Gilles Pijaudier-Cabot

Work on quasi-fragile materials and fracture mechanics in cementitious structures.

1993 – Olivier Allix

Specialist in multi-physical couplings and damage in composite structures.

1994 – Bruno Cochelin

Research into instabilities in non-linear structures and dynamic systems.

1995 – Patrick Ballard

Innovations in rigid solid dynamics and numerical shock simulation.

1996 – Jacques Besson

Contributions to the modeling of damage and ductile fracture in metal structures.

1997 – Michel Bornert

Development of experimental and numerical approaches for multi-scale analysis of materials.

1998 – François Hild

Advances in experimental mechanics, notably in image correlation for deformation monitoring.

1999 – Han Zhao

Innovative research on fast dynamics and impact testing in mechanics of materials.

2000 – Siegfried Fouvry

Study of tribological phenomena and interfaces in complex mechanical systems.

2001 – Samuel Forest

Contributions to multi-scale models and behavior laws for crystalline heterogeneous materials.

2003 – Marc Fivel, Nicolas Moës

Modeling of metal microstructures using dislocation dynamics (Fivel), and XFEM method for numerical damage and fracture mechanics (Mpës).

2005 – Bruno Sudret

Development of probabilistic tools for uncertainty analysis and reliability in engineering.

2007 – Nicolas Roussel

Mechanics of cementitious materials and rheology applied to concrete.

2009 – Amine Ammar

Numerical methods for complex fluids and solids in multi-physics systems.

2011 – Julien Réthoré

Development of numerical and experimental approaches to the mechanics of brittle structures.

2013 – Yann Gueguen

Experimental contributions to glass mechanics.

2015 – Nicolas Auffray, Romain Quey

N. Auffray for his work in anisotropic modeling of architectural materials and R. Quey in calculating polycrystalline structures.

2017 – Sébastien Brisard, Thilo Morgeneyer

Innovative modeling and simulation in mechanics of heterogeneous materials (Brisard) and three-dimensional damage characterization of metals and metal alloys (Morgeneyer).

2019 – Cédric Bellis, Konstantinos Danas

C. Bellis for his work on imaging solid media, inverse problems, waves in complex media, homogenization and associated asymptotic models, K. Danas on homogenization of nonlinear solids and magneto-mechanical behavior of elastomeric composites.

2021 – Laurence Bodelot, Kim Pham

L. Bodelot for her original work on couplings in magneto-rheological elastomers and problems at the interface between the mechanics of materials and the physicochemistry of thin films, K. Pham on wave propagation in complex media and in particular in metasurfaces and metamaterials.

2023 – Jérémy Bleyer, Vladislav Yastrebov

J. Bleyer, for his work in modeling and numerical simulation of fracture in civil engineering structures and materials, in particular, and V. Yastrebov in modeling and simulation of contact and friction phenomena in material structures and microstructures.

To find out more

“Promoting excellence in solid mechanics and materials research”: three questions to Samuel Forest on the launch of the Jean Mandel 2025 Prize competition.

Read