Aurélie Jean, intelligence without artifice

Aurélie Jean is a specialist in applied digital sciences across various sectors such as economics, finance, and health. All her experiences have fueled her passion for algorithms and amplified her desire to comprehend and convey knowledge. As the founder of two startups, an author, and an entrepreneur, Aurélie Jean, a former student at ENS Paris-Saclay, currently supports the school in its commitment to equal opportunities and the reinstatement of science at the core of societal issues.

From 2002 to 2005, Aurélie Jean was a student at ENS Paris-Saclay, earning a master's degree in mechanics and civil engineering as part of a partnership with Pierre and Marie Curie University. In the same period, she conducted an internship at the University of Colorado at Boulder on modeling and simulating chloride ion diffusion in cement. She extended her experience in discrete modeling of material cracking at the CEA for her Master 2 internship. Subsequently, after completing a Ph.D. in materials science, split between mathematical morphology and numerical mechanics at Mines ParisTech in 2009, she headed to the USA for her first postdoc in the field of modeling in medical applications at Pennsylvania State University, State College, under the supervision of Professor George Engelmayr. "I confirmed my appetite for digital sciences discovered at ENS Paris-Saclay," she declares. She pursued another postdoc and became a researcher at MIT in Boston in Professor Raul Radovitzky's team, focusing on medical topics. She decided to decline two professorship offers from American universities — "I couldn't see myself living in those two cities."

Understanding the world through the virtual realm

Aurélie eventually settled in New York, where she worked for the Bloomberg group for nearly two years, developing algorithmic models in the economic and financial domain. Simultaneously, she founded her first company, In Silico Veritas, specializing in data and algorithmic consulting. "I love the idea of understanding the world, analyzing it, and predicting it by navigating through the digitized virtual realm!" she stated during its launch in 2016. Later, she resumed teaching continuously at MIT's Sloan School of Management, offering an online course called "Algorithmic Business Thinking." She recently co-founded a second deep-tech startup focused on AI applied to early breast cancer detection, where she continues to work in Research & Development.

A researcher's mindset

Aurélie emphasizes that education through and in research has been crucial in shaping her professional journey. It encourages constant confrontation with the unknown, accepting it with humility, and seeking ways to answer questions. It teaches extreme autonomy, resilience, and the ability to solve open, complex, and abstract problems. She highlights the powerful efficiency resulting from an impressive work capacity combined with effort optimization, a trait she finds in the overwhelming majority of individuals with a doctorate. While each school has its unique identity, according to Aurélie, research is ingrained in the DNA of ENS Paris-Saclay. "It makes it a unique place. And the 'normaliens' are unique individuals: they are all researchers at heart, whether they become professors, researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs, or something else!"

Aurélie emphasizes that 'normaliens' have all benefited from advanced training, regardless of their discipline. The contact with great professors influenced their ability to explain complex concepts with rigor and pedagogy. Today's entrepreneur also asserts that she gained confidence gradually throughout her studies. ENS Paris-Saclay also shapes its students with scientific transversality, a characteristic that allows 'normaliennes' and 'normaliens' to tackle the challenges of our society. "The presence of very different teaching departments (economics, mechanics, computer science, design...) makes our school a place where thinking differently and seeking knowledge outside our discipline becomes the norm for all students."

Opening up to the world

Aurélie started writing in mainstream newspapers and authored books, with her latest work just released. She enthusiastically praises ENS Paris-Saclay's project, which, according to her, further emphasizes their DNA toward openness to the world, others, and the complexity and richness of differences. Due to her personal history, she is particularly sensitive to two missions of ENS Paris-Saclay: attracting more young women to apply for the school's programs and promoting more social diversity among candidates. Reflecting on her student days, Aurélie recalls that only a few came from the middle or lower class. She emphasizes the need to act for more diversity, and this involves actions by alumni, who speak to the younger generation and show the way. 

Therefore, she doesn't hesitate to directly address her former peers from ENS Paris-Saclay: "Give back to others whenever you have the opportunity. And write! Because we lack popularizers in the sciences..."

Author of:

• ''De l'autre côté de la machine'', Éditions de l’Observatoire, 2019
• "L’apprentissage fait la force," Éditions de l’Observatoire, 2020
• "Les algorithmes font-ils la loi ?," Éditions de l’Observatoire, 2021
• "Algorithmes, bientôt maîtres du monde," La Martinière, 2023

Co-author of:

• "Autisme et zoothérapie: Communication et apprentissages par la médiation animale," with François Beiger, Dunod, 2010
• "Data&Sport La révolution," with Yannick Nyanga, Éditions de l’Observatoire, 2023
• "Résistance 2050," with Amanda Sthers, Éditions de l’Observatoire, 2023

Participation in collective works:

• "Femmes de sciences" (Preface), La Martinière, 2021
• "Les Digitales" (Preface), Cherche-midi, 2021