Olivier Hamant, INRAE Research Director at the Plant Reproduction and Development Laboratory and Director of the Michel Serres Institute, was awarded an honorary doctorate by UC Louvain (Université Catholique de Louvain) on Thursday, February 12, 2026, alongside Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian-Canadian doctor and professor, and Salomé Saqué, a French journalist. The 2026 edition of this award, the highest distinction a university can bestow on a foreign personality, was held under the theme “Enlighten to understand, resist to move forward.”
Learn more about Olivier Hamant, his work, and his commitment, as seen from UC Louvain.
ENS de Lyon joins in the standing ovation given to the recipients at the ceremony in Leuven, during which Rector Françoise Smets recalled the fundamental role played by universities in a world marked by uncertainty, violence, and the temptation to insularity.
Do we still need to introduce Olivier Hamant?
His short biography on the School's website describes him as follows: “Olivier Hamant is INRAE Research Director at the Plant Reproduction and Development Laboratory (RDP) at ENS de Lyon. As a biologist, he seeks to understand how plants use forces to control their development, combining molecular and cellular biology, mechanics, and modeling approaches. Alongside this research, he is involved in a training program exploring the many implications of the Anthropocene at ENS de Lyon and with the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.
In line with his research in biology and the Anthropocene, he participates in several projects involving the humanities and the arts, particularly on issues related to the complexity, resilience, and fragility of biological systems. Author of several essays questioning the notion of robustness, Olivier Hamant directs the Michel Serres Institute and works on humanity's new relationship with nature.”
His work has earned him numerous awards, such as an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2013 for his Mechanodevo project, followed by an Advanced Grant in 2021 for the Musix project. Since being named a winner of the INRIA Lauriers award in 2012, he has received, among others, the Schlumberger Prize in 2016, the Foulon Prize from the French Academy of Sciences in 2020, and the AFCI Book Prize for his work L’Entreprise robuste, pour une alternative à la performance (The Robust Enterprise: An Alternative to Performance). He has been a member of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization) since 2024.
One could, of course, also refer to his numerous publications, not only scientific ones, but also essays that have earned him recognition far beyond the academic sphere:
- Olivier Hamant, Olivier Charbonnier, Sandra Enlart, L'Entreprise robuste : pour une alternative à la performance. Odile Jacob, 2025.
- Olivier Hamant, De l'incohérence : philosophie politique de la robustesse. Odile Jacob, 2024.
- —, Antidote au culte de la performance : la robustesse du vivant. Gallimard (Tracts), 2023.
- —, La Troisième Voie du vivant. Odile Jacob, 2022.
- Public lectures at the École urbaine de Lyon 2021: Résilience des vivants (Resilience of living beings) [Cité anthropocène – YouTube], by Olivier Hamant
Not to mention the numerous media appearances that make Olivier Hamant a voice that is heard, awakens us, inspires us, and gives us hope. For a few examples, we invite you to check out the press review on our School's website.
So thank you and well done, Olivier Hamant! Thank you for the “joyful lucidity” you bring to all those who wish to understand in order to enlighten and resist in order to move forward!
Check out the video portrait prepared by our Belgian colleagues at UCLouvain.