France presented to Taiwanese people

FRANCE, CULTURE,
INDUSTRY, RESEARCH
Olivier Teytaud --- olivier.teytaud@inria.fr

1) France
I just *love* Taiwan. I will try to convince you that you
can love France as well :-)

2) Université Paris-Sud & Inria

3) My laboratory

4) My research
NUTN, Tainan, 2012

FRANCE HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL:
Humans arrived in -1 800 000

Old days: 阿斯泰利克斯历险记
Greeks, Romans,
Celts, Gauls


Greeks, Romans,
Celts, Gauls

Middle-age


Greeks, Romans,
Celts, Gauls

Middle-age

<= Modern history


Greeks, Romans,
Celts, Gauls

Middle-age

<= Modern history

Contemporary era =>
( 現代史 )

FRANCE GEOGRAPHY IN A NUTSHELL:

First country in terms of number of time zones

The sun is 24/24 above France (only France
and UK have this property).

Big ocean surface thanks to small French islands
everywhere in the world.


After world war II:
- France was destroyed by two
successive wars on its land

- very strong dirigism decided for:
- military independence
- energy independence
- strong industrialization

- strong welfare mecanism: for good health,
good education.


After world war II:
- France was destroyed by two
successive wars on its land

- very strong dirigism (state influence)
decided for:
- military independence (nuclear weapons,
no more military service)
- energy independence
- strong industrialization

- strong welfare mecanism: for good health,
good education.

FRANCE IS WELL KNOWN FOR:

- Very good health system
- Not very expensive
- Very efficient
==> Taiwan very impressive for this!

- Healthy food ( 绿色食品 )
* Less obesity than western countries
(16.9%, vs US 33.9%)
nd st
* 2 best (1 =Japan) / heart disease death
(US=80/100000; France 29/100000)

- Great life expectancy ( 预期寿命 --- 4th
among countries with >10M)


Babies!
嬰兒 !

~ 2 babies per
woman

Much (much!) more than Taiwan
(why ? 為什麼呢？ ).


Melting pot: we have
all colors and it's
beautiful!

(Stinky) tofu replaced by
(stinky) cheese.
Less rice, bread instead.
Pastries.

Espresso (best food
in the world :-) )

th
5 largest nominal GDP
Thanks to massive dirigisme after WW II
Something in the middle between US and USSR
(and with moderate pollution!)
- Air France (1st airline company in the world
in terms of income)
- EDF = largest utility company
- GDF-Suez = largest energy company
- Veolia = largest environment
and water company
- Vinci, Bouygues, Eiffage = 1st ,2th,4th
building / public work companies
- Areva = world leader of nuclear power
- Michelin = world pneumatic leader
- Lafarge = world largest cement company
- EADS = 2nd aerospacial company
- Renault-Nissan = leader of electric cars

th

in terms of income)
and water company
- Renault-Nissan = leader of electric cars

th

in terms of income)
and water company
- Renault-Nissan = electric cars

th

in terms of income)
and water company
Bouygues, Eiffage = 1st ,2th,4th
- Vinci,We have nuclear
weapons.
building / public work companiesWe have nuclear
- Areva = world leader of nuclear power power plants.

th

in terms of income)
and water company
building / public work inpollution?
Paris-Tokyo 2.5 hours
without CO2
companies

th

in terms of income)
and water company
- Renault-Nissan = one of the leaders for electric cars

THE MAIN
INDUSTRIES IN FRANCE.


HIGH SPEED
WHEELED TRAIN
(fastest in the world)
574.8 km/h (357.2 mph).
(commercial ~ 330km/h)

The French organization of work:

- Working efficiently, saving up time
Real GDP per hour of work: France ranks 1st
among countries >20M

Laws protecting employees;
prevent bosses from
wasting their employee time.

Work is much
more collective here
in Taiwan (what do
you prefer ?).



- Strong trade unions
+ heavy contests ==> employees protection
==> often moderately hierarchic
==> good place for working



+ heavy contests ==> employees protection

- Massive unemployment
(yes, sorry; not only good news...)


Real GDP ( 国内生产总值 ) per hour: France ranks 1st
==> tougher professional relations (than in Taiwan)
==> strong separation from private life
+ heavy contests + strikes ==> employees protection
Recently I've seen
that big contests can
- Massive unemployment take place in
(yes, sorry; not only good news...) Taiwan :-)

(==> Gender gap: better or worse than in Taiwan ?)

Other differences, quickly:

- Much more hierarchy in Taiwan <== difficult to
- Far more privacy concerns in France <= imagine ?

The Boss is more the Boss in Taiwan.
The teacher is more the Boss in Taiwan.
The Boss can invade private life much more in Taiwan.

==> for this I prefer France
==> equality in personal or professional relations
matters a lot for me
==> my students can (must) tell me that I am wrong
==> I can tell my boss that his job is not well done


- French drivers drive faster
- Taiwanese drivers drive more crazily (no rule :-) )

France Taiwan


- French women (slightly) taller (1 %)
- French men (slightly) taller (1.5 %)
- French women heavier (+8% BMI) (US: +23% than tw)
- French men heavier (+6% BMI) (US: +16% than tw)


- Taiwanese people smile more (personal observation :-) )


- Taiwanese people smile more (personal observation :-) )
- More criminality in France (but far less than US)
- Taiwan has less very poor people (“poverty line”)
(Taiwan is ranked 1st by
wikipedia/ CIA factbook for this...)

UNIVERSITE PARIS-SUD + INRIA


1) France


3) My laboratory & team

4) My research

NUTN, Tainan, 2012

FRENCH UNIVERSITIES

Widely said: the French educative system is “elitist”.
Top 5%, 10% are very good.
But average not very good.
Crucial difference (see PISA):
- Top performance in France is very good.
- Average performance in Taiwan is very good.
==> maybe this is why less
criminality/unemployment in Taiwan ?

Strong focus on maths in France (more
than Comp Science).

The “Prépas” system: the best students don't go
to universities, except possibly for master / ph.D;
they go to some elitist schools.
NUTN, Tainan, 2012

FOCUS ON MATHS ?
THE FIELDS MEDALS “NOBEL OF MATHS”
United States

France
USSR/Russia

UK
Japan
Belgium

Great performance for just 60M inhabitants.
Question: Is it a good idea to focus so much on maths ?
NUTN, Tainan, 2011

OTHER DOMAINS ?
Nobel prizes per habitant ~ good, but less surprising

NUTN, Tainan, 2011

Université
Paris-Sud + Inria
In Université Paris-Sud
Largest campus in France
But small because French universities are small
Many Nobel Prize / Fields medals
Faculty of sciences: mathematics, computer science,
physics, chemistry, biology, earth and space
sciences ==> 12000 students
Inria affiliation:
> 50 years old
Devoted to research in comp. science, with a focus
on link with applications and society

Université Paris-Sud

Goes back to research in nuclear power and
chemistry after world war II ==> France wanted its
independence (De Gaulle and others)
30 000 students
Largest campus in France
But small compared to big universities because
French universities are small (but good :-) )
Many Nobel Prize / Fields medals
Faculty of sciences: mathematics, computer science,
physics, chemistry, biology, earth and space
sciences ==> 12000 students


Sorry, it's in Ile-De-France (Paris suburbs)
==> life is expensive
==> but ph.D. salary clearly enough for living
(...not if you have children with you...)
==> Many strong people in Ile-De-France.
==> Many great industries around there.

Our most famous schools are in Ile-De-France.
Those who want to do research often
join our master.
Excellent level in master and ph.D.

For internships or ph.D., English is ok.
For master, French requested (sorry for that), except
some masters (molecular imaging, nuclear energy,
astrophysics, nanosciences, www.u-
psud.fr/en/index.html):
But French can be helpful:
1. Mandarin Chinese (1.12 billion)
2. English (480 million)
3. Spanish (320 million)
4. Russian (285 million)
5. French (270 million) ==> and future is ensured by Africa;
and Spanish is somehow close to French
IMPORTANT: no use speaking French for ph.D. or
for internships.

Most influential languages.
Moreover, Spanish and French are very related.

These statistics go
back to 1990's... today
Chinese would probably
be much higher
ranked!

ALREADY
COLLABORATIONS WITH
NUTN: GAME OF GO

We did plenty of good stuff
with NUTN around
the game of Go.
This will stay in computer
science history.

More France-Taiwan
collaboration would
be good :-)

UNIVERSITE PARIS-SUD + INRIA


1) France


3) My laboratory & team

4) My research
NUTN, Tainan, 2011

MY LAB:

LRI (115 permanent staff)

Depends on:

- CNRS (best research institute in
the world for the SCImago
Ranking)

- INRIA (more focus on links
with real world and
Economy – this is less
usual in France -
Université Paris-Sud than in Taiwan)

INRIA

- dedicated to computer-science and automation

- full-time researchers

- highly selective

- you've done great things in research ==> join!

- students: you have very good marks, apply for a
ph.D. funding in Inria!

- you don't have to speak French

MY TEAM: TAO http://tao.lri.fr

Artificial intelligence / operations research / optimization
No protocol: no invading hierarchy, not much time lost in
boring useless meetings
Theory and applications
Many full-time researchers
Many ph.D. students, coming from famous schools
Already had students speaking Chinese
Great freedom for doing important research ===> don't come if
you don't like to decide yourself what you do

==> the only drawback is that it is in Paris (life
more expensive than everywhere else in France)

Executive summary
I like both Taiwan and France, for different
reasons
Taiwan has a great educative system for all
France has a great educative system for the best
Both countries have big (distinct) strong industries
Important cultural differences
Taiwanese politeness = being friendly, asking questions
French politness = respecting privacy/freedom
(e.g. in France, don't touch children of people you don't
know, don't ask too much questions on private life)

Taiwan and France have complementary qualities
==> double culture makes sense

You don't have to speak French for a ph.D. / internship

All questions/comments welcome (including
flames :-) ), also email olivier.teytaud@inria.fr

COMPUTATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE
Helping computers to
make decisions

( 人工智能 )

Contains:

- statistics ( 统计学 )

- optimization ( 最优化 )

My research contains
maths, methodologies (algorithms),
applications.

I think applications are
easier to discuss

So I'll discuss one application
here: electricity management.
輸電網路

French energy company EDF:

- world’s largest utility company.

- 120,000+ megawatts in Europe,
Latin America, Asia,
the Middle-East and Africa.

- Controls companies in all
continents.

- France wants to increase
energetic independence (Taiwan also ?)

ELECTRICITY GENERATION
in FRANCE

France =
world champion
of nuclear
power plant
( 核电站 )

ELECTRICITY GENERATION
in FRANCE – also hydroelectricity

FUTURE EXTENSIONS:
CONNECTIONS TO THE NORTH OF EUROPE ?
CONNECTIONS TO AFRICA ?
Using North-Euope wind in winter ?
Using Africa's wind in summer ?
MORE NUCLEAR POWER ?
because currently coal / oil kill more people
than nuclear power ?
and because no earthquake and no tsunami ?

OR NO MORE NUCLEAR POWER ?
because we never know what could happen
(terrorism ?)

A RISK: SOMETHING LIKE
THE 2003 BLACK OUT IN US
We had similar stuff (smaller)

ANOTHER RISK: LACK OF WATER
(DROUGHT)
(nuclear power plants
cooled by water)

E.g. the terrible 2003 heat wave
(15 000 died; 6.2 times more
than 921 earthquake in Taiwan)
(a night with no less than 25°C)
==> close to electricity breakdown!

Consider a power grid.
There are on the grid:
- electricity producers;
- electricity consumers.

First, you must ensure that
Production = Demand,
under constraint “no congestion”.

This is short time unit commitment.
Actions= increase or decrease power.

If production > demand,
the rotor is too fast, possible destruction.

If production < demand,
the rotor is too slow, possible destruction.

This was infra-day.
Longer term: which power plants should
I switch on / off these days ?

==> optimization problem
==> minimize production cost,
under constraint demand=production
==> optimization
==> weakly uncertain

Annual and pluri-annual.
When should I organize maintenance ?

When should I use my stocks
(which stocks ?).

Should I use hydroelectricity in spring ?

Should I store electricity ? (pumping)

Should I pump ?

==> storing electricity
by pumping when
low price

==> Optimization with big uncertainties:
- energy prices
- inflows (rain, snow) for hydroelectricity
- demand (economy)

==> Multistage: my actions will depend
on observations.

Long term (50 years)
==> developing renewables ?
(requires smart grids, for helping production=demand)

Taiwan seemingly
very advanced
==> energy savings
in smart grids (see elasticity to prices)

==> supergrids: connecting the world for
smoothing peaks ?

==> building new power plants
(Nuclear ? Coal ? Wind farms)

Long term optimization with
huge uncertainties

Taiwan: HVDC connections to other countries ?

Scientists and engineers
can certainly not decide
if a connection
should be built,
but they can explain
the technical
consequences.

DesertTec – a supergrid ( 超級電
網)

DESERTEC officials say the project could one day deliver 15 percent
of Europe's electricity and a considerable part of MENA's electricity
Demand.
Comment by an (anonymous :-) ) Taiwanese expert: it will never work.

Optimization: finding x such that f(x) is
minimum and x in D

Statistics: modelizing climate,
elasticity (= to which extent demand decreases
when prices increase)

Multistage optimization:
choosing a policy P so that we make
decision P(x) when we observe state x

Expertise in electricity: modelizing power plants,
collecting possible scenarios for the future.

We also work on
the game of Go ( 围棋 ).
Why ?
Go (and other games) are similar
to decision making in power grids.

Both involve decision making, several
time steps, uncertainties.

We also work on the game of Go.
Why ?
- because people trust us when we do a
big performance in Go; whereas nobody
cares about results on
complicated models of electricity.
- because experiment on Go is great:
nobody will die or lose 1 billion $
if we do a big mistake

- because Go is a fascinating
artificial intelligence challenge

The game of Go is a part of AI (artificial intelligence).
Computers are ridiculous in front of children.

Easy situation.
Termed
“semeai”.
Requires a little
bit
of abstraction.

72

The game of Go is a part of AI.
Computers are ridiculous in front of children.

800 cores, 4.7
GHz,
top level program.

Plays a stupid
move.

73

The game of Go is a part of AI.
Computers are ridiculous in front of children.years old child
A6
can
solve it; and there
are
11 years old
professional
players

74

I just love my job.
Research. Big applications.
I work on this mainly in France.
Maybe a future for this work in Taiwan
(electricity is important currently in
Taiwan, and in all the world...).

Like it ?
Apply for internships / ph.D.
in France.
Don't have to speak French. 75

I have spent 1 year in Taiwan,
but Taiwan still surprises me a lot.

For example, I was very surprised
by recent contests in Taipei; I believed
that Taiwanese people did not contest.

Sometimes Taiwan looks like a country
with plenty of strict rules; but on road
there's no rule.

Comments on this talk are more than
welcome. I am curious about Taiwan :-)

olivier.teytaud@gmailcom
76

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