SUPAERO - Definition and Overview

The French "Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace", also known as SUPAERO, was the first engineering school in the world ever dedicated to aircraft construction. It is one of the of the most prestigious and selective "Grande école" in France and one of the best aerospace engineering schools in the world. The name of the school can be roughly translated as the National Higher School of Air and Space engineering, but the name in English is unofficial.

SUPAERO's mascot is the Little Owl (Athene noctua), sacred to goddess Athena and symbol of wisdom.

History

In 1909, an engineering officer, Colonel Jean-Baptiste Roche, imagining future prospects and uses that airplanes would have in the world, founded the Higher Aeronautics and Mechanical Building School in Paris, boulevard Victor. The school became in 1930 the National Higher School of Aeronautics; then, in 1972, it was called the National Higher School of Aeronautics and Aerospace or, more simply, SUPAERO.

In 1968 SUPAERO has been relocated in the aerospace complex in Toulouse, in the heart of a world-class scientific and industrial environment. On the same site, a large research center called Study and Research Center of Toulouse (CERT) was built at the same time. This center, associated with the School, has become the Toulouse center of ONERA (National Office for Aerospace Study and Research). It carries out research directed by and towards the highly demanding aeronautic, aerospace and defense sectors. Nearby SUPAERO are also located the National Higher School for Civilian Air Transport (ENAC), the CNES (the French space agency) and other research laboratories.

In 1994, SUPAERO became a public institution of an administrative nature under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense. It has a Board of Directors.

SUPAERO is part of the Ecole Polytechnique's program for further specialization and is authorized to award the degree of Doctor of the National Higher School of Air and Space engineering, with its own seal.

Famous almuni

During the 5 years preceding the first world war, SUPAERO produced 303 qualified engineers, 52 of which were foreigners. Among them are found some great names in aeronautics:

• Raoul Badin (promotion 1910), inventor of instrument flying,
• Henry Potez (promotion 1911), founder of the POTEZ airplanes company,
• The Gurevitch brothers (promotion 1913) -- see MiG,
• Marcel Bloch-Dassault (promotion 1913), founder of the Dassault airplanes company,
• Henri Ziegler (promotion 1931) father of the Airbus program,
• François Hussenot (promotion 1935), inventor of the "hussenographe", an early form of Flight data recorder or "black box".
• Serge Dassault (promotion 1951), CEO of Dassault Aviation,
• Frédéric d'Allest (promotion 1966) first chairman of Arianespace,
• Jean-François Clervoy (promotion 1983), astronaut.

External Links

• SUPAERO website (http://www.supaero.fr)
• SUPAERO alumni association (http://www.supaero.org)