Alain Brillet, a French physicist who specialised in gravitational wave detectors, died on March 20, 2026.
Born on March 30, 1947, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, he graduated from ESPCI Paris in 1970 and later worked for the CNRS in Orsay during his doctoral thesis until 1976. He also worked in Boulder with John Hall before returning to France in 1982.
Brillet is best known as one of the two fathers of the Virgo interferometer, alongside Adalberto Giazotto, and he directed the consortium during its design and construction. He received the Ampère Prize in 2016 and the CNRS Gold Medal in 2017.
Alain Brillet (30 March 1947 – 20 March 2026) was a French physicist who specialised in gravitational wave detectors.