Former CRPP Director Named Honorary Member of the Swiss Physical Society

Professor Emeritus Francis Troyon, former director of the CRPP, was named Honorary Member of the Swiss Physical Society for his contribution to the development of plasma physics and fusion, in Switzerland and worldwide.

For nearly 40 years, Prof. F. Troyon worked in the field of plasma physics. Firstly as a post-doc and then as Professor, before taking the direction of the CRPP in 1973.
His scientific contributions were mostly related to the development of theoretical principles concerning the stability of magnetically confined plasmas. In particular, he found a relationship, which expresses the limit in pressure that can not be exceeded in a plasma, a relationship which now bears his name.
To simulate the complex processes that take place in plasmas, Prof. Troyon has developed several numerical codes, which require significant computational power. To reach his goals, he participated in the selection process of supercomputers at the EPFL, and contributed to their testing.
As Professor of Physics at the EPFL, F. Troyon also transmitted with passion his knowledge of plasma physics to more than a generation of young researchers and engineers, many of whom are still active in the field.
Member of numerous committees in Switzerland and abroad, he has significantly contributed to the management of fusion related projects. In particular, he headed the Scientific Council of the European tokamak JET, at that time the largest research facility in fusion worldwide. He was still involved in these tasks several years after his retirement in 1999.

Author: Yves Martin
Source: Physique

Source: http://actu.epfl.ch/