École Centrale Paris

Encyclopedia : C : CO : COL : École Centrale Paris

École Centrale Paris is one of the leading French Grandes Écoles of engineering.

Contents

1 Situation
2 History
3 The ''Centralien'' Studies

3.1 Admission
3.2 Curriculum

4 National and international ties
5 Research
6 The Graduate School
7 Alumni
8 Famous lecturers
9 External links
10 See also

Situation

It is located in Châtenay-Malabry, Hauts-de-Seine, a southern suburb of Paris, France (in a region called Île-de-France).

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History

It was founded in 1829 on a private initiative by Alphonse Lavallée, who was its first President, and three associates: Eugene Peclet, Jean-Baptiste Dumas, and Emile Olivier. The founding vision was to educate multidisciplinary engineers for the emerging industry ("doctors for fabs and plants"). The institution was given to the French state in 1857 by its creator, Alphonse Lavallée. Its official name is École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures. Initially located in the Hôtel de Juigné (now Hôtel Salé and home to the Musée Picasso), it was transferred rue Montgolfier in 1884, where it stayed until 1969. Its current emplacement neighbours the Parc de Sceaux.

Former location of the École Centrale, rue Montgolfier in Paris (3rd "arrondissement") Image:ECP2.jpg Image:ECP5.jpg Image:ECP1.JPG Image:ECP4.jpg

The Centralien Studies

The centralien program is the original and main program offered by the Ecole. It is quite different from typical university or college studies; and specific to the French system of Grandes Ecoles. Studies go beyond the undergratuate level and the engineering degree of Ecole Centrale Paris (Ingénieur Centralien or "centralien engineer") must be considered the equivalent of a Master of Science. The curriculum is nevertheless similar to those offered at other French Grandes Ecoles, such as Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole des Mines de Paris or Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées.

The class of 2008 is about 450 students.

Admission

Most of the students are admitted after two to three years of Classes Préparatoires, which correspond to two years of post high-school education with heavy emphasis on Maths and Physics (freshman and sophomore years at US universities). At the end of the second year ("Mathematiques Speciales") students take a nation-wide competitive entrance examination for the Grandes Ecoles, including Ecole Centrale Paris. The ECP recruits among the top 6% of the students in classes preparatoires, which makes it a selective and prestigious institution. A few students come from French universities after completing three or four years of post high-school education. A significative contingent of students also comes from leading international universities which belong to the TIME network (Top Industrial Managers for Europe).

Curriculum

Education at the ECP is multidisciplinary and typically lasts three to four years. During the first two years (Tronc Commun, or "Common Trunk"), students are required to take classes in science (Mathematics, Physics, Biology); in engineering (Continuum Mechanics, Heat transfer, Digital image processing, Computer programming,...) and in social sciences (Economics, Management, foreign languages,...). After these two years of "Tronc Commun", students choose to major in a particular field, which they study for one year and a half to two years. After completing these 3 years and a half to four years of education, they receive the degree of "Ingénieur des Arts et Manufactures", more commonly called "ingenieur centralien"

National and international ties

The École Centrale Paris belongs to the French Intergroupe des Écoles Centrales, together with École Centrale de Lille, École Centrale de Lyon, and École Centrale de Nantes. The Intergroupe may be soon further expanded with the inclusion of École Centrale de Marseille (currently EGIM) and École Centrale de Pékin.

Since 1837, the school has built important international ties. Students come from around the world to study for several years on the school campus. École Centrale students may also obtain a "double diploma" at one of several partner schools, depending on the school, field of study, and degree type. Furthermore, the École is one of the founding members of the TIME network (Top Industrial Managers for Europe). ([Member List])

Research

The ECP hosts eight laboratories:

The Graduate School

In addition to the centralien training, the Ecole Centrale Paris offers a broad range of master's programs in science and engineering (1 year- or 2 year-programs). These programs are opened to applicants having completed their undergraduate studies at other institutions.

[MS programs at ECP]

The ECP also has a Ph.D. program for students with a master's level. More than 200 doctoral candidates work in one of the 8 laboratories of the school.

Alumni

They include:

Gustave Eiffel (1855), engineer and architect, famous for the Eiffel tower in Paris
Georges Leclanché (1860), created the Leclanché battery
Rene Panhard (1864), founder of the first automobile manufacturing company, Panhard et Levassor
André Michelin (1877), founder of Michelin
Louis Blériot (1895), aviation pioneer, first pilot to cross the Channel
Armand Peugeot (187?), founder of automobile maker Peugeot (Peugeot PSA)
Pierre-Georges Latécoère (1906), aeronautics pioneer, founder of Latécoère
Marcel Schlumberger (1907), co-founder of Schlumberger Limited
Boris Vian (1942), writer
Francis Bouygues (1947), founder of Bouygues
Robert Peugeot, Peugeot holding president as of 2005
Antoine (1966), singer
Henri Gouraud (1967), computer scientist
Benoît Potier (1979), CEO of Air Liquide
Édouard Michelin (1987), CEO of Michelin
Charles Beigbeder (1988)
Mehdi Bazargan, former Iranian Prime Minister

Famous lecturers

Eugène Péclet, physicist, gave his name to the Péclet number
Emile Picard, mathematician, Professor of Mecanical Engineering
Sébastien Candel, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics fellow