Paul Tapponnier
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Paul Tapponnier (6 January 1947 – 24 December 2023) was a French
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
, specializing in
plate tectonics Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...
and crustal deformation.


Life and career

Tapponnier graduated in 1970 with a MS in geology from the
École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
. From 1972 to 1975, he was a research fellow at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
(MIT). He received in 1978 his doctorate from the Université Montpellier-II. He was an associate professor from 1980 to 1985, a full professor from 1986 to 1990, and a full professor with tenure from 1991 to 2009 (and simultaneously, the director of the tectonics department) at the
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris The Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (, ; abbr. IPGP) is a French governmental, non-profit research and higher education establishment located in Paris, dedicated to the study of earth and planetary sciences by combining observations, labora ...
. In 1985 he was a visiting scientist at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...
. From January to July 2000, he was a visiting professor at
Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...
. Since 2009 he has been a tectonics group leader at the EOS (Earth Observatory of Singapore) of
Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...
. Tapponnier was a pioneer in the 1970s in the use of
satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
for the study of plate tectonics. Much of his research, often in collaboration in the late 1970s with Peter Molnar, deals with Asian tectonics involving the collision of the
Indian Plate The Indian plate (or India plate) is or was a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana an ...
with the Eurasian Plate. Tapponnier headed several oceanographic research cruises and many field projects in various countries. His research interests included: Tapponnier died on 24 December 2023 in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, at the age of 76.


Awards and honors

* 1984 — Silver Medal of
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 ...
* 1985 — Alfred Wegener Medal * 1990 — Grand prix scientifique de la ville de
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 ...
* 1994 — Fellow of the
American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...
* 1996 — Knight of the
Legion of Honour 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 ...
* 2001 —
Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...
* 2005 — Member of the
French Academy of 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 ...
(section ''Sciences de l'univers'').Paul Tapponnier, Académie des sciences
* 2005 — Foreign associate member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...


Selected publications


Articles

*with P. Molnar: *with P. Molnar: *with P. Molnar: *with P. Molnar: *with P. Molnar: *with P. Molnar: *with G. Peltzer, A. Y. Le Dain, R. Armijo, and P. Cobbold: *with Jean‐Philippe Avouac: *with V. Courtillot, C. Jaupart, I. Manighetti, and J. Besse: *with Xu Zhiqin, Françoise Roger, Bertrand Meyer, Nicolas Arnaud, Gérard Wittlinger, and Yang Jingsui:


Books

*with Kevin Kling: **


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapponnier, Paul 1947 births 2023 deaths 20th-century French geologists People from Annecy Mines Paris - PSL alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Montpellier alumni Lyell Medal winners Members of the French Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Geological Society of America Knights of the Legion of Honour 21st-century geologists 21st-century French scientists