Paul Couderc (15 July 1899 – 5 February 1981) was a French academic who held
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
professorships at lycées in
Chartres
Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...
(1926–1929) and
Paris (1930–1944).
Biography
Couderc completed his education at lycées in
Nevers and
Dijon, followed by a
doctorate in mathematical sciences from the
École Normale Supérieure in Paris.
In 1926, he married Blanch Jurus.
Throughout his career, Couderc authored approximately fifteen works in the field of
astronomy.
He provided an interpretation for the phenomena of light echoes around Nova Persei (1901), specifically their perceived superluminal expansion.
This geometrical explanation later found application in the study of
supernovae
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a ...
,
quasar
A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
s, and
γ-ray bursts.
Awards and recognition
*
Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science
The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting scientific ideas to lay people. It was created in 1952, following a donation from Biju Patnaik, Founder President of the Kalinga ...
(1966)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couderc, Paul
1899 births
1981 deaths
French mathematicians