Xavier Le Pichon
| Xavier Le Pichon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 June 1937 Qui Nhơn, Annam, French Indochina |
| Died | 22 March 2025 (aged 87) Sisteron, France |
| Citizenship | France |
| Education | University of Caen Normandy Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre |
| Known for | Comprehensive model of plate tectonics |
| Awards | CNRS Silver Medal, member of the French Academy of Sciences; knight of the Legion of Honour; Wollaston Medal; foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences;Balzan Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geophysics |
| Workplaces | Columbia University, Collège de France, oceanological centre of Brittany, Pierre and Marie Curie University, École Normale Supérieure |
Xavier Le Pichon (French pronunciation: [ɡzavje lə piʃɔ̃]; 18 June 1937 – 22 March 2025) was a French geophysicist.[1] Among many other contributions, he was known for his comprehensive model of plate tectonics (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, show that Plate Tectonics could accurately describe the evolution of the major ocean basins. He was a professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Chair of Geodynamics (1986–2008).[1] He was a lifelong fervent Catholic and came to think of caring attention to others' weaknesses as an essential quality that allowed humanity to evolve.[2] He lived with his wife and had six children and eleven grandchildren. He died in Sisteron on 22 March 2025, at the age of 87.[3][4]
Timeline
Le Pichon held a doctorate in physics. Professional career:[1]
- 1963: He began his scientific career as a scientific assistant at Columbia University, New York, United States.
- In 1969, he became head of the marine geology department of the oceanology center of Brittany in Brest, 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.
- 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.
- 1984: Maurice Ewing Medal from the American Geophysical Union
- 1985: member of the French Academy of Sciences; made knight of the Legion of Honour
- 1990: Japan Prize;[5] made officer of the National Order of Merit
- 1991: Wollaston Medal, Geological Society of London[6]
- 1995: foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- 2002: Balzan Prize[7]
Works
- Riffaud, Claude; Le Pichon, Xavier (1976). Expédition 'Famous' à 3000 m sous l'Atlantique. Paris: Albin Michel.
- Le Pichon, Xavier (1986). Kaiko, voyage aux extrémités de la mer. Le Seuil: Odile Jacob. ISBN 978-2020092333.
- Yijie, Tang; Le Pichon, Xavier (1999). La mort. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer. ISBN 978-2220044026.
- Le Pichon, Xavier; Francheteau, Jean; Bonnin, Jean (2013). Plate Tectonics (revised ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 9781483257273.
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 "Biography of Xavier Le Pichon". Collège de France. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- Back to citation Le Pichon, Xavier (21 July 2016). "The fragility at the heart of humankind". On Being with Krista Tippett. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- Back to citation Nossiter, Adam (9 April 2025). "Xavier Le Pichon, Who Modeled Movement of Earth's Crust, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- Back to citation Geologia: addio a Xavier Le Pichon, padre della tettonica a placche (in Italian)
- Back to citation Laureates of the Japan Prize. japanprize.jp
- Back to citation "Wollaston Medal". Award Winners since 1831. Geological Society of London. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- Back to citation "Xavier Le Pichon". International Balzan Prize Foundation. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
Further reading
- "Co-chairs: Xavier Le Pichon". Learning from the disabled. John Templeton Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- Ballard, Robert D; Hively, Will (2002). The eternal darkness: a personal history of deep-sea exploration. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691095547.
- Commission on Geosciences Environment and Resources; Ocean Studies Board; National Research Council (2000). 50 years of ocean discovery: National Science Foundation 1950–2000. National Academies Press. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9780309172578.
- Frankel, Henry R. (2012). The continental drift controversy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107019942.
- Gilliss, Trent. "A geophysicist's view of the 'rigidity' and 'ductility' of human communities and the Earth". On Being with Krista Tippett. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- Levin, Tanya (25 May 1998). "Interview of Xavier Le Pichon by Tanya Levin". Niels Bohr Library & Archives. American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
External links
- Xavier Le Pichon at IMDb
- "Xavier Le Pichon. Géodynamique". Collège de France (in French). 11 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- "Xavier Le Pichon. Biographie et publications". Collège de France (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- Interview with Le Pichon, "Fragility and the Evolution of our Humanity" – Speaking of Faith (25 June 2009)
- Xavier Le Pichon International Balzan Prize Foundation