Origins & Early Life

Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (French: [pjɛʁ ʒil də ʒɛn]; 24 October 1932 – 18 May 2007) was a French physicist and the Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 1991. He was born in Paris, France, and was home-schooled to the age of 12. By the age of 13, he had adopted adult reading habits and was visiting museums. Later, de Gennes studied at the École Normale Supérieure.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

After leaving the École in 1955, he became a research engineer at the Saclay center of the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, working mainly on neutron scattering and magnetism, with advice from Anatole Abragam and Jacques Friedel. He defended his Ph.D. in 1957 at the University of Paris. In 1959, he was a postdoctoral research visitor with Charles Kittel at the University of California, Berkeley, and then spent 27 months in the French Navy. In 1961, he was assistant professor in Orsay and soon started the Orsay group on superconductors.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In 1968, he switched to studying liquid crystals. In 1971, he became professor at the Collège de France, and participated in STRASACOL (a joint action of Strasbourg, Saclay and Collège de France) on polymer physics. From 1980 on, he became...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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