Jean-Marie Tarascon FRSC (born September 21, 1953) is

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of chemistry at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and director of the French Research Network on

Electrochemical Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve electrons moving via an electronically conducting phase (typi ...

Energy Storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an Accumulator (energy), accumulator or Batte ...

(RS2E).

Education

Tarascon was educated at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...

, where he was awarded a Diplôme d'études universitaires générales 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 ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

solid-state chemistry Solid-state chemistry, also sometimes referred as materials chemistry, is the study of the Chemical synthesis, synthesis, structure, and properties of solid phase materials. It therefore has a strong overlap with solid-state physics, mineralogy, cr ...

in 1981.

Career

Following his PhD, Tarascon did

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

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 ...

. He worked at

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

and

Bellcore iconectiv supplies communications providers with network planning and management services. The company’s cloud-based information as a service network and operations management and numbering solutions span trusted communications, digital identi ...

from 1982 to 1994, then moved to the

University of Picardie Jules Verne The University of Picardy Jules Verne ( French: ''Université de Picardie Jules Verne''; UPJV) is a public university located in the former Picardy region of France (now part of Hauts-de-France). It consists of several campuses located in the to ...

in 1994. He has been at the College de France since 2010. He is also credited with laying foundations of the reputable Erasmus mundus masters course in energy storage and conversion "Materials for energy storage and conversion" hosted by UPJV, Amiens in association with seven universities across the globe and several energy research networks.

Research

Tarascon's research investigates the synthesis of novel electronic phenomena and materials such as

superconductors Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ordinary metallic conductor, whose resistance decreases ...

, ferroelectrics,

fluoride glass Fluoride glass is a class of non-oxide optical glasses composed of fluorides of various metals. They can contain heavy metals such as zirconium, or be combined with lighter elements like aluminium and beryllium. These heavier elements cause the g ...

es,

rechargeable batteries A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...

and colossal magnetoresistance. He has made many contributions to superconductivity and was the original proponent of the thin and flexible plastic lithium ion battery.

Awards and honours

Tarascon was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 2014. His nomination reads: Tarascon was honoured by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002. He was nominated to the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

in 2005, and was the University of Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) gold medalist in 2008. He won the ENI Protection of the Environment award in 2011. In 2015 he was awarded the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

Centenary Prize The Centenary Prize is an award granted annually by the United Kingdom-based Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) to up to three "outstanding chemists, who are also exceptional communicators, from overseas". The prize, established in 1947, and fir ...

. In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate '

doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

' from

Hasselt University Hasselt University ( Dutch: ''Universiteit Hasselt or UHasselt'') is a public research university with campuses in Hasselt and Diepenbeek, Belgium. It has more than 7,500 students and 1,800 academic, administrative and technical staff (2023). Th ...

. In 2017, he was one of the two winners of the Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation. He was one of the five nominated for the CNRS Innovation Medals. In 2020 he received the

Balzan Prize The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organizations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the b ...

for Environmental Challenges: Materials Science for Renewable Energy.Balzan Prize 2020
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References

External links

Jean-Marie Tarascon's research group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarascon, Jean-Marie Knights of the Legion of Honour Living people Foreign members of the Royal Society Members of the French Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry 20th-century French chemists 21st-century French chemists University of Bordeaux alumni 1953 births French materials scientists French chemists Inorganic chemists Solid state chemists