Sebastien Soubiran - Scientific Heritage Preservation

Sebastien Soubiran’s research interests cover 20th century science and technology, physics, sismology, innovation technological process within military department (R&D), relations between scientific community and the military, as well as scientific heritage management and science museum. He is Director of the Jardin des Sciences in the University of Strasburg.
Since 2003 he is a research engineer, in charge of the development of a management Policy of the scientific collections and museum of the University of Strasbourg. This curating work is completed by research activity with a group of historian of science (among whom is Soraya Boudia) on the process by which sciences – practices, knowledge, cognitive and social forms – are instituted as patrimony or remembrance place, “lieu de mémoire” as defined by Pierre Nora. This research is based on the conviction that memorial practices, particularly within a university, can’t be separated from historical or sociological viewpoint of its motives and the aims it defines. Most specificaly Sebastien studied the relations between the physicists community and their héritage with two case studies : the preservation of the first french nuclear reactor ZOE and the preservation program of physics heritage at the University of Strasbourg.
In the TEUS Project Sebastien is intended to work on the history of seismology in Strasbourg since 1919 and the development of the international board of seismology located in Strasbourg and directed by two french seismologist, father and son : Edmond and Pierre Rothé. A special attention will be put on the relations with the military and the development of a national and oversea network for sismic detection link to nuclear test.

Sebastien is a member of the board of the European network UNIVERSEUM interested in the preservation of european academic héritage. He is also member of the international advisory board of the centre for history of science of the Royal Swedish academy of science.