Xavier Le Pichon

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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.

[edit] Biography

Pr Le Pichon holds a doctorate in physics.

• 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 University Paris 6.
• 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.

[edit] Prizes and memberships of learned societies

• In 1973, he won the silver medal of CNRS.
• 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