Bertrand Goldschmidt was born in
Paris on 2 November 1912 to a French mother and a Belgian father of
Jewish origin. He entered the
Paris School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry in 1932 and was recruited to the
Radium Institute in 1933 by
Marie Curie. He obtained his doctorate in 1939. He would also play a critical role in the establishment of the Israeli nuclear program. Goldschmidt traveled to Israel in 1954 to meet with
David Ben-Gurion about nuclear issues and would serve, between 1956 and 1957, as one of the CEA officials in the negotiations leading to the establishment of the
Dimona nuclear facility. Goldschmidt headed the department of chemistry of the French Atomic Energy Commission until 1960. He is the author of numerous books on the history of the development of nuclear energy. He was the French representative in the Board of Governors of the
International Atomic Energy Agency from 1958 to 1980. He died on 11 June 2002 in Paris. == See also ==