Catherine Bréchignac

Catherine Bréchignac

Catherine Bréchignac in 2006
Born 12 June 1946
Paris
Residence France
Nationality French
Fields Physics
Institutions CNRS
Alma mater École Normale Supérieure de Lyon
Faculté des sciences d'Orsay
Notable awards Officier of the Légion d'honneur
Many others, see article

Catherine Bréchignac (born 12 June 1946) is a French physicist. She is an Officer of the Légion d'honneur, President of the International Council for Science[1] and former president of the CNRS ("National Centre for Scientific Research"), Europe's largest scientific body.[2] The Times says she has "a formidable reputation for determination, decisiveness and an aptitude for analysing and clarifying complex matters."[3] As a president of the CNRS, she was responsible for 25,000 employees, 12,000 of whom are researchers, and a budget of 2.42 billion Euros.[3]

Biography

Daughter of the physicist Jean Teillac and alumnus of the École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-aux-Roses, Catherine Bréchignac received her DEA (Masters-level qualification) at the Faculté des sciences d'Orsay in 1971, her doctorate in 1977, and became a Research Director in 1985. In 1989 she became director of the Aimé Cotton laboratory, and was Director General of the CNRS from 1997 to 2000. She clashed with Claude Allègre, the minister at the time, over reforms she oversaw at the institution.[4] She became President of the Institut d'optique théorique et appliquée ("Institute of Optical Theory and Practice") in 2003 and of the Palais de la découverte ("Palace of Discovery") in 2004. In 2005 she was elected future president of the International Council for Science. She was appointed President of the CNRS at the Council of Ministers of 11 January 2006 on the recommendation of François Goulard, the minister for higher education and research.[5][6]

Field

According to the International Council for Science, Bréchignac founded the field of cluster physics, which straddles the gap between atomic, molecular and solid-state physics.[1] Clusters are "the precursors of nano-objects."[1]

Other functions and honours
  • Prix de l 'Académie des Sciences (1991)
  • CNRS Silver medal (1994)
  • Correspondent member of the Academy of Sciences (1997)
  • Winner of the Holweck Prize (2003)
  • Member of the Academy of Sciences (2005)
  • Doctor Honoris Causa of the Freie Universität Berlin (2003), the Georgia Tech Institute (2006) and the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (2007)[1]

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Catherine Bréchignac
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Executive Board - ICSU President: Catherine Bréchignac". International Council for Science. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-29. ICSU]
  2. ↑ Terraso, David (2006-02-13). "Professor named president of Europe’s largest scientific body". Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "At the centre of revolution in research: Catherine Bréchignac". Times Higher Education. 2000-04-14. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  4. ↑ "Catherine Bréchignac". Les Échos (in French). 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  5. ↑ "New president pledges to put science back at the top of CNRS agenda". Times Higher Education. 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  6. ↑ Blandin, Noël (2006-01-12). "Catherine Bréchignac est nommée présidente du CNRS". Republique des Lettres (in French). Retrieved 2009-05-29.