Catherine Bréchignac (; born 12 June 1946) is a
French physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
. She is a commander of the
Légion d'honneur, "secrétaire perpétuel honoraire" of the
Académie des sciences and former president of the
CNRS ("National Centre for Scientific Research"). ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' says she has "a formidable reputation for determination, decisiveness and an aptitude for analysing and clarifying complex matters."
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
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
.
Biography
Daughter of the physicist
Jean Teillac, Catherine Bréchignac entered the
École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-aux-Roses in 1967, she 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. 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 (ICSU).
[ ICSU]] 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. She was replaced by
Alain Fuchs in 2010, even though she was a candidate to her own succession. She was "secrétaire perpétuel" (permanent secretary) of the Académie des sciences, Division 1, from 2011 to 2018.
Field
According to the International Council for Science, Bréchignac co-founded the field of
cluster physics, which straddles the gap between atomic, molecular and solid-state physics.
Clusters are "the precursors of nano-objects."
Other functions and honours
* President of the CNRS
* Member of the Institute
* President of the Board of the Palais de la Découverte
* President of the
International Council for Science
* Member of the
Academy of Technologies
* Director of
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
* "Commandeur" of the
Legion d'honneurDécret du 18 avril 2014 portant promotion
''Journal officiel'' de la République française, n°0094, 20 April 2014, p. 6950
* Prix de l 'Académie des Sciences (1991)
* CNRS Silver Medal (1994)
* Correspondent member of the Academy of Sciences (1997)
* Winner of the Holweck Medal (2003)
* Member of the Academy of Sciences (2005)
* Doctor Honoris Causa of the Freie Universität Berlin (2003), the Georgia Tech Institute (2006) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (2007)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brechignac, Catherine
1946 births
Living people
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
French women physicists
French women scientists
Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour
Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite
ENS Fontenay-Saint-Cloud-Lyon alumni
Scientists from Paris