Georges Vendryes

Georges Vendryes (* 1920 ; † September 16, 2014 ) was a French physicist who played an important role in the French nuclear industry and is considered the "father" of the breeder reactors developed there .

Vendryes studied at the École Polytechnique and the École des Ponts et Chaussées and received his doctorate in nuclear physics from the Sorbonne . From 1948 he was with the French nuclear research authority CEA , where he made his first experiments under Frédéric Joliot-Curie . Among other things, he undertook neutron transport experiments and developed various nuclear reactors, especially breeder reactors (for example the Rapsodie in Cadarache , Phénix in Marcoule and he also advised on the core design of the Superphénix ), but also worked in nuclear fusion research. In 1971 he became director of the CEA's nuclear reactors department. 1983 to 1988 he was advisor to the General Director of the CEA.

In 1984 he received the Enrico Fermi Prize and in 1988 he received the Japan Prize . He was an officer in the Legion of Honor and Grand Officer of the Ordre national du mérite and received the Great Federal Cross of Merit (he supported close cooperation with Germany on breeder reactors, in particular with the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center for the construction of the Kalkar nuclear power plant ). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and Honorary Vice President of the CEA. In 2007 he received the first Eminent Scientist Award from the Indian Nuclear Society.

Web links

• Dr Georges VENDRYES, Honorary Vice-President, French Atomic Energy Commission, received the INS Eminent Scientist Award 2007

Remarks

1. ↑ Irradiation tests at the French breeder reactors Phénix and Rapsodie formed the basis for the fuel element development for the fast breeder in Kalkar