Gervais Chapuis

Gervais Chapuis is an Honorary Professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the School of Basic Sciences (SB), Department of Crystallography and Structural Chemistry (SB-DEC). He has a long-standing career in structural crystallography, focusing on aperiodic structures, modulated phases, and the relationship between material structure and properties. His research combines experimental X-ray diffraction with theoretical approaches, including superspace group analysis. He holds a PhD from ETH Zurich under Prof. A. Niggli and has held professorial roles at the University of Lausanne and EPFL.

Chapuis has authored over 300 publications, including seminal works on incommensurate structures and crystallographic education. He has led international committees, such as the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) Committee on Aperiodic Structures, and co-edits Acta Crystallographica. His contributions extend to educational tools like web-based crystallography courses and the SUPERFLIP software for structure solution.

His research highlights include studies on barium’s high-pressure phases, alkali-silica reaction in concrete, and nonlinear optical materials. He has also investigated mineral structures like natrite and scheelites, emphasizing the interplay between atomic arrangement and physical properties.