Editing ENSTA Paris (section)

== History ==
Originally, the school was the brainchild of [[Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau]], inspector general of the Navy. He had identified the need to give the Navy's master carpenters a theoretical education, particularly in mathematics and physics, which were making quick progress, so that they would have a clearer understanding of their trade.

Duhamel du Monceau founded the first school in his home in Paris on the Isle Saint Louis in 1741. This date is recognised as the origin of the institution. In 1748 it was moved to the royal library on rue Richelieu, and in 1753 to the [[Louvre]] Palace, immediately adjacent to the Académie des Sciences.  It was closed in 1759 during the [[Seven Years' War]].  In 1765, he managed to persuade [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|the duc de Choiseul]] to reopen it as part of a sweeping overhaul of the navy.  Duhamel du Monceau continued to run the school for the rest of his life.

The '''School of Student Engineer Constructors''', as it was known, was closed in 1793 during the [[French Revolution]].  It reopened in 1795 as an application school for the [[Ecole Polytechnique]]. Later on, it became known as '''''Ecole nationale supérieure du Génie maritime''''' (National Higher College of Maritime Engineering).

In 1970, the Délégation générale pour l'Armement (Arms administration of the Ministry of Defence) merged the school with three of its other establishments:

- the École nationale supérieure des Poudres (Powders and explosives institute)

- the École nationale supérieure de l'Armement (Arms engineering institute)

- the École des Ingénieurs hydrographes de la Marine (Hydrographic institute).

This formed the École nationale supérieure de Techniques avancées (ENSTA), the role of which is to train engineers in the naval, mechanical, nuclear, chemical, electronic and related fields. The scientific skills of each of the founding institutes survives in the broad range of research disciplines covered at ENSTA, as well as in the more general nature of its teaching and the variety of specialities offered to the students.

Today, ENSTA's legal status is that of a "public administrative establishment", placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence. It is headed by a general officer of the Corps of Ordnance Ingineers (<small>[[Délégation générale pour l'armement|DGA]]</small>). Some former graduates of {{Lang|fr|[[École polytechnique]]}} attend ENSTA before joining the military Corps of Ordnance Engineers, which staffs the <small>DGA</small>.