Nobel prize winner Georges Charpak dies

Polish-French Nobel prize winner Georges Charpak has died at the age of 86. A passionate physicist, he was famous in France for radically changing how science is taught in schools.

Polish-French Nobel prize winner Georges Charpak died at the age of 86. AFP / MARTIN BUREAU

In 1992, Charpak became the last individual recipient of the Nobel Prize for physics for his work on particle detectors which led to advancements in computer data processing, medicine and biology.

His is well-known in France for radically changing the way science is taught to children in kindergardens and elementary schools. His method called “Hands On” encouraged children to investigate simple scientific problems rather than accumulate scientific knowledge.

Charpak was born in modern-day Ukraine and moved to France at the age of 7. During World War Two, he joined the French Resistance and was interned at Dachau. 

After the war Charpak travelled to Geneva to join the National Center for Scientific Research, better known as CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory.

During the 1960s, his work on the wire chamber led to the discovery of subatomic particles like the quark, tau lepton and others.

The chamber permitted particles to be tracked with a precision of less than 1 millimeter.

Many of the particle discoveries in the last few decades have used detectors created or improved by Charpak.

At the end of his career he spearheaded a worldwide campaign aimed at improving the scientific education of children and was an advocate of nuclear power.

France's President Sarkozy said "France pays hommage to this great humanist whose dedicated life is an example for our youth."