Gérard Férey (14 July 1941 – 19 August 2017) was a French

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

who was a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

and a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (, ; UVSQ), also known as Paris-Saclay University (), is a French public university created in 1991, located in the department of Yvelines and, since 2002, in Hauts-de-Seine. It is a constituent ...

. He specialized in the physical chemistry of solids and materials. He focused on the

crystal chemistry Crystal chemistry is the study of the principles of chemistry behind crystals and their use in describing structure-property relations in solids, as well as the chemical properties of periodic structures. The principles that govern the assembly of ...

of inorganic

fluorides Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts typi ...

and on porous solids. In September 2010, he received the CNRS Gold medal, the highest French scientific distinction.

History

Gerard Férey was a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

. In 1968, he founded the Department of Chemistry at the University Institutes of Technology of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. He argued his

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

at the

Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University Pierre and Marie Curie University ( , UPMC), also known as Paris VI, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, ...

in 1977. He was a teacher at the

from 1981 to 1996 and then at the

Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (, ; UVSQ), also known as Paris-Saclay University (), is a French public university created in 1991, located in the Departments of France, department of Yvelines and, since 2002, in Hauts-de-Sein ...

since that date, where he founded the Lavoisier Institute. From 1988 to 1992 he was deputy director of the Department of Chemistry at the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

. He was elected to the

18 November 2003. In 2007, he was vice-president of the Société Chimique de France. He was a member of the

Institut Universitaire de France The Institut Universitaire de France (IUF, Academic Institute of France), is a service of the French Ministry of Higher Education that annually distinguishes a small number of university professors for their research excellence, as evidenced by t ...

. He was also at the initiative of the Chemistry Ambition, a group that includes seven players in chemistry of France aimed at enhancing the image of the discipline to the public.

Bibliography

Gerard Férey published 605 articles in international journals, including the Journal of Solid State Chemistry, the Solid State Sciences, the Chemistry of Materials,

Angewandte Chemie International Edition ''Angewandte Chemie'' (, meaning "Applied Chemistry") is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Wiley-VCH on behalf of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker). Publishing formats include feature-length ...

, the

Journal of the American Chemical Society The ''Journal of the American Chemical Society'' (also known as JACS) is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1879 by the American Chemical Society. The journal has absorbed two other publications in its history, the ...

, four book chapters and one book (Crystal Chemistry, World Scientific Publishing, 2016). He gave more than 100 plenary lectures in international symposia, and deposited 14 international patents.

Awards

* ''Prix de chimie du solide de la Société chimique de France'' (Solid State Chemistry award of the Chemical Society of France) (1983) * ''Prix Paul Pascal de l’Académie des sciences'' (Paul Pascal award of the

) (1992) * ''Prix de l’Institut français du pétrole de l’Académie des sciences'' (

French Institute of Petroleum The IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) also known as French Institute of Petroleum (in French: ''Institut Français du Pétrole, IFP'') is a public research organisation in France founded in 1944 as Institute of Oil, Fuels and Lubricants (''Institut ...

award of the

) (2000) * ''Prix Gay-Lussac-Humboldt de la Fondation Alexander von Humboldt'' (Gay-Lussac-Humboldt award of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation) (2004) * ''Prix C.N.R. RAO de l’Académie nationale des sciences de l’Inde'' ( C.N.R. RAO award of the Indian Academy of Sciences) (2005) * ''Grand prix de la Société chimique du Japon'' (Japan chemical society award) (2008) * ''Prix Catalan-Sabatier de la Société royale de chimie espagnole'' (Catalan-Sabatier award of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry) (2008) * ''Prix ENI'' ( ENI award) (2009) - for his work on the massive sequestration of

CO2 Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at normally-encountere ...

and the explanation of this phenomenon. It develops the Mil-101, a solid which can store CO2. * CNRS Gold medal (2010)Gérard Férey : médaille d’or du CNRS
* Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Officer of the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

* Officer of the National Order of Merit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferey, Gerard 1941 births 2017 deaths 20th-century French chemists Members of the French Academy of Sciences University of Caen Normandy alumni Pierre and Marie Curie University alumni Academic staff of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite People from Manche 21st-century French chemists Solid state chemists Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research