The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) is a public organization under the responsibility of the French Ministry of Education and Research. It is the largest fundamental research organization in Europe, the CNRS carries out research in all fields of knowledge, through its ten institutes:

• Institute of Biological Sciences
• Institute of Chemistry
• National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy
• Institute of Ecology and Environment
• Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences
• Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences
• Institute for Information Sciences and Technologies
• National Institute for Mathematical Sciences
• National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Institute of Physics

The CNRS encourages collaboration between specialists from different disciplines, in particular with universities, thus opening up new fields of inquiry to meet social and economic needs. The CNRS has developed interdisciplinary programs, which bring together several departments as well as other research institutions and industry.

It is therefore not surprising that Alain Fuchs, the President of the CNRS gives the TMBI his full support (see his letter)