A French physicist and mathematician noted for his work in heat transfer and his work leading to the Fourier series. He made a notable contribution to the French Revolution and as a result was rewarded with a position at the École Normale Superiéure in 1795 and then a chair at the École Polytechnique. He accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt in 1798 and was appointed to senior positions there before becoming cut off by the British fleet. Later returning to France, Fourier carried out his work on heat propagation. The Fourier transform and Fourier’s law are named in honour of him. He is also credited with the discovery of the greenhouse effect.