Claude Poher Born in 1935, in Brittany, France, parent of Alain Poher who was President of the French Senate for a quarter century.

Engineer in space research. Engineer in electronics. Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

33 years of scientific career in space research at Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French NASA.

Successively responsible of several services in this space research public establishment: — Research programs in space astronomy, — Research programs in space robotics, — Research programs in space sounding rockets, — long-term research programs in advanced space technology.

Claude Poher has also directed several space research programs conducted in international cooperation, including lunar exploration, the space stations, and exploration of planets. He was in charge of the French national studies for application of the nuclear energy to future civilian space missions. Poher was also chairman of numerous sessions of international congresses about astronautics, in the domain of astronomical research, advanced missions studies, and interstellar missions. Poher is a private pilot with 45 years experience.

He created and directed, in CNES, in 1977/1978, the Groupe d’Etude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non identifiés, official French service dedicated to the analysis of the UFO observation reports from the population. This service still exists 27 years later - being the only official service of this type in the world.

The space activities of Claude Poher have been rewarded by: The National Order of Merit; The AAAF astronautical prize; The CNES medal. Claude Poher is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

He is also the holder of a U.S. Patent: Propelling device by way of matter particles acceleration

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Poher