Jean Vincent Bellissard (born 1 March 1946,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

) 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 ...

and

mathematical physicist Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developmen ...

, known for his work on

C*-algebras In mathematics, specifically in functional analysis, a C∗-algebra (pronounced "C-star") is a Banach algebra together with an involution satisfying the properties of the adjoint. A particular case is that of a complex algebra ''A'' of continuous ...

K-theory In mathematics, K-theory is, roughly speaking, the study of a ring generated by vector bundles over a topological space or scheme. In algebraic topology, it is a cohomology theory known as topological K-theory. In algebra and algebraic geometry, ...

noncommutative geometry Noncommutative geometry (NCG) is a branch of mathematics concerned with a geometric approach to noncommutative algebras, and with the construction of ''spaces'' that are locally presented by noncommutative algebras of functions (possibly in some ge ...

as applied to

solid state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the l ...

, particularly, to

quantum Hall effect The quantum Hall effect (or integer quantum Hall effect) is a quantized version of the Hall effect which is observed in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, in which the Hall resistance exh ...

. Bellissard worked as a teaching assistant at the ''

École catholique des arts et métiers 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, Savoi ...

'' (E.C.A.M.) from 1965 to 1969. He graduated from the ''Université Claude Bernard Lyon'' 1 with bachelor's degree in 1967, ''

Diplôme d'études approfondies A Master of Advanced Studies or Master of Advanced Study (MAS, M.A.S., or MASt) is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working pro ...

'' (DEA) in wave mechanics in 1968, and DEA in theoretical physics in 1970. He qualified in 1969 with the ''

Agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''professe ...

'' in physics. From 1969 to 1970 he taught at Lyon's ''Lycée La Martinière'', an engineering preparatory school, and was simultaneously enrolled as a graduate student in theoretical physics at the

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II o ...

. In 1974 he received his doctorate from the

with thesis ''Champs quantifiés dans un champ exterieur'' (Quantized fields in an external field) with advisor

Raymond Stora Raymond Félix Stora (18 September 1930 – 20 July 2015) was a French theoretical physicist. He was a research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), as well as a member of CERN's theory group. His work focused ...

. Bellissard was a postdoc from 1974 to 1974 at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

with advisor Jean-Jacques Loeffel. At the ''Université de Provence Aix-Marseille'' I, Bellissard was from 1970 to 1980 an assistant professor, from 1980 to 1991 an associate professor. From 1991 he was to 2007 a full professor in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. On a visit from October 1979 to January 1980 at the '' Institut des hautes études scientifiques'' (I.H.É.S.) he worked with

Alain Connes Alain Connes (; born 1 April 1947) is a French mathematician, and a theoretical physicist, known for his contributions to the study of operator algebras and noncommutative geometry. He is a professor at the , , Ohio State University and Vande ...

and started on a program of research on the

of aperiodic solids. Bellissard created the Group of Theoretical Physics at the

Paul Sabatier University Paul Sabatier University (''Université Paul Sabatier'', UPS, also known as Toulouse III) is a French public university, in the Academy of Toulouse. It is one of the several successor universities of the University of Toulouse. Toulouse III was ...

. During the 1980s he visited the United States several times. From 1983 to 1984 he was a visiting professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. In 1986 he was visiting researcher at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. From 1993 to 1999 he was the editor-in-chief of the ''

Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincaré Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' (theoretical physics). In 2002 he moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to become a full professor at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he has a joint appointment in the School of Mathematics and the School of Physics. In 1989 he received the '' Prix Paul-Langevin'' from the ''

Société Française de Physique The Société Française de Physique (SFP), or the French Physical Society, is the main professional society of French physicists. It was founded in 1873 by Charles Joseph d'Almeida. History The French Physical Society is a state-approved non- ...

''. In 1994 he was an Invited Speaker at the

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the Nevanlinna Prize (to be rename ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

with talk ''Noncommmutative geometry and the quantum Hall effect''. In 1996 he was made ''Chevalier Ordre des Palmes Académique'' (France). He was elected a Fellow of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

in 2012.

Selected publications

* ''K-theory of C*-algebras in solid state physics'', Lect. Notes Phys. 257, 99–156 (1986). * ''Gap labeling theorems for Schrödinger Operators'', in

Michel Waldschmidt Michel Waldschmidt (born June 17, 1946 at Nancy, France) is a French mathematician, specializing in number theory, especially transcendental numbers. Biography Waldschmidt was educated at Lycée Henri Poincaré and the University of Nancy unti ...

Claude Itzykson Claude Georges Itzykson, (11 April 1938 – 22 May 1995) was a French theoretical physicist who worked in quantum field theory and statistical mechanics. Biography Separated from his parents by World War II, his father was taken to a Na ...

, Jean-Marc Luck, Pierre Moussa (eds.): ''From Number Theory and Physics'', pp. 538–630, Les Houches 1989, Springer 1992 *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellissard, Jean 1946 births Living people Theoretical physicists Mathematical physicists 20th-century French physicists 21st-century French physicists Scientists from Lyon Aix-Marseille University alumni Academic staff of the University of Provence Georgia Tech faculty Fellows of the American Mathematical Society