Théophile de Donder
| Théophile de Donder | |
|---|---|
Théophile Ernest de Donder (1872 – 1957) at the 1927 Solvay Conference. Appearing in front of de Donder is Paul Dirac.
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| Born |
19 August 1872 Brussels, Belgium |
| Died | 11 May 1957 (aged 84) Brussels, Belgium |
| Residence | Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Alma mater | Université Libre de Bruxelles |
| Known for | Being the father of irreversible thermodynamics |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physicist and mathematician |
| Institutions | Université Libre de Bruxelles |
| Academic advisors | Henri Poincaré |
| Doctoral students |
Ilya Prigogine Jules Géhéniau Léon Van Hove Raymond Coutrez Théophile Lepage |
| Influences | Albert Einstein |
Théophile Ernest de Donder (French: [də dɔ̃dɛʁ]; 19 August 1872 – 11 May 1957) was a Belgian mathematician and physicist famous for his work (published in 1923) in developing correlations between the Newtonian concept of chemical affinity and the Gibbsian concept of free energy.
He received his doctorate in physics and mathematics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1899, for a thesis entitled Sur la Théorie des Invariants Intégraux (On the Theory of Integral Invariants).
He was professor between 1911 and 1942, at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Initially he continued the work of Henri Poincaré and Élie Cartan. From 1914 on, he was influenced by the work of Albert Einstein and was an enthusiastic proponent of the theory of relativity. He gained significant reputation in 1923, when he developed his definition of chemical affinity. He pointed out a connection between the chemical affinity and the Gibbs free energy.
He is considered the father of thermodynamics of irreversible processes. De Donder’s work was later developed further by Ilya Prigogine. De Donder was an associate and friend of Albert Einstein.
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