MARTA VOLONTERI WAS ELECTED TO THE FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Marta Volonteri
Credit: Jean Mouette /IAP-CNRS-SU

Marta Volonteri, Research Director at the CNRS at the Institut d’astrophysique de Paris (IAP), has been elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences in the Section of Universe Sciences. Her research aims to understand the formation and evolution of massive black holes, from the first galaxies to those in the local Universe. Her work has demonstrated the importance of interconnection among different astrophysical processes in order to understand this phenomenon.

After earning a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Milan, Marta Volonteri held research positions at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and at the University of Cambridge, before becoming a professor at the University of Michigan. Since 2012, she has been a Research Director at the CNRS at the Institut d’astrophysique de Paris. Her work combines theoretical modeling, numerical simulations, and the interpretation of observations, and has influenced the understanding of the mechanisms behind the formation of the first black holes, their growth, and their gravitational-wave signatures. She takes part in major international collaborations in astrophysics and gravitational astronomy. She received the CNRS Silver Medal and the Émilie du Châtelet Prize from the French Physical Society in 2022, was appointed Blaauw Professor at the University of Groningen for the year 2019, and served as Specially Appointed Professor at the University of Amsterdam from 2019 to 2024.

 The press release of the French Academy of Sciences

January 2026