René Pellat (24 February 1936 – 4 August 2003)[2] was a French astrophysicist who co-founded modern plasma physics in France along with Guy Laval.

In 1972, he left the CEA to create a plasma theory group in the new laboratories of the École polytechnique, first in Paris, then in the new premises of Palaiseau.

In 1987, he became a visiting professor at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Astrophysics, where he became an official faculty member two years later.

His position at the head of the CEA opens up the possibility for him to reorganize the ITER project and in particular to encourage the return of American participation.

[5] In 2000, Pellat co-authored with economists Jean-Michel Charpin and Benjamin Dessus the report, Etude économique prospective de la filière électrique nucléaire (English: Economic Forecast Study of the Nuclear Power Option), which focused on the evolution of the French electricity system and the place of nuclear energy in France.

[8] The René Pellat Prize was set up by the Société Française de Physique in 2011 to honor recent graduate students who made remarkable contributions to plasma physics.