Pierre Dufour, Senior Executive Vice-President of Air Liquide and President and CEO of American Air Liquide Holdings Inc., received the 2012 Prix Mérite (merit award). Thierry Pagé, President and CEO of Odotech, was given the Prix Innovation technologique (technological innovation award). The Association also awarded a Prix Étudiant (student award) to David Banville, a graduating bachelor's student in engineering physics. 

Pierre Dufour, Prix Mérite 2012
The 2012 Prix Mérite was given to Pierre Dufour (class of 1975, civil engineering) for his career as a whole, his accomplishments and his legacy to the community.

Against the backdrop of globalization, Mr. Dufour successfully carried off the challenges of growing two businesses, SNC-Lavalin and Air Liquide. At the start of his career, he quickly moved up the ranks in the field of engineering consultancy with Groupe Lavalin. After he helped put the finishing touches on the Olympic Stadium, he successfully led several of the group's subsidiaries, and in 1993 was appointed Executive Vice-President of the company that became SNC-Lavalin. Mr. Dufour then took an interest in market prospecting in Asia, and led major out-of-country projects, including an aqueduct in Venezuela and a $500-million public and socio-cultural building megaproject in Algeria. Thanks to his development of an international network and to mergers and acquisitions, SNC-Lavalin stepped up its pace of growth and flourished under Mr. Dufour's leadership.

With more than 20 years' experience in engineering consultancy, in 1997 Mr. Dufour left for France to join the ranks of Air Liquide Group. Once again, he climbed the ladder quickly. Appointed Executive Vice-President of the company in 2002, he supervised operations in the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Since 2007, he has also been President and CEO of American Air Liquide Holdings, a North American subsidiary of the group. Under his direction, in 2011 Air Liquide Group undertook the biggest industrial investment in its history, providing hydrogen to the Saudi Aramco refinery. With this strategy, Mr. Dufour aims to make the company the biggest industrial gas player in the Middle East.

Thierry Pagé, Prix Innovation technologique 2012

The 2012 Prix Innovation technologique was awarded to Thierry Pagé (class of 1994, chemical engineering), the driving force behind Odotech.

During his doctoral studies in the Polytechnique laboratories, Mr. Pagé developed a first prototype for an olfactometer, which a few years later became OdoWatch, a unique system for measuring odours and describing their impact. A visionary with keen business sense, Mr. Pagé didn't even wait to graduate before creating this technology and bringing it to market, and in 1998 he founded Odotech.

The company's star product, OdoWatch, is made up of a number of “electronic noses” (e-noses) and a weather station that can identify and quantify the atmospheric dispersion of odours for various customers, including water treatment plants, the food industry, landfill sites, oil refineries and perfume factories. Engineering, here, is used not only in the development of these new sensors—e-noses that emulate both the human nose and the human brain, as they can identify, recognize and quantify odours—but also in the coupling of these e-noses with atmospheric dispersion models that can describe the geographic impact of emissions from a site, and even predict it ahead of time.

Odotech was a pioneer in 1998, and it remains a pioneer in 2012. Today, the company is active on every continent, and 90% of its sales are international. It exports e-noses to more than 20 countries and has a commercial presence in more than 60 countries thanks to its distribution network.

OdoWatch technology has major benefits for society. Thanks to this innovation, many industrial sites worldwide have been able to reduce their offensive odours. And every time a company reduces or eliminates its offensive odours, hundreds and even thousands of nearby residents see their quality of life improve. A talented entrepreneur and visionary, Mr. Pagé oversaw the rapid development of Odotech worldwide, proving that local ideas and businesses can stand out in the international market.

David Banville, Prix Étudiant 2012
The Association des Diplômés de Polytechnique also highlighted the exceptional personality and promising talent of David Banville, a graduating bachelor's student in engineering physics. As the recipient of numerous grants, Mr. Banville maintained an excellent academic record while also taking student life by storm when he arrived at Polytechnique, notching a range of titles: Chair of the engineering physics student committee, Vice-President of La Semaine de la physique (physics week), founder of PolyProjet, creator of the Physics Games and more. Alongside his many activities, Mr. Banville has carried out two research internships and an exchange internship with the Grenoble Institute of Technology.

The Prix Mérite, a prestigious distinction
The Prix Mérite is awarded annually to one of Polytechnique Montréal's 29,000 graduates, an individual who has reached a superior level of excellence both professionally and socially. This distinction, which recognizes both the human qualities and the exceptional contribution of a alumnus to the advancement of the field of engineering, is one of the most prestigious awards in the Polytechnique community and the Québec engineering world.

Just as prestigious, the Prix Innovation technologique is given to an alumnus who has demonstrated boldness by developing a technology with national or international impact. The Prix Étudiant, for its part, showcases the exceptional personality and promising talent of a graduating student.