The ''Corps des ponts, des eaux et des forêts'' (in English "Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests") is a technical Grand Corps of the French State (

grand corps de l'Etat Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

). Its members are senior officials, mainly employed by the French Ministry of Environment and Energy and by the Ministry of Agriculture. Most of them are from

École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, where they are selected based on their ranking, and from

AgroParisTech AgroParisTech (officially ''Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement'', or Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences)English naming according tEnglish brochure is a French higher educati ...

where they are selected based on an entrance exam, others are from

École normale supérieure (Ulm) An ''école normale supérieure'' () or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education institution in France. A portion of the student body, admitted via a highly-selective competitive examination process, are French civil servants and ar ...

or the regular curriculum of the École des ponts ParisTech. People entering the Corps (around 60 each year) are trained either at

, École des ponts ParisTech or abroad in specific fields, in particular when they are willing to pursue a PhD. In 2002, the ''Corps des ponts et chaussées'', and the different corps formed by the civil aviation engineers, the geography engineers and the meteorological engineers merged. In 2009, the ''Corps des ponts et chaussées'' (in English "Corps of Bridges and Roads") and the ''Corps du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts'' (in English "Corps of Rural Engineering, Waters and Forests") merged into the current Corps des ponts, des eaux et des forêts. Many executive positions in France's industries and administration are held by Corps des Ponts engineers. Being admitted to the Corps des Ponts program is still considered a significant fast-track for executive careers.

Important former or current members

Paul-Louis Arslanian Paul-Louis Arslanian is a French public servant, former head of the French ''Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile'' (1995-2009). Arslanian is Officier of the Légion d'honneur, graduates from ''École polytechn ...

* Henri Becquerel *

Christian Beullac Christian Beullac (29 November 1923 in Marseillan (Hérault) – 16 June 1986) was a French politician best known for leading the ministries of education and social affairs. Biography After secondary education in Nice and at the Champollion ' ...

* Fulgence Bienvenüe * Jean-Baptiste Biot *

Augustin-Louis Cauchy Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy (, ; ; 21 August 178923 May 1857) was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist who made pioneering contributions to several branches of mathematics, including mathematical analysis and continuum mechanics. He ...

* Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis * Henry Darcy *

Jules Dupuit Arsène Jules Étienne Juvenel Dupuit (18 May 1804 – 5 September 1866) was an Italian-born French civil engineer and economist. He was born in Fossano, Italy then under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. At the age of ten he emigrated to Franc ...

* Augustin-Jean Fresnel * Freycinet *

Louis Joseph Gay-Lussac Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (, , ; 6 December 1778 – 9 May 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (with Alexander von Humboldt), for two laws ...

Pierre-Simon Girard Pierre-Simon Girard (4 November 1765 – 30 November 1836) was a French mathematician and engineer, who worked on fluid mechanics. Girard was born in Caen. A prodigy who invented a water turbine at the age of ten, he worked as an engineer at th ...

Philippe LeBon Philippe le Bon (or Lebon) (D'Humbersin) (May 29, 1767 – December 1, 1804) was a French engineer, born in Brachay, France. There is much confusion about his life and accomplishments. His main contributions were improvements to steam engines ...

* Joseph Liouville * Étienne-Louis Malus * Pierre Méchain *

Charles Joseph Minard Charles Joseph Minard (; ; 27 March 1781 – 24 October 1870) was a French civil engineer recognized for his significant contribution in the field of information graphics in civil engineering and statistics. Minard was, among other things, noted ...

* Claude-Louis Navier *

Jean Peyrelevade Jean Peyrelevade (born 24 October 1939) is a senior French center-left politician and business leader. Beliefs and political career In 1981 Peyrelevade was appointed deputy director of the cabinet and economic adviser to French Prime Ministe ...

Gaspard de Prony Baron Gaspard Clair François Marie Riche de Prony (22 July 1755 – 29 July 1839) was a French mathematician and engineer, who worked on hydraulics. He was born at Chamelet, Beaujolais, France and died in Asnières-sur-Seine, France. Educati ...

* Marie François Sadi Carnot (former president of the French Republic) * Bernardin de Saint-Pierre * Louis Vicat *

Jacques Villiers Jacques Villiers (26 August 1924 – 13 March 2012) was a French aerospace engineer and public servant. He was the founder of the Centre d'études de la navigation aérienne (French air navigation center) and co-founder of the CAUTRA system ...

* François Philippe Voisin * Jean Tirole ()

References

External links

Official Corps des ponts website
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Bridges A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whic ...

Bridges in France Forests of France Water in France * *

Important former or current members

References

Further reading

External links