Interview of Georges Amar

How long have you been collaborating with TMCI chair of research?

In my industrial career I collaborated with the CGS long before the chair was created. In fact, when I worked at RATP, we contributed to the creation of the chair as we lead the first innovative design seminar which was then reproduced under the famous name of KCP. We also lead the “EXQUISIT” seminar which used the same base but included exterior participants such as SCNF, Renault, EDF, La Poste, and many others. SNCF then started to partner with the CGS as well.

What was your position at RATP at this time?

I was in charge with the animation of prospective, research and innovation.

The first gives its origins to my book “Aimer le futur” which treats about exercising prospective to think the future differently from what is already written. Prospective is related to innovative design in the way that it gives new language. However, at this stage I was more concerned with mobility giving birth to the book « Homo Mobilis, le nouvel âge de la mobilité ». Mobility is still my main field of reflection.

Concerning the research activity, I thought that the evolution of mobility was strongly related with that in neurosciences, which gave birth to a seminar called “Cognition and mobility”. This started common research with neurosciences at Paris Sorbonne and College de France. One of the consequences was to trigger cooperation achat viagra pfizer between these sciences and design theories at MINES ParisTech.

How do you contribute to the chair nowadays you are retired from your industrial career?

I contribute to it as former business man (homme d’entreprise), engineer (I graduated at MINES ParisTech) and artist.

I am contributor to the second axis with my experience on KCP, to the fifth axis about the innovation reception and critical discourse.

Do you have other activities?

I participate to different think-tanks and conferences, the majority are concerned with mobility. For instance I will give a speech in a few days at the clean automotive award. They asked me to talk about what is the car of the future.

In the past I published in “les Annales de la recherche humaine” several times as they were concerned with urbanism. I published many papers in “Les cahiers de géopoétique”. I try to link disconnected fields (engineering, poetics, sciences).

Do you have a message to address to the members of the chair?

Yes, it is about mobility which I have been reflecting on for a long time: we are at the very beginning of the mobility era. We still have a very poor understanding of mobility. Transports are well established behind us, but we have to go ahead towards mobility. Even the internet is concerned by mobility, look at the smartphones! That makes it a very rich field for prospective and we will need all possible design disciplines.