Hubert Reeves (July 13, 1932 – October 13, 2023) was a Canadian astrophysicist and

popularizer of science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

Early life and education

Reeves was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on July 13, 1932, and as a child lived in Léry. Reeves attended

Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf () is a subsidized private, previously Jesuit French-language educational institution offering secondary school and college-level instruction in Quebec. It was originally a boys' school, became partially mixed in 1968 a ...

, a prestigious

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

college in Montreal. He obtained a BSc degree in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

in 1953, an MSc degree from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1956 with a thesis entitled "Formation of

Positronium Positronium (Ps) is a system consisting of an electron and its antimatter, anti-particle, a positron, bound together into an exotic atom, specifically an onium. Unlike hydrogen, the system has no protons. The system is unstable: the two part ...

in Hydrogen and Helium" and a PhD degree at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1960.

Career

From 1960 to 1964, he taught physics at the Université de Montréal and worked as an adviser to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. He became a Director of Research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

) in 1965.

Personal life and death

Reeves often spoke on television, promoting science. He resided in Paris, France, where he died on October 13, 2023, at the age of 91.

Honours and recognition

* In 1976, he was made Knight of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

(France). * In 1986, he was made Knight of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France). He was promoted to Officer in 1994 and to Commander in 2003. * In 1991, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and was promoted to Companion in 2003. * In 1994, he was made Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. He was promoted to Grand Officer in 2017. * Asteroid 9631 Hubertreeves is named after Reeves: see Meanings of asteroid names (9501-10000). * In 2001, he received the Albert Einstein Medal for research on the density of the universe. * In 2011, the Prix Hubert-Reeves was created. * In 2019, he received the Prix

Jules Janssen Pierre Jules César Janssen (22 February 1824 – 23 December 1907), usually known as Jules Janssen, was a French astronomer who, along with English scientist Joseph Norman Lockyer, is credited with discovering the gaseous nature of the solar ...

, the highest award of the

Société astronomique de France The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the France, French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its ...

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * Reeves, Hubert; Boutinot, Nelly; Casanave, Daniel; Champion, Claire (2017). ''Hubert Reeves nous explique la biodiversité''. Bruxelles: Le Lombard. . * Reeves, Hubert; Boutinot, Nelly; Casanave, Daniel; Champion, Claire (2018). ''Hubert Reeves nous explique la forêt''. Bruxelles: Le Lombard. . * Reeves, Hubert; Vandermeulen, David; Casanave, Daniel (2019). ''Hubert Reeves nous explique les océans''. Bruxelles: Le Lombard. . * Reeves, Hubert, Michel Cassé, Étienne Klein, Marc Lachièze-Rey, Roland Lehoucq, Jean-Pierre Luminet,

Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, (born, 31 October 1970 in Ermont), is a French Cosmology, cosmologist. During her career as a researcher in particle physics, she has taken part in several large-scale experiments. Her work has been recognized seve ...

, Nicolas Prantzos, and

Sylvie Vauclair Sylvie Vauclair (born on March 7, 1946, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye) is a French astrophysicist (at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie), and professor emeritus (at the Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University), where she t ...

. (2019). ''Petite histoire de la matière et de l'univers''. File:Canadian Astrophysicist Hubert Reeves - Conference on the decline of biodiversity, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris.jpg, Conference on the decline of biodiversity, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris in 2009 File:Hubert Reeves by Olivier Meyer.jpg, Hubert Reeves in

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

(Paris, France) photographed in 2001 by Olivier Meyer

References

External links

* *
Biography in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Hubert 1932 births 2023 deaths Albert Einstein Medal recipients Canadian astrophysicists Canadian environmentalists Canadian expatriates in France Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of French descent Canadian science writers Companions of the Order of Canada Cornell University alumni French National Centre for Scientific Research scientists McGill University alumni Scientists from Montreal Scientists from Paris Commanders of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Université de Montréal alumni Writers from Montreal Writers from Paris 20th-century Canadian astronomers 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian physicists 20th-century French physicists 21st-century French physicists Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research