Michel Soutif

Michel Soutif (8 July 1921 – 28 June 2016), Officier de la Légion d’honneur, Grand Officier de l’ordre national du Mérite, Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mali, was a French scientist and educator, known for his major contribution to the development of the University of Grenoble in the years following the Second World War. He is also known for his early work on nuclear magnetic resonance, centimetre wavelength radiation (microwaves) and electron spin resonance. He graduated from the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), and, on completing his thesis, was invited by Louis Néel to a post at the University of Grenoble, where he established the Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Physique. Both men, Néel and Soutif, understood the importance of the relationship between industry and fundamental research, and of the consequent need to attract new industries to the surrounding region. Soutif's success in obtaining teaching posts and in reinforcing the discipline of physics at the University of Grenoble was remarkable. He is recognized not only for his scientific achievements but also for the outstanding clarity of his teaching and his mission to spread scientific reason. These were talents that, in the positions of responsibility and decision that he occupied during his career, propelled him to become one of the principal architects of the growth of the university.