Xavier Le Pichon

Xavier Le Pichon (born June 18, 1937) is a French geophysicist. Among many other contributions, he is known for his comprehensive model of plate tectonics (1968).

He is professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Chair of Geodynamics (1986-2008).

Biography

Le Pichon holds a doctorate in physics. Professional career:

• 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 oceanologic 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; made officer of the National Order of Merit
• 1991: Wollaston Medal, Geological Society of London
• 1995: foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences
• 2002: Balzan Prize

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 extremites de la mer. Le Seuil: Odile Jacob. ISBN 978-2738113238.
• 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

• "Co-chairs: Xavier Le Pichon". Learning from the disabled. John Templeton Foundation.
• 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.
• 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

• home page at Collège de France
• Interview with Le Pichon, "Fragility and the Evolution of Our Humanity" - Speaking of Faith (June 25, 2009)
• Xavier Le Pichon International Balzan Prize Foundation