René FORTRAT

René Fortrat was born on 25 February 1886 at Le Chêne, in the Aube department of France. A graduate of the École normale supérieure (class of 1906), he ranked third in the agrégation examination in physics and chemistry in 1909 before joining Pierre Weiss at the Polytechnic Institute of Zurich, where he contributed to the early development of magneto-optical spectroscopy. His doctoral dissertation, defended in 1914, led to the formulation of the "Fortrat parabolas", still widely used in molecular spectroscopy. Appointed to the Faculty of Sciences of Grenoble in 1919, he combined teaching, experimental research and academic administration throughout his career. He played a decisive role in the development of the future Institut Fourier, introduced radio engineering into the university curriculum, welcomed Louis Néel's Strasbourg team to Grenoble in 1940 and served as Dean of the Faculty of Sciences from 1944 to 1948. He authored numerous scientific papers and influential textbooks and received several distinctions, including the Victor Noury Prize, the Gabriel Ferrié Prize and appointment as Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Sciences.
Sources: IdRef; Jean-Louis Tholence, Présentation de René Fortrat (1886-1966), with the family archives of Claire Laurens and Jacques-Olivier Fortrat; Base Léonore; CTHS.