Fontenay aux Roses on October 5, 2021
Christophe Clément left us last Thursday, leaving behind him a great void. He was a discreet person who preferred to put forward his colleagues rather than himself. Today it is up to us, the members of his team, to share our memories of him and to recall his career and his ideas.
Christophe started his work on the seismicity of France at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, after having defended his thesis on the seismic imaging of the Hellenic subduction and the Gulf of Corinth in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, he participated in the development and implementation of the probabilistic seismic hazard assessment method for French nuclear sites at IRSN/BERSSIN. After joining the GEOTER team from 2005 to 2009, Christophe joined BERSSIN in September 2009, to become its head in 2014. Wishing to resume his research activities, he will leave his position as head in spring 2021 to embark on new projects and establish new collaborations.
For seven years Christophe has guided our team with rigor, tenacity and generosity. In a period marked by the need to learn from the Fukushima accident, he has worked to facilitate and strengthen the links between BERSSIN’s applied research and the academy’s fundamental research, with the objective of improving knowledge of the seismotectonics of France and the consideration of the origins and consequences of seismic motion amplification phenomena.
For Christophe the basic data was the cornerstone of our research. He worked for the maintenance of the instrumentation at IRSN and supported our data acquisition campaigns as well as the projects aiming to valorize them. Résif was for him a privileged working environment for which he was involved in its steering committee and in the CSNO. He also encouraged the participation of BERSSIN in the various bodies of Résif such as the ATS, the RAP or RENAG.
We wish today to reaffirm his commitments because we believe that they are the guarantee of a better evaluation and consideration of the seismic hazard, which Christophe will have worked hard to achieve.
Bureau d’évaluation des risques sismiques pour la sûreté des installations (BERSSIN)
Photo : Marc Cushing (IRSN/BERSSIN)
Tribute to Christophe
Christophe was a very active member of the Résif community, and in particular of its Action transverse sismicité, which he supported at all times with his colleague Hervé Jomard. Within this national structure, which aims to improve the assessment and consideration of seismic hazard in France, he has established and strengthened the links between BERSSIN and the academic community, thus promoting the advancement of knowledge.
As a member of the Résif steering committee and, since last year, of the national observation services commission, he has always demonstrated a positive attitude and a concern for the collective interest.
After leaving his position as BERSSIN manager, Christophe chose to get more involved in the Résif community by participating, for example, in a GNSS measurement campaign in the Briançonnais last summer. He was a smiling, cheerful and more relaxed companion than ever, but always on the alert to seize opportunities to discuss and push Résif projects.
Discreet, positive and rigorous, he was a colleague appreciated by all those who met him briefly or regularly within the Résif community. He was also, for some, a warm and jovial friend or buddy. We all join in the collective sorrow.
Résif
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