Geneviève Comte-Bellot (born 29 July 1929) 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 ...

specialising in fluid dynamics. She is known for her work on

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

and

aeroacoustics Aeroacoustics is a branch of acoustics that studies noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. Noise generation can also be associated with periodically varying flows. A notable example of th ...

Biography

Comte-Bellot was born on 29 July 1929. After obtaining her diploma from the

Université Grenoble Alpes The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

in 1953, she earned her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

in Paris the following year. She taught at a high school in Chalon-sur-Saône from 1954 to 1956, before joining the

French National Center for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

as a Senior Research Associate; Comte-Bellot remained in this position until 1967. In 1963, Comte-Bellot completed her dissertation "''Turbulent Flow between two parallel walls''", and was awarded a PhD by the Université Grenoble Alpes. She became a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

and joined Stanley Corrsin's team at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

as a Fulbright scholar in 1963, where she oversaw his "Velvet wind-tunnel". Comte-Bellot joined the

École centrale de Lyon The École centrale de Lyon (ECL) is a research university in greater Lyon, France. Founded in 1857 by François Barthélemy Arlès-Dufour in response to the increasing industrialization of France, it is one of the oldest graduate schools in Fr ...

(ECL) in 1967 as a

Maître de Conférences ''Maître'' (spelled ''Maitre'' according to post-1990 spelling rules) is a commonly used honorific for lawyers, judicial officers and notaries in France, Belgium, Switzerland and French-speaking parts of Canada. It is often written in its abbrev ...

(lecturer) and became a professor in 1971, before her promotion to Professeur de Classe exceptionnelle in 1982. At this university, she began researching

and founded the acoustics department in 1980. She served as director of the training and research unit (UER) of mechanics at

Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 (french: link=no, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1, UCBL) is one of the three public universities of Lyon, France. It is named after the French physiologist Claude Bernard and specialises in science and technol ...

from 1977 to 1982. On 2 April 1990, Comte-Bellot was appointed as a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences. Following her retirement, she became emeritus professor at the ECL in 1998. In 2005, Comte-Bellot was appointed as a Foreign Associate of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for contributions in fluid mechanics and acoustics. She is also a member of the

French Academy of Technologies The National Academy of Technologies of France (''Académie des technologies'') is a learned society, founded in 2000, with an emphasis on technology, and the newest of French academies. In 2007 it acquired the status of ''établissement public'', w ...

. She was appointed Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 2013. The American Physical Society awarded her with their

Fluid Dynamics Prize The Fluid Dynamics Prize is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society (APS) since 1979. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding achievement in fluid dynamics research". The prize is currently valued at . In 2004, the ...

in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comte-Bellot, Genevieve 1929 births 20th-century French physicists 21st-century French physicists 20th-century French women scientists 21st-century French women scientists Recipients of the Legion of Honour Living people Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering