Georges Charpak was a Polish-born French physicist whose revolutionary contributions to particle detection technology transformed experimental physics. Born on August 1, 1924, in Dabrovica, Poland, he moved to Paris with his family in 1932 and became active in the French Resistance during World War II, later enduring imprisonment at the Dachau concentration camp. Following the war, he became a naturalized French citizen in 1946 and pursued his scientific education at Lycée Saint Louis in Paris before earning his PhD in nuclear physics from the Collège de France in 1954 under Nobel laureate Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Charpak began his research career at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) from 1948 to 1959 before joining CERN in Geneva, where he would spend the majority of his professional life. Later in his career, he also became professor-in-residence at École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles (ESPCI) in Paris, holding the prestigious Joliot-Curie Chair from 1984.
Charpak's most transformative contribution was the invention of the multiwire proportional chamber in 1968, a particle detector technology that revolutionized high-energy physics by replacing the cumbersome bubble chambers of the time. This innovative detector enabled significantly higher data processing rates and precision, allowing physicists to operate experiments at much higher particle collision rates and test theories predicting rare events and new massive particles. The speed and accuracy of the multiwire chamber and its descendants, including drift chambers and time projection chambers, fundamentally changed experimental particle physics and became central to major discoveries including Samuel C.C. Ting's J/psi particle and Carlo Rubbia's W and Z particles. In recognition of this groundbreaking work, Charpak received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1992 for his invention and development of particle detectors, marking the last time a single individual was awarded the Physics prize as of 2025. His detector technology also enabled the first exact measurement of the magnetic momentum of the muon and advanced nuclear structure studies through (p+2p) reactions.
Beyond particle physics, Charpak demonstrated remarkable foresight by applying his detector technology to medical imaging and biological research, founding Biospace Instruments in 1989 to develop applications in beta-radiography for medical and biological investigations. His multiwire chambers found important applications in medical radiology where digital read-out began replacing photographic film to improve sensitivity and spatial resolution, enabling better health diagnostics through b-ray imaging. Elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1985 and receiving the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1999, Charpak was recognized for both his scientific contributions and his efforts to reform science education. He co-founded several biotech startups including Molecular Engines Laboratories and SuperSonic Imagine, demonstrating his commitment to translating fundamental physics into practical applications. Charpak's legacy endures through the continued use of his detector technologies across multiple scientific disciplines and his inspirational example of how innovative instrumentation can bridge fundamental research and real-world applications.
