I am sorry to report that James Lesec, Research Director at CNRS France, passed away in June this year.
He was well known and much appreciated by all scientists interested in steric exclusion chromatography techniques, in which he was a groundbreaker. A close friend of Jack Cazes, he published most of his articles in the Journal of Liquid Chromatography.
James had many scientific talents and could happily combine scrupulous precision in analysis with a prolific spirit of innovation. Knowing how to anticipate the results using a new theory and immediately checking them by adjusting the settings on the apparatus with screwdriver and spanner is a rare skill indeed.
Although S.E.C was always the prevailing theme of his commitment to science and thirst for knowledge, he had other passions like jazz, or driving across the Unites States at the wheel of his big American car. James had a fascination for this country where he spent several months every year.
So, if there were to be just one image of our friend to treasure, it would be James sitting on a bar stool in a saloon in the old French Quarters of New Orleans. That's where he was happy, surrounded by the music he loved and still flattered when, as a 60 year old, he would be asked to show his ID by the pretty waitress before she would serve him a glass of Chardonnay. Keep that bottle chilled, James my friend. The time is not so far distant when we will come and raise our glasses with you.
James Lesec expressed the wish to have a small remembering paper in his name in the Journal of Liquid Chromatography. My sincerest thanks go to Mr. Marc Moskovitz for agreeing to publish this.
Below are tributes from four of his last PhD students.
C. Collette
It was July 1976, I had spent a year in the Arctic Far North, prospecting for oil. Life was too tough, so I decided to change direction and go into scientific research. Looking for a laboratory to work for, and after visiting several laboratories, all of them willing to take me on to begin my PhD work, I was not convinced, as I wanted to live differently, live a new adventure, above all not routine. Then I met James Lesec at the Paris École de Physique et de Chimie. He had designed complex and extremely ingenious pieces of apparatus in the field of polymer characterization; his first publications on the subject were read all over the world; I did not know this then, and I actually knew nothing about it. What won me over in just a few minutes was his enthusiasm, its countless competences, his inventiveness, but also his simplicity; he tended to be atypical in the world of academia. I told him about how little I knew, and unbelievably so, he showed confidence in me from the start and “we just clicked”. In the space of a few minutes my fate was sealed for the next seven years. We got on very well together, he guided me, supported me consistently in my research work. Following an initial thesis to fine-tune the equipment he had devised, the next one was much more theory-focused. One day, seeing my obvious taste for applied work, he said “Laurent, you don't do a PhD thesis with a soldering iron !!, and so he put me back on track for academic studies, and I probably owe him this second thesis.
After spending seven years working together, I got my taste back for adventure and set off for new horizons. I met him again from time to time, always with pleasure, our friendship unchanged. Some 30 years have gone by since I left the laboratory. James is the only mentor of those days of whom I have lasting memories. Sometimes, when feelings of nostalgia creep in, I look up the internet and see with pride all the references in which my name is associated with the name of James Lesec. I will never forget him.
L. Letot
These days, I don't always remember what I did yesterday, but James Lesec is well and truly alive in my memories. And yet that was thirty years ago.
My thesis (1980-1982) followed on from Laurent Letot's thesis. The objective then was to put into application the SEC-high temperature continuous viscosimeter coupling to characterize polyolefins, in particular ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers.
It all went smoothly. For me those three years gave me a few “firsts” that left their mark on my mind:
- I first stepped on a plane, with James, in 1980, when we flew from Paris to Pau; the weather was miserable, but he was right: the skies are sunny above the clouds. | |||||
- First patent in 1981; the only one to my name to date still. | |||||
- First publications, in 1982, in the Journal of Liquid Chromatography. | |||||
- Two prizes, rewarding my thesis; again, the only ones… | |||||
- James took my place in 1982 at a conference in the US as my first child was due to be born shortly; he brought back a Smurf cuddly toy bigger than my newborn baby! | |||||
James, what can I say about him?
He was even-tempered, always pleasant, courteous, level-headed. He could not have had any worries, or rather he did not show them if he had. He was our thesis supervisor, we were his students, and yet it was consensual, we could talk like equals, in confidence.
I have one vivid memory: he was a handyman, who could do everything himself, not just in the laboratory but at home too. Making a laboratory bench, installing ventilation in the laboratory..., but also “tinkering” with the information systems of the time, creating a data acquisition system, and always to the same standard.
Following my thesis, we kept in touch, at least until 1990; my position with Elf Aquitaine in Lacq made it possible; I used to test all the polymers that came our way.
As I remember, James was one of those people with sparkling eyes.
D. Lecacheux
It was my privilege to be selected for a PhD directed by Professor James Lesec within the Macromolecular Chemistry Department at the ESPCI School from September 1st 1983 to July 2nd 1986. It is with pleasure and interest therefore that I now report to you on my results from the various missions I was entrusted with and the serene life I had with James.
Given the double objective set by ELF ATOCHEM and ESPCI, our assignments were based first on improving a new technique for the molecular weight analysis of Polyamides, and then on developing a new on-line viscometer further to D.Lecacheux's previous work.
Size exclusion chromatography of Polyamides
SEC of Polyamides was and probably still is one of the key analyses for polymers. Among these polymers, polyamide is one of the most difficult to analyze.
Together with Professor J.LESEC we found ways, mostly wrong but also sometimes right. This research led to the development of a routine method.
Developing on-line viscometer
Based on previous results, we improved a new way of measuring viscosity on-line. Most of the results we achieved were coherent with batch data. It was clearly a success we shared with James and our colleagues with the paper “Flow fluctuations in GPC-viscometry”, the so-called “LESEC effect”. However, this brought suspicion on the results obtained. Fortunately, James showed that this did not cause any problem for batch measurements in low molecular weight polymers like Polyamides.
This PhD work was a fantastic period of time. It was certainly my most exciting initial duties in the world of industry as I was just starting my career; after training in the South West of France, I went on as a PhD student at ESPCI and was then offered the position of Research Engineer at ELF ATOCHEM.
James gave me his support throughout this time, always conveying an optimistic view of science and life generally.
I wish to thank him for his close and warm support which made life really smooth and carefree, and of course also for the trips, the tennis and … the long dinners we shared together wherever we were!
We had great times together and I truly enjoyed it.
G. Marot
I had the great fortune to work with James Lesec during my PhD at ESPCI. My PhD started in October 1983 and related to the study of polymer aggregation phenomena in aqueous solution. The main polymer we studied was Scleroglucan, a high molecular weight polysaccharide with promising properties for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications.
As you may know, James was not only a specialist of gel permeation chromatography but was also strongly involved in developing new equipment for our laboratory. To study the aggregation of polymers in solution, the laboratory was already well equipped with a static light scattering apparatus. However, in order to delve deeper into the understanding of polymer behavior during my PhD, James built a new dynamic light scattering apparatus. He spent hours and hours developing a software that could pilot this equipment, analyze the data, and present the results. I had the privilege to use his software and discuss possible improvements with him.
The Scleroglucan we studied was a sort of “living” polymer derived from biotechnology. Depending on its purification state, it had more or less a tendency to aggregate with time, giving bigger and bigger polymer molecules. Before we realized that the size variations we were measuring from batch to batch or as a function of time came from the polymer itself, we thought it was due either to dust in the solutions or to the equipment. This was very tough and challenging. Those who are familiar with light scattering studies will know what I mean. When we realized that they were due to the polymer itself, I remember spending some excellent days with James, which was very helpful to me in easing the pressure. Based on all the results, we were then able to build a nice scenario describing the behavior of this new polymer family and propose an efficient method for preparing solutions with improved performances for EOR applications.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to James for introducing me to these light scattering techniques and for all those good times spent around equipment searching for solutions and explanations for our experimental problems. His dynamism and wealth of ideas were an invaluable help throughout my research thesis. He will forever remain present and alive in my mind.
C. Biver