Homage to Jean-Philippe MASSONIE
We have been extremely sad to learn Jean-Philippe MASSONIE’s death on March, the 21st. We are grateful to him for having opened innovative, daring and stimulating research orientations within humanities and social sciences with tenacity.
When he created the Laboratory of Mathematics, Data-processing and Statistics (MIS) within the Faculty of Human sciences of the Université de Franche-Comté in 1964, Jean-Philippe MASSONIE encouraged a research which originality was based on systematic observation, on rigorous data analysis, and on the association of quantitative and qualitative approaches.
Professor of mathematics and erudite humanist, he diffused statistical methods and data-processing tools within research teams, by developping strong relations between hard sciences -natural sciences- on the one hand, and humanities and social sciences on the other hand.
This action deeply structured the pluri-disciplinary research within the Faculty of Human sciences, firstly within the research sector « Application of mathematical, statistical, data-processing, optical methods in Human sciences and Economics » (AMMSIOSHE) during the seventies, and then within the research group « New Techniques in Human sciences » during the eighties. They gathered geographers, archeologists, philosophers, historians, linguists, literary people and sociologists on rallying projects.
During the sixties, he created the « Centre of Socio-Economic Research » and then the MA « Mathematics applied to Social Sciences », transverse trainings addressed to students in engineering sciences and in humanities and social sciences that were opened to the firm and the society issues.
Dean of the Faculty of Human sciences from 1990 to his retirement in 1997, he encouraged important projects of data-processing equipment, of trainings modernisation and of research structuring within labellised laboratories and a project of Institute of Humanities and Social sciences.
Earthy personnality who spoke with a Rabelaisian eloquence, he managed to mobilize an active community of researchers who cultivated and disseminated his ideas, and above all this spirit made up of erudite culture, curiosity regarding modernity, and friendliness. We hope we will be able to conserve some of this spirit in our research activities.
The Catalyse method inherited the scientific methods and friendly tools of data analysis he promoted with persistence. The European Network of Territorial Intelligence owes to him the daring prospects he opened as regards pluri-disciplinary research and attention to our societies issues.
