Xavier Le Pichon (born 18 June 1937 in
Qui Nhơn
Quy Nhon ( vi, Quy Nhơn ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2019 its population was 457,400. H ...
,
French protectorate of Annam (after
South Vietnam and today
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
) is a French
geophysicist.
Among many other contributions, he is known for his comprehensive model of
plate tectonics
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...
(1968), helping create the field of plate tectonics. In 1968 he combined the kinematic ideas of W.J. Morgan, D. McKenzie and R.L. Parker with the large data sets collected by Lamont, and especially with the respective magnetic profiles, to show that Plate Tectonics could accurately describe the evolution of the major ocean basins. He is professor at the
Collège de France
The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...
, holder of the Chair of Geodynamics (1986–2008).
He is a lifelong devout Catholic, and has come to think of caring attention to others' weakness as an essential quality that allowed humanity to evolve. He lives with his wife and has five children and eleven grandchildren.
Biography
Le Pichon holds a doctorate in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. Professional career:
* 1963: He began his scientific career as a scientific assistant at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
,
New York,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
* In 1969, he became head of the marine geology department of the oceanologic center of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
in
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
, France.
* In 1978, he became professor at
Université P. et M. Curie (University of Paris VI).
* In 1984, he was head of the geology department 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 1986, he became a professor at the Collège de France.
Prizes and memberships of learned societies
* In 1973, he won the
CNRS Silver medal
The CNRS Silver Medal is a scientific award given every year to about fifteen researchers by the French National Centre for Scientific Research
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherch ...
.
* 1984:
Maurice Ewing Medal from the
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...
* 1985: member of the
French Academy of Sciences; made knight 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 ...
* 1990:
Japan Prize;
[Laureates of the Japan Prize]
japanprize.jp made officer of the
National Order of Merit
* 1991:
Wollaston Medal
The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.
The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), ...
,
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows.
Fe ...
* 1995: foreign associate of the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
* 2002:
Balzan Prize
Works
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References
Further reading
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External links
home page at Collège de France* Interview with Le Pichon
"Fragility and the Evolution of Our Humanity"– ''
Speaking of Faith'' (25 June 2009)
Xavier Le PichonInternational Balzan Prize Foundation
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Living people
French geophysicists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Wollaston Medal winners
1937 births
People from Bình Định province
Collège de France faculty
École Normale Supérieure faculty
Columbia University faculty
French Roman Catholics
Marine geophysicists
{{Geophysics-stub