Les Houches School of PhysicsSince 1951

For more than 70 years, the École de Physique des Houches has welcomed young physicists from all over the world who come to acquire and perfect their scientific knowledge in a magnificent setting at the foot of the Mont Blanc mountain range. Founded after the Second World War by a young physicist - Cécile DeWitt Morette - who wanted to help rebuild her country, this site of Grenoble Alpes University quickly became a recognized center of excellence, whose model has been reproduced in many countries. The School has been recognized as an Historic Site by the European Physical Society in 2020.

World-renowned teachers (about 50 Nobel Prize winners and several Fields medalists) have taught at the École de Physique des Houches, contributing to its international reputation. Some young students of the School have become famous scientists, such as Pierre Gilles De Gennes, Claude Cohen Tannoudji, Alain Connes or Françoise Combe, and have in turn shared their knowledge with the students of the School of Physics.

Beyond being a place for the transmission of knowledge, the School is the hub of scientific discussions at the origin of great new ideas. Stephen Hawking [1] wrote: "there was an exciting period that culminated in the Summer School at Les Houches in 1972, during which we solved most of the major problems in black hole theory."

Since the creation of the School, Grenoble Alpes University has been the guardian of this university heritage nestled in the Alps. The constant support of the UGA has enabled the construction of new buildings and an infrastructure to match the School's reputation. Today, 11 buildings, including a restaurant and chalet residences, make this unique place an ideal setting for study and scientific exchange. Since 2017, the UGA and its partners CNRS, CEA and ENS-Lyon have finalized an agreement [2] ensuring a serene future for the Ecole de Physique des Houches which will thus be able to remain one of the great world sites of knowledge and scientific study.

[1] From "My brief history" Stephen Hawking, Bantam 2013
[2] Unité Mixte de Service from 2016 to 2020, then Unité d'Appui à la Recherche from 2020.