École Polytechnique honors its first woman valedictorian

The inauguration of the avenue Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet on École Polytechnique’s campus, in her presence, was an opportunity to highlight the contribution of women to major scientific advances and École polytechnique's commitment to promote them.

Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet was first woman valedictorian at École Polytechnique’s cycle ingénieur polytechnicien program entrance exam in 1972, the first year in which women were admitted to the cycle ingénieur polytechnicien program.

“Bordered by avenues Bequerel and Coriolis, avenue Chopinet will benefit from a solid scientific neighborhood, but it will also resonate with the names of the women scientists, engineers and visionaries who have marked the history of our School,” said Laura Chaubard, President of École Polytechnique, citing the names of Sophie Germain, the first woman to attend the École by disguising her identity, Rose Dieng, the brilliant computer scientist, Caroline Aigle, the first female fighter pilot, and Claudine Hermann, a physicist of formidable talent and the first woman to be appointed professor at X in 1980.

“Many are those who continued to blaze the trail for women engineers after their studies at École Polytechnique. I would like to mention Caroline Laurent, who is here today, who, along with Monique Legrand Laroche, were the first women to be appointed four-star generals, and also Valérie André, a military doctor and the first woman general, who died a few days ago at the age of 102,” added Laura Chaubard.

The President of École Polytechnique also associated with the inauguration the names of the five other female pioneers - Nicole Gontier, Ta Thu Thuy, Françoise Combelles, Anne Ferry, Elisabeth Dupont-Kerlan and Dominique Senequier - who also joined the ranks of l'X in 1972. 

Strongly committed to giving women a greater place and visibility in scientific careers, École Polytechnique will be highlighting, as it did in 2024, its femaleacademicss, students, alumni and entrepreneurs between February 11 (International Day of Women and Girls in Science) and March 8 (International Women's Rights Day).

Today, avenue Chopinet is a central axis of the campus, which over the years has welcomed buildings emblematic of the School's development and ambitions. These include the installation of ENSTA Paris, a founding member with X of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the construction of the Bachelor, built as part of the expansion of École Polytechnique's training offer from 2015 onwards, with the launch of the Bachelor and MSc&T programs, and the new Pôle mécanique, inaugurated on October 3, 2024, which brings together research laboratories in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics and life mechanics from École polytechnique and ENSTA Paris.

In her speech preceding the unveiling of the avenue's plaque on February 3, 2025, Laura Chaubard also spoke of Anne Duthilleul-Chopinet's exemplary career in public service and the general interest, from the French présidency to the CNES (French Centre for Space Studies), and recalled that she continues this mission today as head of Maison Bakhita for migrants and refugees, and as vice-president of Secours Catholique.