“Who was Gaston Dupouy?” I hear you ask. Allée Gaston Dupouy is named after him. Let’s uncover the story of this French physicist.
Gaston Léopold Dupouy was born in Marmande. He later died in Toulouse. He directed the CNRS from 1950 to 1957. He even created its gold medal.
Dupouy passed his baccalauréat. He was a student at the lycée of Mont-de-Marsan. He studied at the Sorbonne while working at the lycée Saint-Louis in Paris. In 1922, he earned his agrégation in physics.
He prepared a physics thesis in Aimé Cotton’s lab. He joined Cotton at the Grand Électro-Aimant de Bellevue. This was known as the Aimé Cotton laboratory. In 1930, he became the assistant director. That year he defended his thesis in Paris. His topic was the magnetic properties of crystals.
From 1935 to 1937, he lectured in Rennes. In 1937, he became a professor in Toulouse. Around 1938-1939, he started building France’s first electron microscope with magnetic lenses.
Dupouy became dean of the faculty of sciences in Toulouse in 1945. He held this position until 1950. In 1950, he was elected to the Académie des sciences. That year, he also took over the direction of the CNRS.
Shortly after leaving the CNRS in 1957, he received the CNRS gold medal. The same year, he returned to Toulouse. There, he created the Laboratoire d’optique électronique. In 1958, it moved to Saouzelong. A powerful electron microscope was built there. It used one million electron-volts. The building was a large sphere called “la Boule.”
Gaston Dupouy worked there with Charles Fert. In 1989, the LOE became the Centre d’élaboration de matériaux et d’études structurales.
Dupouy was elected to the Académie des Jeux floraux in 1972. In 2002, a building at Université Paul-Sabatier was named after him. An elementary school in Les Pradettes was also named for him.
Gaston Dupouy contributed significantly to French science. He left a lasting legacy in physics and research. Remembering Gaston Dupouy reminds us of French scientific achievement.