Tribute to Jean Tensi

Jean Tensi passed away on February 8 in his 77th year. With him also passes away a great servant of the 3AF. Jean was a Savoyard. He returned regularly to the Alps, having kept a family home close to Italy, where his origins lay. However, it was in Poitiers, where he had come for his studies, that he settled. A graduate of the École nationale supérieure de Mécanique et d'Aérotechnique (ENSMA), he began his professional career as a CNRS research engineer in 1970 at the Centre d'études aérodynamiques et thermiques (CEAT), and ended it in 2012 at ENSMA, after 42 years spent working in aerodynamics and wind tunnels. I met him in 2003, when he set out to make a film on the history of French wind tunnels, and arrived at ONERA-Meudon with his small crew to shoot "Cathedrals for the Wind": a two-hour film in four epochs, released on DVD in 2008, which he generously agreed, a few years ago, to broadcast on the Coworking channel (CC). To date, this video1 has been viewed more than 60,000 times. It constitutes an irreplaceable documentary film, Jean Tensi having had the opportunity to capture the testimonies of wind tunnel pioneers, many of whom were to disappear shortly afterwards.

In 2005, based on a joint idea by Gérard Laruelle and Jean Tensi, the adventure of the EOLIA wind tunnel began, with the 3AF Poitou group designing and building the first prototype. In 2012, I witnessed the enthusiasm generated by the inauguration of the ninth replica of the EOLIA wind tunnel at the Champagne-sur-Seine high school (Essonne). Today, more than 30 schools in France and abroad have "their" EOLIA wind tunnel, a measure of the success of this educational tool (see page 24 of the RA 3AF 2017-2018)2. Jean Tensi was also an active member of the 3AF Aerodynamics Commission. In March 2008, he organized the 43rd 3AF Colloque d'aérodynamique appliquée (Applied Aerodynamics Symposium) in Poitiers, France, on the subject of drag and nuisance control. President of the Poitou regional group, he was behind the 2008, 2010 and 2012 Aerotop shows, which brought tens of thousands of visitors to the Poitiers-Biard aerodrome over the course of a weekend. In 2009, Michel Scheller awarded him the Légion d'honneur for his commitment to 3AF.

Jean Tensi was also a regular member of the Lettre 3AF editorial board. He took part in our bimonthly morning meetings. Before he took his train back to Poitiers, we had lunch together at the Brasserie Kléber with Jean Délery. I have fond memories of those very pleasant moments with the two "Jeans".

I'd like to recall one last memory of Jean, who was not only a scientist, but also a singing artist. In 2022, an AlumniONERA/3AF symposium on the astronomer Ismaël Boulliau3 was held in Loudun (Vienne). Jean represented 3AF on the scientific committee. On the evening of the symposium, he treated us to the exceptional spectacle of a song recital in a château in the Loudun region. Jean was accompanied on the piano by a childhood friend, with whom he had renewed acquaintance in retirement. Jean wrote the words and music for almost all the songs in the repertoire. However, the last one was by Aragon, with music by Léo Ferré, which shows the level of his talent. Even though he was already suffering from illness, Jean was admirable, and this beautiful musical evening remains engraved in the hearts of all those who took part in the symposium. Farewell Jean and thank you!

Jean Tensi on June 3, 2022 before the show.