Jean Biarez: His Life and Work - Multiscale Geomechanics: From Soil to Engineering Projects - page 7

last name reflected a desire not to split soil from foundation, but to establish a link
between the earth-filled soil and the structure on top. Cultivating this interaction was
the task of a team led by Philippe Destuynder. The laudatory results obtained by the
laboratory allowed it to obtain the scientific status of a research unit associated with
the CNRS ( Centre national de la recherche scientifique ) Engineering Science
Department in 1983.
In 1987, the Soil-Structure Mechanics Laboratory and the Material Sciences
Laboratory headed by Dominique François were merged into a single unit under the
initials MSS-Mat. Jean Biarez became its first director. This meant a greater
expansion for soil mechanics research and also greater prestige at Ecole Centrale ,
which culminated in 1988 in the transformation of the laboratory into a UMR ( Unité
mixte de recherche ), which meant that the research unit of the laboratory became a
fully-fledged member of both the CNRS and Ecole Centrale .
As for the academic degrees awarded at Ecole Centrale , from 1973 the title
“Docteur-ingénieur” could be granted. The first person to receive this degree in soil
mechanics was Damien Despax in 1976. In order to obtain it, a student who already
possessed an engineering degree at the Master's level had to engage in at least two
years of full-time research work. At other institutions in France, a student started a
doctoral degree after obtaining a DEA ( Diplôme d'études approfondies ). In 1979,
Ecole Centrale and the University of Paris VI provided a joint DEA in soil
mechanics. This accreditation was extended in 1986 to Ecole Nationale des Ponts et
Chaussées and, in 1992, to Ecole des Mines de Paris and Ecole Polytechnique.
Besides the expansion of academic opportunities, the laboratory under the
direction of Biarez continuously increased its collaboration with industry. The list of
state or private companies who, in those days, commissioned research projects and
directly funded the laboratory or gave grants to doctoral students is both long and
impressive, comprising the most prestigious names in civil engineering.
We may recall the relationship with the petroleum companies, whose orders
steered the laboratory towards studies on rheological laws in which viscosity and
time play a crucial role. In the case of offshore drilling platforms, it was necessary to
calculate their foundations, which were subjected to cyclic loadings due to waves.
Through achieving these designs, progress was also made in computation methods
and constitutive building models.
The full success of a laboratory could only be attained because of its close and
privileged contact with industry. We believe that this is the very calling of an
engineering school − to answer the needs of industry in order to better define the
profile of the engineer needed for industrial work. To our regret, the relationship
between academics and industrialists has never been as close as it really should be.