Jean-Claude Falmagne

Jean-Claude Falmagne
Jean-Claude Falmagne
Born	1934 (age 82–83) Brussels, Belgium
Nationality	United States
Fields	psychology mathematics
Alma mater	Université Libre de Bruxelles
Known for	Knowledge Space Theory

Jean-Claude Falmagne (born February 4, 1934, in Brussels, Belgium) is a mathematical psychologist whose scientific contributions deal with problems in reaction time theory, psychophysics, philosophy of science, measurement theory, decision theory, and educational technology. Together with Jean-Paul Doignon, he developed knowledge space theory, which is the mathematical foundation for the ALEKS software for the assessment of knowledge in various academic subjects, including K-12 mathematics, chemistry, and accounting.

After finishing high school, Falmagne spent two years in the Belgian army, where he became an officer. Military service was mandatory in Belgium at the time. In 1954, he enrolled at the University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles) as a student in the psychology department. He received his undergraduate degree in 1959 and was hired as an assistant at the University of Brussels, which is a faculty position in the Belgian system. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1965 from the same institution.

While working on his doctoral dissertation, which dealt with reaction times, Falmagne became interested in the applications of mathematics to the cognitive sciences. In 1964, he was invited by Patrick Suppes to spend the summer at Stanford University. He presented the results of his dissertation at a conference there and met several prominent mathematical psychologists, including Bill Estes, Dick Atkinson, and Duncan Luce, and the mathematician János Aczél. Suppes, Luce, and Aczél had a strong influence on Falmagne’s choice of scientific career and on his approach to solving scientific problems. His visit to Stanford convinced him that he needed to continue his education in the United States.

With the support of Fulbright and FNRS fellowships, Falmagne held post-doctoral positions at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Michigan between 1966 and 1969. His interests grew to include psychophysics, measurement theory, and probabilistic models of ordering and algebraic measurement. After short teaching stints back in Europe at the University of Brussels and the University of Paris, he returned to the United States in 1971 as a Professor of Psychology at New York University.