Notice on the professional activities of Claude Bathias

Activity in the scientific research area

C. Bathias has dedicated his research carrier to the fracture of materials by fatigue in both of fundamental and technological aspects.

Three periods can be distinguished in his activity: In the years of 1970, he has worked about the modeling of the fatigue crack growth and has displayed the mechanism of cyclic plastic deformation at the fatigue crack tip. In the years of 1980, he applied fracture mechanics to the delamination of the laminate composite materials and to the fatigue crack propagation in elastomers. Finally, in the years of 1990, C. Bathias and co-workers gave the experimental confirmation, for the first time, that all of the metals can fail in fatigue beyond the billiard of cycles which is evidence of that the concept of infinite fatigue life does not exist.

Activity in the industrial area

From 1966 to 1978, full time engineer at the French Navy Research Centre- Paris and then at EADS research Centre of Suresnes, he was in charge of bringing up the research on the fracture and fatigue in both of his positions.

Firstly concerned with steels and the construction of ships and submarines, he studied afterwards the advanced materials, aluminum, titanium, high performance composite materials applied to different projects such as Airbus, Mirage 2000, Ecureuil, Dauphin Helicopters and Ariane rocket.

Then he was consultant of EADS where he kept an office up to 1985 by taking a role in research, development and maintenance of the aircrafts. Since 1985, he collaborates in many different industrial projects essentially, with multinational companies of the civil aeronautic automotive, energy, railway, etc..

Academic activity

In 1974, he was invited to become full university professor during the creation of the Compiègne University (UTC), but he was never far away so much from the industry. He was successively in charge of a master degree “Materials and Technological innovation” and director of a laboratory associated to CNRS (UA 914) more than one hundred researchers. Later, he has founded a technological research centre under the name of “Institute of Advanced Materials and Technologies (ITMA) which is still existing at CNAM.

In 1988, he obtained a full professorship at CNAM – Paris and associated his research activities with the “Centrale Recherche SA” and l’Ecole Centrale de Paris (Professor D. François) for the graduate school.

He created other cooperation for a Master of Science degree: “University of Orsay” , “University of Evry”, “University of Nice” and ISTM for a common Master degree entitled “Materials and Management”.

He has attended in the conferences with more than two hundred presentations, of which more than 80 percent are international conferences with selected steering committee and with selected publications. He advised more than sixty PhD theses for doctor engineer degree. He has edited ten books on the materials. Most of these activities have been carried out in collaboration with national or international colleagues.

Finally, he has been visiting professor at Georgia Institute of Technology of Atlanta at 1988 where he has contributed to research and exchange student program. He has been also visiting professor at the Sichuan University of Chengdu and at the Northern Polytechnical University of Xian in China.

Administrative activity and animation in national and international level in the domain of materials science

He was invited in 1978 to create a program of mechanics and materials science with Professor J. Friedel at The French Ministry for research. He has kept this position up to 1982 by forcing the reconciliation mechanic – materials at CNRS.

In this frame, the French Minister for research has invited him to be the national delegate of CODATA and VAMAS. He has been the leader of many international missions on new materials in Canada(1978,90,94,95) USA (1993), Japan (1988,93,95) China(1994,95), Israel (1992)and then in Mexico(1994,96,2000, 05).

Under the patronage of the French ministry of foreign affaires, he has organized the first Euro- Japanese exchanges on the composite materials in 1990, followed by the different manifestations biennales up to now.

He was member of scientific committee of Defence from 1982 to 1986, administrator in AFNOR from 1983 to 1989 and administrator in the National technical centre of foundry industry from 1990 to 95. He has been member of the scientific committee of “ The London Imperial College” from 1990 to 2000.

He has been voting member of ASTM and also expert of “Science – Contact” in the French academy of science. He was member of the international council of “Japanese Prize” from 1985 to 2000.

His activity at the international level is important as confirmed by many numbers of conferences given in Europe, in USA and in Asia.