Frédéric Joliot : a certain idea of research

Pierre Joliot, Honorary Professor at the Collège de France, was born in Paris on March 12, 1932. After studying at the Paris Faculty of Science, he worked at the CNRS between 1954 and 1981. He was appointed Chair of Bioenergetics at the Collège de France (1981-2002). His scientific work focused on the study of photosynthetic processes in bacteria, algae and higher plants. He focused in particular on the study of energy conversion and transfer processes within the photosynthetic apparatus. He has spent his entire scientific career at the Institut de biologie-physico-chimique (IBPC). He has held a number of positions: Director of the Photosynthesis Department at IBPC (1985-1997), Research and Technology Advisor to Prime Minister Laurent Fabius (1985-1986), Chairman of the Research Committee on Forest Dieback (1986), Director of the Biology Department at the École normale supérieure (1987-1992), Director of the Institut de biologie physico-chimique (1994-2000). Chairman of the CNRS Ethics Committee (1998-2001), he is a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, and an associate member of the US Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique prize (1980) and the Médaille d'or du CNRS (1982).