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Geotechnical News • December 2018
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
This gives me the opportunity to
briefly look back at my career, over
four decades or so, and more impor-
tantly to acknowledge some key
people who have been supportive and
helpful over these years.
Cet honneur me permet de regarder en
arrière, sans nostalgie, et de recon-
naitre certaines des personnes qui
ont contribué au cheminement et aux
réalisations qui ont mené à ce prix.
As you know, professional success
often results, in large part, from
unforeseen opportunities and from
positive interactions with others.
In these regards, I have been very
fortunate throughout my career. After
graduation in Civil Engineering in
1979 from Université de Sherbrooke,
I started working for a small soils
and construction materials firm near
Montreal. I soon realized that I needed
further education to become a geotech-
nical engineer. I therefore enrolled in
a Master’s Program in Soil Mechanics
at École Polytechnique de Montréal
(Polytechnique) while still working
part time. My research project, which
dealt with the behavior of soft clays,
was supervised by
Vincenzo Silvestri
who provided excellent guidance. The
research investigation involved labora-
tory and field testing, and the develop-
ment of analytical solutions, with a
good dose of physics and mathemat-
ics. It opened my eyes to the many
possibilities offered in geotechnique.
In the early 1980s, the Canadian
economy was going through a difficult
period and the civil engineering busi-
ness was suffering. In parallel, one of
the projects in which I was involved,
after obtaining my Master’s degree,
dealt with rock mechanics issues,
which were new to me at that time.
These circumstances lead me to take
two graduate courses in rock mechan-
ics at Polytechnique. These classes,
taught by
Branko Ladanyi
and
Denis
E. Gill
, quickly raised my interest in
the broad field of geomechanics. In
the fall of 1983, I enrolled in a Ph.D.
program under their co-supervision.
They both became mentors and later
colleagues at Polytechnique, and a
major influence on my career. Je leur
exprime ici ma plus sincère gratitude.
Another twist in my career path came
shortly afterwards when Université
du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
(UQAT) started a new Engineering
Program that was offered jointly with
Polytechnique. Fortunate circum-
stances led me to apply for, and obtain,
a junior faculty position at UQAT,
where I later became responsible for
the first year of the Undergraduate
Program. I gained a lot of valuable
experience and my wife and I really
enjoyed living and working in Abitibi.
This period also gave me the chance to
discover the world of mining, initially
through rock mechanics projects and
later through a variety of geotechnical
issues related to the surface disposal
of mine waste and associated environ-
mental concerns. During that time, I
established contacts with professionals
in the mining industry, which later led
to many fruitful collaborations.
Après l’obtention de mon doctorat,
j’ai été embauché comme professeur
adjoint en génie des mines à Poly-
technique, où j’ai eu l’opportunité de
travailler sur plusieurs projets intéres-
sants avec des collègues du milieu
académique et de l’industrie. Ce fut
une autre point tournant.
When I moved back to Montreal in
1989, as an Assistant Professor in
Mining Engineering at Polytechnique,
my teaching and research work hov-
ered for about a decade between rock
mechanics and hydro-geotechnical
aspects of mine waste management,
with the latter taking more and more
of my time. The needs and opportuni-
ties were pushing me toward issues
that had been largely ignored in min-
ing programs, such as the geotechnical
and geochemical stability of waste
disposal sites, and the reclamation
works required upon mine closure.
A few successful industrial projects
with mining companies and consulting
firms later led to the creation, in 2001,
of the NSERC Industrial Polytech-
nique-UQAT Chair in Environment
and Mine Wastes Management. This
Industrial Research Chair (IRC)
involved 2 universities, with
Bruno
Bussière
as the Associate Chair at
UQAT. The R&D program was sup-
ported by mining companies (both
large and small), consulting firms, and
governmental agencies. During its
12-year mandate, the IRC addressed
various fundamental and practical
problems, and was also very active
training highly qualified professionals
Michel Aubertin with Kevin Biggar, Michel Julien, Dharma Wijewickreme.
