Albert Fert

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Albert Fert
Albert fert 15 janvier 2009 Spintronique Paris Descartes.JPG
Paris Descartes University 2009, Paris
Born (1938-03-07) 7 March 1938 (age 75)
Carcassonne, Aude, France
Residence Paris, France
Nationality France
Fields Physics
Institutions Université Paris-Sud, Michigan State University
Alma mater École normale supérieure
Doctoral advisor I. A. Campbell
Known for Giant magnetoresistive effect
Notable awards Wolf Prize in Physics (2006)
Japan Prize (2007)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2007)

Albert Fert (born 7 March 1938) is a French physicist and one of the discoverers of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disks. Currently, he is an emeritus professor at Université Paris-Sud in Orsay and scientific director of a joint laboratory ('Unité mixte de recherche') between the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (National Scientific Research Centre) and Thales Group. Also, he is an Adjunct professor of physics at Michigan State University. He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Peter Grünberg.

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Biography [edit]

Fert graduated in 1962 from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He received his master's degree in 1963 at the University of Paris, and earned his PhD in 1970 at the Université Paris-Sud.

In 1988 Fert discovered the Giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) in multilayers of iron and chromium. Peter Grünberg from the Jülich Research Centre simultaneously and independently discovered GMR. These two discoveries are recognized as the birth of spintronics. Since 1988, Albert Fert has made contributions to the field of spintronics.

Honors and awards [edit]

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