Geoffrey Bodenhausen Chemist LGB 1970
Geoffrey Bodenhausen
La Grande Boissière, 1970
Chemist specialized in nuclear magnetic resonance
France
Find out more about me:
One of my most memorable moments at Ecolint was playing the minor role of Georges in Jean Anouilh's Le Voyageur sans bagages
After a career as a chemist specializing in nuclear magnetic resonance, where I got the opportunity to hold distinguished professorial positions across continents, teaching and researching at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), Florida State University (USA), and the École Normale Supérieure (France). I now live in Paris. I am retired as professor (“emeritus”) but I continue to manage a research group at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, with the support of the European Research Council (ERC). I’m also editor of a specialised journal (“Magnetic Resonance”).
One of my most memorable moments at Ecolint was playing the minor role of Georges in Jean Anouilh's Le Voyageur sans bagages (The Traveler Without Luggage), directed by Mr. Price at La Grande Boissière in 1970. The experience revealed some of my limitations, a stark contrast to the workaholic tendencies I otherwise developed during my years there (1963-70). (In retrospect, I wonder why I always strove to be a good student.)
My words of wisdom for Ecolint students: Today's Ecolint students should realise that they live under very privileged conditions, possibly so privileged that they might be blind to the disasters that are going on in the world around them, injustice, wars, genocides, climate, capitalism, too many to list them all.
My legacy: As a scientist, I believe that I may have contributed some ideas that might survive for a few years. Some of my former and current co-workers (about 50 PhDs and as many post-docs) seem to have fairly positive memories of the days we spent together at ETH, Oxford, UCSD, MIT, ETH, UNIL, FSU, EPFL and ENS.