Background
Albert Marcel Germain Rene Portevin was born on November 1, 1880, in Paris, France, the son of Paul Albert and Marie Felicie (Ollivier) Portevin. Portevin was brought up by his mother after his father’s early death.
Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, Châtenay-Malabry, Paris, France
Portevin was trained as an engineer at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures.
Royal Society, 6–9 Carlton House Terrace, London, England, United Kingdom
Albert Portevin was a member of the Royal Society of London.
Portevin was a recipient of the Legion of Honour award.
Portevin was a recipient of the Order of Leopold, which is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood.
Portevin was a recipient of the Order of the Crown of Italy.
Portevin was a recipient of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.
Portevin was a recipient of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise.
Portevin was a recipient of the Croix d’or du Merite de Pologne.
educator engineer metallurgist scientist
Albert Marcel Germain Rene Portevin was born on November 1, 1880, in Paris, France, the son of Paul Albert and Marie Felicie (Ollivier) Portevin. Portevin was brought up by his mother after his father’s early death.
Portevin was trained as an engineer at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures.
After Portevin was trained as an engineer at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he was named professor at that school in 1925. He also taught at the École Supérieure de Fonderie and at the École Supérieure de Soudure. In 1907 he became editor in chief of the Revue de métallurgie and, with Henry Le Chatelier and Léon Guillet, was principally responsible for the great success of the journal.
Portevin was a precursor in many aspects of the science of metallurgy. In 1905, while working in the metallurgical laboratory of the Établissements de Dion-Bouton, he conducted a micrographic study of chrome steels and was struck by their resistance to ordinary reagents when the chrome content exceeded 9 to 10 percent. He systematically studied the ways in which these steels could be corroded, and in his report to the Carnegie Foundation (1909), he gave precise figures on the chemical resistance of tempered chrome steels (in tempering, the chrome was put into solid solution) to such oxidizing reagents as nitric acid and picric acid.
In order to use these steels, however, it was necessary to make them amenable to standard milling processes. Through a judicious interpretation of the equilibrium diagrams, Portevin determined the appropriate thermal treatment for softening them.
Portevin’s interest in chemical resistance never ceased, and he set forth the general principles for obtaining it: the rules of homogeneity, of self-screening, and of concentration limit - which together enabled him to achieve constant progress in the field.
In 1942 Portevin was elected a member unanimously to the Académie des Sciences. He was also a member of the Royal Society London and the Academy Sciences of the United States.
Quotes from others about the person
Albert Sauveur paid tribute to Portevin in 1937 in his treatise on metallography: “The French metallurgist Albert Portevin is able to explain the most subtle subjects in metallurgy; his thought has penetrated all the darkest corners of this science and in them he has cast a bright light.”
Married Madeleine Castillon, 1929. Children: Philippe, Jean-Paul.