Tassoul, Jean-Louis 1938-

PERSONAL:

Born November 1, 1938, in Brussels, Belgium; married May 7, 1966; wife's name Monique (a researcher in astrophysics). Education: Free University of Brussels, Lic.Sc., 1961, D.Sc., 1964. Hobbies and other interests: History of science.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Office—Department of Physics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

CAREER:

Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, research associate in astronomy, 1965-66; University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, research associate in mathematics, 1966-67; Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, research associate at university observatory, 1967-68; University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, assistant professor, 1968-70, associate professor, 1970-75, professor of physics, 1975-93, honorary professor, 1994—. Military service: Belgian Air Force, assigned to Meteorological Office, 1964-65.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Paul and Marie Stroobant Prize, Royal Academy of Belgium, 2001, for work on stellar rotation and stellar stability.

WRITINGS:

Theory of Rotating Stars, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 1978.

Stellar Rotation, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 2001.

(With wife, Monique Tassoul) A Concise History of Solar and Stellar Physics, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NY), 2004.

Contributor of about fifty articles to scientific journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jean-Louis Tassoul told CA that the overview of astrophysics, A Concise History of Solar and Stellar Physics, written with his wife, Monique, is the result of the authors' conviction "that scientific literacy is slowly disappearing among scientists." The book outlines briefly the early history of astronomy, from c. 3000 BC to the year 1700, then "covers the period of discovery starting with Galileo, before moving through relevant astronomical history from about 1700 onward, concentrating on the twentieth century. To emphasize that scientific progress and history are created by people, capsule biographies and photographs of many key players are included in the book."