Henry de Plinval arrived on the ISAE-SUPAERO campus last August, and has taken up his new post as the school's Director of Research and Educational Resources. Portrait of Henry Plinval.
Can you tell us about your background?
I began working in industry, at Safran, on inertial units: a rich experience from the point of view of technical subjects, industrial organisation, customer presence and requirements.
However, the research bug was already biting… and I decided to join ONERA in Toulouse in 2008. I then worked in automation, on different applications (aeronautics, space, naval – civil and defence), and did my thesis on vision-based UAV piloting. Later, in 2015, I was asked to become director of the UAV programme, in charge of this fascinating subject – on which ISAE-SUPAERO is also carrying out a lot of remarkable work.
In 2021, I wanted to take on more hierarchical responsibilities and I became deputy director of ONERA’s physics department: an opening onto subjects that are absolutely remarkable in their richness and technicality. I then took over as head of the low-speed wind tunnels department, a very complementary role because it is much more industrial.
I'm now at ISAE-SUPAERO, where I'm finding a lot of similarities with the various slices of life I've just mentioned! It's a great joy for me to rediscover these echoes of subjects I've come across before, to encounter both passion and excellence, and to discover and learn about dimensions I'm less familiar with.
Henry DE PLINVAL Director of Research and Educational ResourcesWhat will your responsibilities be at ISAE-SUPAERO?
I’m in charge of the Research and Educational Resources Department. It’s an exciting role that covers a wide range of aspects. The first thing that strikes me is the quality of the people who make up this department: the human quality; the quality of the research that is carried out – often with remarkable resources; and the quality of the teaching.
My first task will be to continue to develop these qualities, but also to make them known both externally and internally. To do this, we will need to continue on the path of excellence in research and in the service of educational missions, with the considerable resources that have been allocated to them.
What issues do you consider to be priorities in your mission?
There are a number of important issues, some of which are particularly important for our business. The joint laboratory that we are building with ENAC is, of course, an essential decision that we must now make work, with the synergies and increased visibility that it will bring us.
Another key decision is the one that brings us into the dynamic of the University of Toulouse, which, here too, should see our international recognition grow even further.
Alongside these major moves, weneed to consolidate our teams, which have grown very strongly over the last ten years, and strengthen the balance between teaching, upstream research, partnerships, industrial contracts and European funding.
All of this is to ensure that we continue to be at the very top of teaching and research in the aeronautics and space fields that are our core business!
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