What is homogenization? (Q2479750)

In this long dissertation written in French, the author explains his motivation for research in mathematics and specially in the study of homogenization problems. He starts within the 1970's, where he introduced the \(H \)-convergence with F. Murat, in order to describe the asymptotic behaviour of heterogeneous structures or problems in order to obtain the so-called effective coefficients. Throughout the whole paper, L. Tartar explains how mathematicians and non-mathematicians progressed in the comprehension of more and more complicated problems within that special field. The paper ends with a long list of some major or pioneering papers dealing with homogenization. This paper will surely be of interest for researchers in the history of mathematics.