Nationality: France
Country of Residence: France
Nominator: Diane Howard
Supporters: Setsuko Aoki, Laetitia Cesari, Tanja Masson-Zwaan, Kimitake Nakamura, Yuri Takaya-Umehara
Professional path (including present position)
*indicates a currently held position
◻ European Space Agency, Paris, France
○ *Space Safety Programme Coordinator (including Secretary of the Space Situation Awareness Programme Board – PB-SSA), Strategy and Transformation Office, Directorate of Operations, March 2023 – Present
○ *Protect Accelerator Coordinator, Strategy and Transformation Office, Directorate of Operations, March 2023 – Present
◻ Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
○ *Visiting Assistant Professor, March 2023 – Present
○ Assistant Professor, October 2021 – March 2023
○ Project Researcher, October 2020 – September 2021
○ Research Assistant, April 2019 – September 2020
◻ École de l’air et de l’espace, Salon-de-Provence, France
○ *Guest Lecturer, 2023 – Present
◻ European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria
○ Associate Research Fellow, July 2020 – March 2023
◻ ArkEdge Space Inc., Tokyo, Japan
○ General Manager, Global Strategy Department, January 2021 – March 2023
○ Senior Advisor to the CEO, April 2018 – December 2020
◻ Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
○ Research Collaborator, September 2017 – March 2023
○ RWASAT Program Manager, September 2018 – August 2020
Aerospace Engineering Researcher (Student), April 2015 – September 2017
◻ United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan
○ Guest Lecturer, 2021 – 2022
◻ Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Government of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
○ Technical Advisor for Space Policy, August 2020 – March 2021
◻ Japan Space Forum, Tokyo, Japan
○ Fellow, Space Policy Research Center, October 2019 – March 2021
○ Visiting Researcher, Space Policy Research Center, April 2019 – October 2019
◻ National Space Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
○ External Consultant, Taskforce on Space Systems Overseas Development, May 2016 – September 2020
◻ Secure World Foundation, Washington, DC
○ Visiting Scholar, Washington DC Office, August 2019 – September 2019
◻ Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta, Indonesia
○ External Project Researcher (non-resident), May 2016 – July 2018
◻ Reuniwatt SAS, Saint-Pierre, Reunion Island, France
○ Satellite Remote Sensing Intern, August 2014 – February 2015
◻ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France
○ Geological Research Intern (Curiosity/MSL, ChemCam Team), July 2013 – August 2013
Education and degree
◻ The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
○ Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), International Public Policy, 2017 – 2020
Thesis: A Reluctant Space Safety Services Provider: The Role of the Military in Space Traffic Management (消極的な宇宙安全サービス提供主体:宇宙交通管制における軍の役割)
○ Master of Engineering (MEng), Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015 – 2017
Thesis: Innovative Approach to Ground Data Gathering Using a Constellation of Store and Forward CubeSats (ストア・アンド・フォワードCubeSatのコンステレーションによる革新的地上 データ取得方法) ○ Completion Certificate, Science, Technology, and Innovation Governance Program, 2018 – 2020
○ Completion Certificate, Global Leader Program for Social Design and Management, 2016 – 2020
◻ ISAE-SUPAERO, Toulouse, France
○ SUPAERO Engineer degree, Master of Science (MSc), Aerospace Engineering, 2012 – 2017
◻ Lycée du Parc, Lyon, France
○ MPSI-PSI* Preparatory Classes, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Philosophy, 2010 – 2012
Main publications in English
○ [Book] Q. Verspieren, G. Coral, M. Berthet, S. Nakasuka and H. Shiroyama (eds.). ASEAN Space
Programs: History and Way Forward, Springer Nature, Singapore, 2022
○ [Article] “Historical Evolution of the Concept of Space Traffic Management since 1932: The Need for a Change of Terminology,” Space Policy 56, May 2021.
○ [Article] “The United States Department of Defense Space Situational Awareness Sharing Program: origins, development and drive towards transparency,” Journal of Space Safety Engineering 8(1), March 2021, pp. 86-92.
○ [Article] “From the Seas to Outer Space: the Reverse Dynamics of Civil-Military Situational Awareness Information and Responsibility Sharing” (with H. Shiroyama), Space Policy 50, November 2019.
○ [Article] “An early history of the Philippine space development program” (with G. Coral, B. Pyne and H. Roy), Acta Astronautica 151, 2018, pp. 919-927.
◻ Total number of publications: 49 books, articles, conference papers and chapters.
Membership and professional affiliation
○ International Institute of Space Law (IISL): 2020 – 2022 (Prospective Member), 2022 – Present (Individual Member)
○ Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences (JSASS): 2019 – Present
○ International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS): 2020 – 2022
Awards and other accomplishments
○ Best Student Award 2020, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo (September 2020)
○ GSDM Student Leadership Award 2020, Global Leader Program for Social Design and Management (GSDM), The University of Tokyo (Mars 2020)
○ Leader of Tomorrow, St. Gallen Symposium 2017 (May 2017)
Space law expertise
Throughout my early professional and academic careers, I have approached space affairs from various social sciences’ perspectives. While still studying space engineering and conducting technical research, I developed a hands-on knowledge of public administration and diplomacy by advising the Japanese Cabinet Office on their bilateral engagement with countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, experience which increased further when I was put in charge of Japan’s support to the creation of the Rwandan space program. Then, during my doctoral studies in public policy, I studied international regime-making for space traffic management and associated domestic decision-making processes in the United States, France and Japan, hence developing expertise in areas as varied as organizational studies, international regime theory, decision-making theory and bureaucratic studies, security studies, etc. Finally, during my time as researcher and then assistant professor at The University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy, I have taught space governance, science and technology policy, and space security to master’s and PhD students, and published extensively on these topics. Since joining ESA in March 2023, I have established the Protect Accelerator as the primary instrument for ESA to collaborate with the wider space community (including the European Commission) on topics of space safety and sustainability and led the open and collaborative development of the Zero Debris Charter, the world’s most ambitious commitment on space debris mitigation and remediation, supported by 100+ institutional, industrial, academic and non-profit actors worldwide. Based on this track-record, I was entrusted in January 2024 with the coordination of the ESA Space Safety Programme (1.2 billion euros since 2019), including serving as Secretary of the Space Situational Awareness Programme Board. This new opportunity provides me with a deep understanding of the technical, programmatic, political and legal inner workings of the world’s largest space safety programme.
IISL Position applied for
Director
Specify your relationship with the IISL
I have been a prospective member since October 2020 and a member since October 2022. To this date, I have co-chaired an IISL session at the Baku IAC (2023) on “Recent Developments in Space Law with Particular Focus on Space Debris Remediation” and contributed two articles for the annual colloquium (in 2018 and 2019), two articles for the Knowledge Constellation and I am now working on the first republishing of Mandl’s Das Weltraum-Recht since 1932 in a bilingual edition, that I hope to make an official IISL publication. I have also joined the IISL-IAF-IAA efforts on space traffic management. Finally, since 2023, I co-organize the IISL’s Happy Hours with Professor Setsuko Aoki.
Specify the reason for applying for the postition and how you can serve IISL
Willing to increase greatly my contribution to the IISL and its activities, and to devote some time to its governance and future directions, I am submitting my candidacy for the position of Member of the Board of Directors. I hope to bring a unique multidisciplinary expertise in three directions: I have been involved in research and projects in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe; I experienced academia, government and the start-up world; and finally, I have a dual engineering and policy training. Through these, I intend to accompany the international expansion of the IISL and its opening to other space-related social sciences, in particular public policy and security studies. I believe that becoming a member of the Board of Directors will allow me to make these contributions, as well as to participate in the governance of the institute and in the reflections on how to maintain and further develop its relevance in driving the evolution of the space sector, on legal issues and beyond.
Name, Surname of Nominator
Diane Howard
Nominator's reasons for nominating the nominee
I have known and worked with Quentin for many years. He possesses many qualities that I know will benefit the board - he is diligent, energetic, creative, and a bridge builder. He is able to synthesize multiple, diverse points of view. I believe that Quentin's understanding of government, national and international, his interdisciplinary training, cross-cultural experiences, and time spent in academia will help the IISL regain and maintain relevance at this critical time for the IISL.
Supporters:
Setsuko Aoki
Laetitia Cesari
Tanja Masson-Zwaan
Kimitake Nakamura
Yuri Takaya-Umehara