Olivier Berné is an astrophysicist and research director at the CNRS at the Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP) in Toulouse. He is a specialist in astrochemistry and the formation of planetary systems, his work focuses in particular on regions where stars and planets form. Since 2015, he has been involved in the James Webb Space Telescope mission and led one of the first international observation programmes of the Orion Nebula.
As co-founder of the Labos 1point5 collective, which works to reduce the environmental footprint of research, he is also interested in the changes the scientific community must undergo in response to environmental challenges. This dual experience – spanning major space infrastructure and reflection on the impact of research – informs his perspective on the role of space exploration in the environmental transition.
He is the author of Destination Orion – Voyage à bord du télescope James-Webb (Dunod, 2023, reissued in 2025), and Le Moment Orwellien – La science face aux nouveaux obscurantismes (Le Seuil, 2026), co-written with Tamara Ben Ari et Emmanuelle Perez Tisserant.
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