IRC Discovery
Established in 2022, the CNRS-UChicago International Research Center for Fundamental Discovery (IRC Discovery) brings together two of the world’s leading research institutions: the University of Chicago and France’s National Centre for Scientific Research. Signed into agreement by Antoine Petit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CNRS, and Paul Alivisatos, President of UChicago, as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the U.S. in December 2022, IRC Discovery builds on and continues the long and enduring legacy of Franco-American partnerships in research and education.
By leveraging both institutions’ robust international networks, large-scale investments in research, and commitments to academic excellence, IRC Discovery is able to support research collaborations that address the world’s greatest and most pressing questions. UChicago and CNRS have long been close partners in this endeavor, working together to address topics as wide-ranging as astrophysics, political philosophy, the search for dark matter, bionics, computational anatomy, and quantum technologies. The creation of IRC Discovery deepens and further enriches the ongoing partnerships between the two institutions and allows for support and resources dedicated to new and expanded collaborations.
IRC Discovery’s programming consists of joint research and PhD funding mechanisms, student and scholar mobility (including access to research facilities, tech transfer resources, etc.), academic workshops and public events, network-building activities, the support and facilitation of CNRS international cooperation structures, and large-scale external grant support for joint research projects. We work to ensure scholars are fully supported in their partnerships and in their navigation of UChicago, CNRS, and EU funding mechanisms.
The administration of IRC Discovery is co-located between UChicago and the CNRS headquarters in Paris, with dedicated staff support in Chicago.
What is an International Research Center (IRC)?
IRCs are designed to strengthen and perpetuate strategic partnerships with institutions of excellence that have a high level of cooperation with the CNRS. This structure strengthens cooperation between CNRS and its partner by establishing new collaborations to meet jointly decided research objectives. It is monitored by regular high-level strategic dialogue between the two partner institutions and steered by bilateral institutional bodies to promote synergies.