Blondel, André Eugène (X 1883 ; 1863-1938).

Inspector General of Bridges and Roads (Ponts-et-Chaussées), he is the inventor of the soft iron oscilloscope (1893), a device allowing the graphic study of alternating currents. The first, he explains mathematically the effect of inertia in starting alternators, he is the author of work on asynchronous motors, electric traction, sound direction finding. He is one of the pioneers of long distance and very high voltage electric power transportation. With the help of Emile Harlé and Mähl, he is proposing the establishment of a very large hydroelectric plant in Génissiat. During the First World War, he worked on directed radiotelegraphy, used by French soldiers based at the borders to follow the movements of the German battle corps. He received the Franklin Institute Medal, the Montefiore and Lord Kelvin Prize, and the Faraday Medal. Member of the Academy of Sciences in 1913, he was a correspondent for the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1932