Palmes académiques: six winners at IFP School

1 September 2023
Palmes académiques recipients

On August 31, six members of IFP School's faculty and administrative staff were awarded the Palmes académiques at a ceremony held at the Domaine de Vert-Mont, Rueil-Malmaison, as part of the School's back-to-school staff seminar.

Christine Travers, Dean of IFP School in her last day in this role, presented the insignia of Chevalier des Palmes Académiques to the six recipients.

The list of those promoted includes: Maria Aguilera, Head of International and Business Development; Olivier Bernaert, Head of the Lab e·novTM ; Arash Farnoosh, holder of the Electricity and Digital Transition (ETD) Chair and Supervisor of the Executive Master of Management in Energy program; Frédérique Fournier, Director of the Georesources and Energy Center; Olivier Massol, Scientific Advisor to the Dean of IFP School; and Céline Pierre, Supervisor of the Processes and Polymers program.

The Palmes Académiques rewards both their professional commitment to the new generations of engineers, and the human qualities they demonstrate in carrying out their missions.

Dating back to 1808 and created by Napoleon 1st, the honorary order of the Palmes Académiques is one of France's oldest distinctions.

About the recipients

Maria Aguilera
Maria Aguilera began her teaching career in Venezuela in the 2000s. She joined IFP School in 2007. An expert in reservoir engineering, Maria is deeply involved in the international deployment of IFP School programs.

Olivier Bernaert
Olivier Bernaert has 15 years' experience in senior positions at TotalEnergies in France and abroad. Passionate about teaching, he was behind the School's first e-learnings. Olivier works daily to introduce new teaching methods.

Arash Farnoosh
A lecturer-researcher and holder of the ETD Chair, Arash is driven by a real desire to pass on his knowledge well beyond IFP School. He has 20 publications in international scientific journals and over 30 presentations at national and international scientific conferences.

Frédérique Fournier
After a career in industry as a research engineer, Frédérique Fournier has been involved in teaching for almost 30 years and has been heavily involved in the School's programs since 1990. In addition to her management responsibilities, Frédérique continues to develop her training activities.

Olivier Massol
He began his career with Engie. In 2007, Olivier joined IFP School as a lecturer-researcher, before taking charge of several Masters programs. The author of numerous publications, he is involved in the "Natural Gas Economics" chair, which he co-initiated, and the "Climate Economics" chair. He was appointed Scientific Advisor to the Dean of IFP School in 2018.

Céline Pierre
Supervisor of the Processes and Polymers (POLY) program since 2008, Céline is deeply involved in coaching students. She has helped develop new teaching methods such as e-learnings and micro-learnings. She introduced the theme of plastics recycling to the POLY program.

Our warmest congratulations to them all!