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Your sympathy messages for Michel Lefebvre

Message de Sophie Coutin-Faye

Michel a su m’accueillir quand je suis rentrée au CNES pour prendre en charge les programmes de géodésie spatiale et de DORIS en particulier et contribuer à ma formation. Il a su me transmettre la passion car je n’ai plus jamais quitté ce domaine.
Je vous adresse toutes mes condoléances.
Sophie

Message from Pierre-Yves Le Traon

I have had the chance and privilege to work with Michel at the very start of the high precision altimetry revolution.  Michel has been at the origin of several of the major advances in oceanography and geodesy of the last 30 years: TOPEX/Poseidon, DORIS and GODAE.  In France, he was the one behind the creation of Mercator Ocean but he was also instrumental in the development of Coriolis and the French contribution to Argo (“the French contribution to GODAE: Jason, Coriolis and Mercator Ocean”).  His red bag that contained an incredible number of papers and slides was famous for all of us working with him.   Michel was a truly visionary and inspiring mind, humble and human and with a wide culture and great intellectual curiosity.  He had a unique capacity to entrain people and convince them.  Discussions with him were never superficial, always highly stimulating and very broad in scope (from science to society with digression to poetry and philosophy!).   We have lost a unique person and one of the fathers of modern oceanography.   He will be deeply missed but his legacy is truly outstanding.

Pierre-Yves LE TRAON
Mercator Océan Scientific Director

Message from Rosemary Morrow

Long after Michel retired from CNES, he continued to visit or call us at LEGOS, coming sometimes for seminars, or because he'd read an article that he was keen to discuss. He always had a briefcase full of recent articles, or poems, that were a physical expression for his passion of science and understanding.

He started his career as a Navy Captain, and his biography was called "Marin de l'Espace" - the Sailor from Space, which sums up the full circle of being a practical Navy Captain, to exploring  geodesy, astronomy, and finally oceanography from space ...

Michel was a wise, generous, multi-talented man and we were so lucky that he invested himself in developping space oceanography. Our thoughts are with him, his wife Claude and his family

Rosemary

Message from Lee-Lueng Fu

It is with great sadness to inform you of the passing of Michel Lefebvre on Sunday, July 21, at an age of 85.  Michel was instrumental in the early 1980s in the establishment of the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) Mission.  He was a geodesist with a profound vision of the potential of satellite altimetry and had been a key figure in pushing the boundary of altimetry as well as building the series of missions leading to today’s international altimetry constellation.  I recall in the 1991 T/P Science Team Meeting in Toulouse, while the mission planners were struggling to meet the 13 cm requirement for orbit determination, Michel boldly posed a 2 cm challenge.  It proved a monumental achievement of the mission, leading to fundamental advances in the study of global ocean circulation and sea level change from altimetry. As high precision altimetry neared reality, Michel became a strong force for implementing the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, both to exploit and enhance T/P.

Michel was a source of wisdom for oceanography and geodesy until Parkinson’s disease had finally consumed his body and mind in recent years.  He was a dear friend and inspirational colleague.  I had the privilege of knowing him and working with him.  He will be sorely missed by many of us who knew him personally.  For those who didn't know him, I hope you will recognize his tremendous contributions to the field in which you have built a career with the wonders of satellite altimetry.

Sincerely,
Lee

Message from David Halpern

While my connections with Michel were much weaker, I enjoyed his brilliance and collegiality. 
He was a gentleman and scholar.

Message from Byron D. Tapley

This is a significant loss to our community. Michel was a true visionary with the practical and political skills necessary for developing the application of a challenging concept and, as such, he was an extremely important contributor to the field of satellite oceanography. More than that, he was a valued friend. He will be missed.

Byron

Message from Victor Zlotnicki

Indeed, “a source of wisdom for oceanography and geodesy” is exactly how I fondly remember Michel.

Message from Gregg Jacobs

Michel always worked to help advance the research of everyone and would take all the new knowledge forward to advance the altimeter programs for those people. A real example to learn from, and we all have much to do to continue Michel's efforts for him.

Gregg

Message de Caroline Maheu-Mercier

Je ne suis qu'une petite goutte dans l'immensité de l'océan et de la communauté altimétrique, qu'importe. Michel m'a suffisamment marqué lorsque je l'ai croisé, il y a 20 ans, pour lui rendre hommage aujourd'hui.
Michel était déjà à la retraite, je démarrais ma vie active toulousaine.

Je me souviens de lui, de son sac de sport légendaire, remplis de trésors enfouis. Michel, toujours enclin à discuter, parfois longtemps, à partager son expérience sans donner de leçon de je-sais-tout, toujours avec bienveillance, à partager sa passion et surtout à transmettre.
La couleur de ce sac était semble-t-il rouge -cela a été souligné dans un autre témoignage et hommage.

Ce détail n'a pas marqué ma mémoire durablement. Ce sont les trésors et l'homme qui le portait qui nous ont marqués.
Adieu marin de l'espace, Adieu Michel 

Message from Water Smith

On behalf of all of Michel's colleagues at NOAA, I send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues for their loss. I met Michel in 1984 at a CNES summer school, "La géophysique interne et l'espace". My bridge partner there, Yves Gaudemer, took me around the southwest of France on weekends in his Renault 5. On one occasion, Michel invited us to see his old farm in the country. I was much impressed by the old stone buildings and the way the feeding troughs had been worn smooth by the animals rubbing their necks on the stones. It was a beautiful place, and Michel was very kind to share it with us young students.

-- Walter Smith, Geophysicist, NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry

 

Message from Jean Pailleux

Michel, you often told me anecdotes about space missions, about the moon, Jules Verne and Apollo astronauts. And you left us in the morning of 21 July 2019,... i.e. 50 years and a few hours after the moon was reached by humanity!! Rest in peace in the immensity of space, Michel.

Message de Joël Hoffman

Avant de croiser Michel lors d'une cérémonie qui s'est déroulée dans la banlieue de Toulouse (en 2011 je crois), j'avais entendu son nom à multiples reprises, dès lors que j'avais mis les pieds dans la prévision marine à Météo-France. Il était un phare pour la communauté de l'altimétrie satellitaire. J'ai été heureux de pouvoir faire sa connaissance, d'échanger avec lui, de découvrir son esprit vif, sa curiosité et sa passion pour ce qu'il a si bien fait pendant toute sa carrière : faire avancer la science au service de l'homme.

Il est maintenant dans les étoiles, loin de nous et pourtant encore si présent.

Bon voyage dans les étoiles !

Joël

Message de Vinca Rosmorduc

Le premier projet concret que je fis avec Michel, c'est pour un colloque d'océanographie qui se tenait en marge de l'expo universelle de Lisbonne en 1998. Michel voulait y présenter un poster. 1998, c'était la coupe du monde de football en France et des métaphores footballistiques lui venaient. Michel n'oubliait pas non plus sa mythologie grecque, et Jason et les Argonautes était aussi en bonne place dans ses idées. ça, et environ 3 milliards d'autres approches, avec un shadok pour faire bonne mesure. Pour faire court, il avait assez d'idée pour remplir une session poster entière à lui tout seul. Il n'en avait qu'un de prévu... Au fil de la discussion, il fut clair que le message qui lui importait vraiment, c'était avant tout et surtout la notion de réussite de l'océanographie spatiale grâce au travail en équipe. Le poster fut au final plutôt centré sur "l'équipe" des Argonautes - avec quand même le dessin shadok !

S'ensuivirent au fil des années moult discussions, souvent teintées de mythologie et/ou de poésie, des réalisations et projets -- le dernier étant sans doute "Océanez-vous", recueil de textes littéraires sur l'océan, la Terre... -- des coups de fil pour avoir les derniers bulletins de santé des satellites, un article récemment paru ou discuter d'un nouveau résultat. Il y eu aussi le "point vernal" (le nom est de lui), où nous fûmes plusieurs à relire Jules Verne à la lumière des connaissances actuelles sur l'océan et la géophysique, une présentation à destination de la Compagnie des chargeurs réunis, son ancien armateur, etc., etc. !

Merci, Michel, d'avoir partagé vos passions de façon si communicative, vivante et... éclectique.

Message from Bob Cheney

Looking back at my long and fruitful relationship with Michel always makes me think about les marrons - French chestnuts. In 1989, Michel invited me to spend a few months in Toulouse, working with the immensely talented group of scientists that he had assembled at CNES. When my family joined me in November, we spent time at his beloved country home in Dordogne. Adopting the role of grand-pere to Ryan and Amanda (ages 8 and 4), Michel led us into the forest to gather baskets full of les marrons which had fallen from the trees. Back at the house, Michel’s wife, Claude, built a roaring fire in the centuries-old stone fireplace, placed a grate over the glowing coals, and soon the irresistable aroma of roasted chestnuts filled the house. It was just the beginning of a weekend full of warm hospitality and adventure. Michel will rightly be remembered for his scientific and programmatic achievements, but my fondest memories focus more on his enormous personality and joy for life. He will not be forgotten.

Bob Cheney, NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry (retired)

message from Philippe Gaspar

I had the very good fortune to meet Michel, and work with him, in the early days of satellite altimetry. At that time, Topex-Poseidon was yet to be launched and operational oceanography was only a dream. Michel was (and will remain forever) a model of humanity and a model scientist, two roles that, we know, are not always easy to combine in one single person!

As a scientist, Michel had a remarkable instinct for identifying important goals and formulating them in a bold and simple way that made them incredibly attractive, regardless of the underlying challenges. His unique visionary abilities made possible the TOPEX-POSEIDON and DORIS missions, the GODAE experiment and the development of Mercator-Ocean, to name only a few.

On the personal side, I was always struck by Michel’s generosity and contagious enthusiasm, by his ability to develop profound and sincere relationships, and by his willingness to trust people and help them build self-confidence. 

The combination of all these skills made him a born leader (though he would probably not have liked the word) who was able to bring together people from very different backgrounds, to get them to work towards the same goal, and to motivate them to give their very best. 

On top of that, Michel was a unique character. He had his own special way of conducting discussions, often losing his audience at some point but always bringing everybody back to the point in time for the punchline. He was always seen with his famous messy red bag, in which he looked for, but rarely found, unlikely items that only he remembered. Above all, Michel loved playing with words and quoting his favorite authors, ranging from Aristotle to Saint-Exupéry. Among his famous word plays, my favorite was him describing altimetry as a way to “métriser l’océan,” a subtle way of mixing “to measure (in meters) the ocean” and “to master the ocean.” 

I can only conclude my heartfelt tribute to Michel by summarizing one of his favorite citations: “To create a ship, I do not need to design it in detail. I only need to give men a love for the sea.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Citadelle).

This is exactly what Michel did. He will keep inspiring us.

Philippe 

Message from Charlie Yamarone

My most sincere condolences to Claude and her family.

       Michel made many significant contributions to the French-US collaborations but his most memorable was his spirit and unending enthusiasm. Peace.

Message from Bill Patzert

So sad. Michel was a fantastic human being. I remember him as full of warmth and optimism. At the beginning of the NASA/CNES courtship, he was unstoppable. While others were tentative, Michel was unequivocal. He knew we could/would make TOPEX/Poseidon a success. Actually, more than a success, a revolutionary mission, for oceanography and climate science. His vision and optimism was infectious. All of us that had great careers centered around ocean altimetry owe Michel a huge debt. Merci beaucoup Michel.

Whenever I saw Michel, I just wanted to hug the guy. I will remember his good cheer and his vision. If TOPEX/Poseidon and the Jasons that followed had a soul, it was Michel. Au revoir good friend.

Bill Patzert

Message from Bill Townsend

So sorry to hear this. Of course, we all knew how poorly he was doing in recent times, but nonetheless, his passing brings a definite finality to the situation. He was certainly instrumental to the success of TOPEX/Poseidon, something we should always remember.

One amusing remembrance of Michel was that, in the early days of T/P, he used to say that, in the interest of cementing long-term relations between the NASA and CNES, our son, Jason, and his granddaughter, Nicole, should marry once they reached the proper age. Of course, that didn’t happen, but it shows how much he wanted this relationship to succeed, which, of course, it did.

My regrets to Claude.

Best,
Bill

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