From January 2026, a new management team will take the reins at IRISA, one of France's largest and oldest computer science research laboratories.
Olivier Barais, Professor at the University of Rennes, succeeds Guillaume Gravier, Director of Research at the CNRS, as Director of IRISA.
He is joined by Marie Babel, Professor at INSA Rennes, and François Taini, Professor at the University of Rennes.
A former student of the École des Mines in Douai, Olivier Barais obtained his PhD from the University of Lille in 2005. He then joined the Computer Science and Electronics Department (ISTIC) at the University of Rennes and became part of the Triskell research team, then Diverse team at IRISA, which he has headed since 2017.
In 2014, he obtained his accreditation to supervise research (HDR) in computer science and has supervised more than 23 doctoral theses since then.
Olivier Barais' research focuses on software engineering, with a particular emphasis on securing the open source software supply chain. He is also involved in numerous national and international projects and has published more than 200 articles in international journals and conferences. For 12 years, Olivier served as deputy director of ISTIC, working first with Gilles Lesventes and then Sophie Allain-Bailhache.
Olivier Barais is now taking on the role of director of the IRISA laboratory and will be supported by two professors who are recognised experts in their fields:
- Marie Babel, professor at INSA Rennes and member of the Rainbow team. Her work focuses on assistive robotics for people with disabilities, particularly the development of mobility aids.
- François Taiani, professor at the University of Rennes (ESIR) and former head of the Wide team. His research focuses on large-scale distributed computer systems.
The new management team commends the work of the outgoing team composed of Guillaume Gravier and the two deputy directors, Pascale Sebillot and Sandrine Blazy. The former management contributed to maintaining IRISA at its highest level of excellence in research and innovation, both in France and internationally.
In line with this dynamic, the laboratory, together with all its scientists and staff, its supervisory bodies (CNRS, University of Rennes, Centrale Supelec, ENS Rennes, IMT Atlantique, INRIA, INSA Rennes, Inserm, UBS) and its privileged partner, the INRIA centre at the University of Rennes, is committed to pursuing this ambitious collective strategy. The new management will place particular emphasis on the regional roots of IRISA's various sites, strengthening links with the regional and national industrial fabric, and enhancing the laboratory's international academic reputation.
