Denise Pumain (born 1946) is a French geographer. Pumain specialises in urban and theoretical geography. She is a member of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

and of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

Early life and education

Pumain was born in 1946. She studied geography at the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

between 1965 and 1969 and received her doctorate in human sciences and literature in 1980.

Career

She began teaching at the

Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (), also known as Paris 1 (or Paris I) and Panthéon-Sorbonne University (or, together with Sorbonne University and Sorbonne Nouvelle University, simply as the Sorbonne), is a Public university, public rese ...

in 1970. She became a researcher for the

Institut national d'études démographiques The French Institute for Demographic Studies (, ; INED) is a French research institute specializing in demography and population studies in general. History Before 1945 In 1941, Nobel Prize winner Alexis Carrel, an early proponent of eugenics ...

in 1981 until 1986. In 1986, she became a Professor at the

Paris 13 University Sorbonne Paris North University () is a public university based in Paris, France. It is one of the thirteen universities that succeeded the University of Paris in 1968. It is a multidisciplinary university located in north of Paris, in the munici ...

before returning to the Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University to teach in 1989. She also held the post of rector at the

Académie de Grenoble An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

between 2000 and 2001. In 1996, she founded the geography journal ''Cybergeo''. She was awarded with a CNRS Bronze medal in 1984, decorated as a Chevalier of the Order of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1999 and decorated as an officer of the National Order of Merit in 2009. Pumain also became a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

in 1995, became a Corresponding Member of the

in 2009 and became a Corresponding Fellow of the

in 2012. In 2010, she won the

Vautrin Lud Prize The ''Prix International de Géographie Vautrin-Lud'', known in English as the Vautrin Lud Prize, is the highest award in the field of geography. Established in 1991, the award is named after the 16th Century French scholar , who first named, in 1 ...

and also received an Advanced Grant from the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

to research different urban dynamics in cities across the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pumain, Denise 1946 births Living people Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Knights of the Legion of Honour Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Corresponding fellows of the British Academy École Normale Supérieure alumni Academic staff of the University of Paris Members of Academia Europaea Recipients of the Vautrin Lud International Geography Prize French geographers Women geographers