Viviane ThéveninViviane Thévenin passed away on 30 November 2002, following a surgical operation. She was 51 and the mother of four children. Viviane was born in France in 1951. A trained molecular biologist from the University of Paris, Viviane also had a masters degree in English and a Ph.D. in Research Policy. Following stints at Amherst College, New Jersey, and Oxford University, she joined the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 1978, before being granted several fellowships, notably at the University of London (as a research associate), the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas in Caracas, Venezuela and John Hopkins University. A very unusual feature for a French scientist, Viviane spoke English, Spanish, German, Russian and Japanese. In 1982, she joined the French ministry of Research and Industry. Within its Center for Prospective an Evaluation, she worked on comparing European, American and Japanese research policies. In 1983, she joined the Research services of the European Commission in Brussels, working as a scientific officer for the management of European Community-funded medical research. In 1986, she took over the area of Biomedical engineering - a domain that was in many respects a pioneer of European collaboration. From then until 1999, she remained the contact point in the "Brussels maze" for researchers and industrialists willing to submit projects in biomedical technologies, for experts invited to evaluate such project proposals, and for the leaders of projects eventually funded under the Biomed Program. Viviane joined the European Commission when a handful of scientific officers were just beginning to distribute a few hundred thousands ECU in medical research; she leaves us when billions of EUR are now earmarked for European researchers and physicians. In the meantime, Viviane was instrumental in federating the scattered efforts of the Biomedical Engineering Community. She was involved in the setting up of ESEM, and remained its secretary for several years. She strived to create an EC Expert Group on Biomedical Engineering and Technologies that managed to influence the decision-makers at a crucial moment. She also supported the concept of demonstration projects that proved an excellent opportunity for the domain (two thirds of the BIOMED 2-demonstration project being related to biomedical technologies). A discreet and self-effacing lady, Viviane was highly appreciated and respected, both by her colleagues and by the biomedical engineering community interested in European collaborations, the networking of which she helped greatly. In 1999, after sixteen years working for EC-funded medical research, Viviane decided to pursue other interests. She initially worked for two years for the International Cooperation activities of the Research Directorate General, before taking up another challenge: that of enabling European researchers to work across the whole European Union territory without obstacle for their career, pension, social security, etc. In spite of a growing fatigue, Viviane was enjoying her new challenge. Viviane knew how to listen. She expressed her views with plenty of conviction. Her judgment rarely failed her. She was also willing to advise younger colleagues on the snares of working in a specific environment such as the European Commission. Though not ambitious in terms of personal gain, Viviane was particularly aware of the functioning of the Institution, both before and behind the curtain. Her professional objective was to serve Europe, its citizens and its research. She embodied, in many respects, a capacity to keep both feet firmly on the ground, while keeping her career values such as probity, honesty and loyalty. She will be sadly missed.
Olivier Le Dour
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