The Jérôme Lohez Foundation

Antoine Desir (France / Dual Degree: École Polytéchnique, Palaiseau – Columbia University)

Mr. Antoine Desir is a mathematically gifted young man. After attending preparatory school at Louis-Le-Grand, Antoine was ranked 7th out of 83 in a national entrance competition to enter École Polytéchnique’s Mathematics and Engineering Science program.

In spring 2011, Antoine worked with Dr. William M. McEneaney in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University California San Diego, to study a method of reduction of the curse of dimensionality in optimal control, using a max-plus, or “tropical,” algorithm, in which the graph of the value function is approximated by a tropical polyhedron. This work led to publication, which is a high honor for a master’s-level student. Antoine also did research on Revenue Yield Management for Air France while he was a student at the Polytéchnique.

A French citizen of Vietnamese origin, Antoine has witnessed with the extreme poverty of a developing country, and he has also lived in the Parisian milieu of elite students competing for spots in the French Grandes Écoles. Antoine understands what generosity and humane philanthropy mean. His father, a successful entrepreneur and prominent social activist in Vietnam, established a NGO called “Dust of Life,” to provide computers and Internet access to poor children. Antoine will follow his father’s example with a commitment to serve the needs of underprivileged communities.