Gérard Marie Robert Toulouse, born on 4 September 1939 in Vattetot-sur-Mer (

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

), is a French

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimen ...

Diplomas and career

Normalien, agrégé de physique,

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in physics, research director at the

CNRS 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 ...

, member of several French and foreign Academies, and notably founding 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 ...

(in 2000) and Corresponding Member of the

French Academy of sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

Scientific work

Gérard Toulouse is the author of various works in the field of theoretical physics:

physics of condensed matter Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the sub ...

(

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...

, surfaces), magnetic impurity in a metal (

Kondo effect In physics, the Kondo effect describes the scattering of conduction electrons in a metal due to magnetic impurities, resulting in a characteristic change i.e. a minimum in electrical resistivity with temperature. The cause of the effect was fir ...

): discovery of the Toulouse limit, exact results in the study of critical phenomena of phase transitions, topological classification of defects in ordered media, frustrated and disordered systems, spin glasses, neural networks and brain theories. Studies of cognition. Ethics of science and technology. He won the 1983

Fernand Holweck Medal and Prize The Fernand Holweck Medal and Prize is a major European prize for Physics awarded jointly every year by the British Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Société Française de Physique (SFP). It is one of the four Grand Prix of the SFP and one of ...

Personal Commitments

In connection with his long-standing commitments (defence of human rights and international law, replacement of war by law, European construction), and his active participation in the emergence of the ethical movement in science and technology, he is notably a founding member of the Euroscience association (since 1997) and a member of the French association of the Pugwash movement (vice-president 1998-2010). Former member of the Standing Committee on Science & Ethics of ALLEA (Alliance of European Academies) from 1999 to 2010 (President between 2001 and 2006). Co-founder and Secretary-General of the La Ferthé Foundation, hosted by the

Fondation de France The Fondation de France ("Foundation of France") is an independent administrative agency which was established by the French government in an effort to stimulate and foster the growth of private philanthropy and private foundations in France.Fon ...

(1996). The La Ferthé Foundation is a member of the French Centre for Foundations (since its creation in 2003), and is active in several foundation networks (notably the family foundation network). Since autumn 2013, the position of Secretary General has been passed on to his niece Tessa Berthon. The La Ferthé Foundation is active in the cultural, scientific, economic and social fields by providing support to encourage study and creation. Among other actions, the foundation awards a prize 'Knowledge and Courage', the first winners of which were Florence Hartmann and Philippe Videlier (1998), and the most recent winners Sarah Oppenheim (2012), Nicole Otto (2013) and Lila Lamrani (2015). In 1993, the Lebanese physicist Rammal Rammal (1951-1991) created a prize in memory of his scientific godson, to honour eminent scientists from around the Mediterranean. Since 2000, the Rammal Award has been managed by the Euroscience association (based in Strasbourg) and its jury is European. Member of the French National Commission for

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

from 1997 to 2009, and President of its Natural Sciences Committee (1999-2009). Episodic columnist (from 2003 to 2011) in the weekly features on Science & Ethics of the daily newspaper La Croix.

Books for the general public

* ''Regards sur l'éthique des sciences'', Hachette-Littératures, 1998. * ''Les scientifiques et les droits de l'Homme'', avec Lydie Koch-Miramond, Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme, 2003. * ''Quelle éthique pour les sciences'' ?, avec Guillemette de Véricourt, Collection 'Les Essentiels Milan', Éditions Milan, 2005. * ''Sciences et Éthique. Chroniques (2003-2011)'', éditions Rue d'Ulm, 2016 ecueil de chroniques du journal ''La Croix''/small>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulouse, Gérard 1939 births People from Seine-Maritime French physicists Members of the French Academy of Sciences École Normale Supérieure alumni Living people