Pierre-Gilles de Gennes

Best known outside the scientific community for the Nobel Prize in Physics he won in 1991, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was exceptional amongst scientists for the breadth and depth of his contributions in multiple fields of physics. He was also uniquely foresighted in his desire to break down barriers wi [...]
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Best known outside the scientific community for the Nobel Prize in Physics he won in 1991, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was exceptional amongst scientists for the breadth and depth of his contributions in multiple fields of physics. He was also uniquely foresighted in his desire to break down barriers within scientific disciplines and between fundamental and applied science. He was most willing to explain the nature and purpose of his work to society at large and to young people in particular. Laurence Plevert's fascinating work retraces the influences and experiences that moulded this complex, charismatic, charming and eclectic genius. It follows him from his unconventional childhood on the fringes of the old French aristocracy and in war-divided France, through his glittering school and early scientific career, up to the revolutionary breakthroughs in fields as diverse as superconductivity, liquid crystals, polymers and soft matter, culminating in the final consecration of the Nobel prize. We find a man with a ferocious passion not only for science, but for life in all its facets: art, music, sports, friendships and love.Constructed around exclusive interviews with the physicist, his family, friends and colleagues, this biography immerses us in the work and character of a truly remarkable figure, a Renaissance man of the 20th century.