February 2012 – By decree of the President of the French Republic dated 20 February 2012, Roger Genet has been appointed president of Irstea, the National Institute for Environmental and Agricultural Science and Research.
Director General of Cemagref since 2009, Roger Genet is a biochemist and engineer from the prestigious National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts in Paris with a PhD from the University Paris-Sud. Having joined the CEA (Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission) in 1981, Roger Genet has spent the vast majority of his scientific career there. In 2004, he was appointed Research Director at the CEA and Professor at the National Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Techniques (INSTN) where he taught from 1993 to 2007. In February 2005, he became an Advisor on Life Sciences, Health and Bioethics for the cabinet of François d’Aubert, Minister for Research, then in June 2005, for the cabinet of François Goulard, Minister for Higher Education and Research. In March 2007, he was appointed Deputy Director of Life Sciences and Director of the Fontenay-aux-Roses Research Centre before becoming Director General of Cemagref in February 2009. Roger Genet was named President of the Scientific Council for Ademe (Environment and Energy Management Agency) on 11 January 2012. He presides over the National Alliance for Environmental Research since February 2010.
Irstea, a new name that better asserts Cemagref’s agro-environmental mission statement
Roger Genet’s nomination follows the revision of Cemagref’s founding decree to become Irstea: the National Institute for Environmental and Agricultural Science and Research. This new name clearly asserts the organisation’s positioning at the heart of environmental research in France on issues related to water, environmental risk management, environmental technologies and sustainable land development, which comprise its main fields of research for the last 30 years.
Press contact
Marie Signoret – Irstea
+33 (0)1 40 96 61 30 – +33 (0)6 77 22 35 62
presse@irstea.fr
To better assert its mission statement, Cemagref has become Irstea
About Irstea
Irstea, the National Institute for Environmental and Agricultural Science and Research, conducts research that deals with the issues raised by the agro-environmental question in the fields of water, natural risks, land use planning and environmental technologies. Its multi-disciplinary, action-oriented approach to research and expertise in support of public policy involves strong partnerships with universities and French and European research organisations, economic entities and public authorities. The Institute is a founding member of the AllEnvi, National Alliance for Environmental Research, and the European PEER (Partnership for European Environmental Research) network. Irstea has the ‘Carnot Institute’ label since 2006.
As a Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishment (EPST), Irstea falls within the purview of the Ministries of Research and Agriculture.
- Budget: 118 million euros, of which a third is own resources
- 1650 employees including a thousand scientists
