Some Questions Concerning RNA Folding

I am both moved and embarrassed to have been invited to participate in this conference. The IHÉS is a very special place for me, because my father, Louis Michel, worked here for more than thirty years, until his death in fact, not quite two years ago. Sadly, I never visited the IHÉS while he was here - for no good reason - except perhaps that I am one of the four of his six children who were scientists: My brother is a mathematician, one of my sisters is a climatologist, and another one is a linguist specialized in Paleo-Babylonian. Each of us was very careful not to interfere with the professional lives of the others ...