Carrefour de l'actualité

Polytechnique Montréal Creates Three New Institutional Research Chairs

April 26, 2024 - Source : NEWS

Polytechnique Montréal has created three new institutional research chairs to promote knowledge development and sharing in fields that are crucial to society. The recipients are professors Carl-Éric Aubin, James-A. Goulet and Ludvik Martinu.

Chaires institutionnelles - Polytechnique Montréal
Left to right: Professors Carl-Éric Aubin, James-A. Goulet and Ludvik Martinu.

Institutional Chairs at Polytechnique Montréal

The Institutional Research Chair program supports scientific training and research activities. The chairholders are members of the Polytechnique Montréal community who demonstrate exceptional leadership, research and teaching skills. The recipients are also known for developing original, innovative and ambitious scientific programming, training highly qualified personnel, spurring significant spin-off benefits, enriching the university's offer and upholding stringent assessment processes.

Polytechnique's Research Chairs include internationally recognized researchers who have contributed significantly to their respective fields and emerging world-class researchers who demonstrate exceptional creativity in their research as well as the potential to build an international reputation in their field.

In October 2023, Polytechnique announced the creation of the GEDAI Institutional Chair, which is led by Frédéric Cuppens, a full professor in the Department of Computer and Software Engineering and the Director of the Multidisciplinary Institute for Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience (IMC2). Dedicated to the identification, analysis and automated management of internal breaches and anomalies, this chair aims to address insider threats, which are just as serious as external cybersecurity threats.

Polytechnique Montréal has now created three new institutional chairs:
 

Polytechnique Montréal Research Chair in Orthopaedic Engineering (PMRC-OE)
Chairholder: Carl-Éric Aubin, Full Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Polytechnique Montréal Research Chair in Orthopaedic Engineering (PMRC-OE), headed by Professor Carl-Éric Aubin, aims to develop a pre-operative planning platform that uses digital models to optimize the treatment of spinal disorders. This innovative project combines artificial intelligence-based surgical modeling with custom digital models based on 3D imaging of the patient. The goal is to optimize spinal device implantation strategies in order to make the hardware more effective and obtain better post-operative results.

Led in partnership with Medtronic and CHU Sainte-Justine, the chair aims to develop additional tools to make surgery more efficient and less invasive. By minimizing post-operative complications such as additional deformities and mechanical failures, patients will recover faster and enjoy better quality of life after their surgeries.

The PMRC-OE Chair will build on the NSERC Alliance project on advanced simulation of instrumentation and fusion of posterior spinal deformities. It has received more than $2.15 million in funding, including $1 million over 5 years from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Polytechnique Montréal Research Chair on Machine Learning Applied to Structural Health Monitoring
Chairholder: James-A Goulet, Full Professor, Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering

Numerous Canadian dams were built between 1950 and 1970, and are now showing signs of ageing. The owners of these structures need to be able to quickly detect behavioural changes that could indicate a potential failure. They also need to be able to quantify the ageing of structures in order to make informed management decisions. The industry now uses IT solutions to monitor structures. These technologies are able to take measurements, but it remains challenging to interpret all the data from a large inventory of structural assets, like those owned by Hydro-Québec, as it involves analyzing thousands of sequences of data points collected over an interval of time.

This research project, which is being led by Professor James-A. Goulet and conducted in partnership with Hydro-Québec, aims to develop new probabilistic machine learning methods that will enable the utility to gain valuable insights from the data collected at its dams.

The chair builds on the NSERC Alliance project on the development of machine learning methods for the detection of anomalies in a series of dams. It has been awarded more than $1.36 million in funding over five years, 47% of which comes from NSERC.

Multisectorial Industrial Chair in Coatings and Surface Engineering (MIC-CSE)
Chairholder: Ludvik Martinu, Full Professor, Department of Engineering Physics

The Multisectorial Industrial Chair in Coatings and Surface Engineering (MIC-CSE), led by Professor Ludvik Martinu from the Department of Engineering Physics, aims to build on major initiatives in the fields of optics, energy conservation, aerospace and manufacturing of the future that were supported by NSERC's Industrial Research Chairs program from 2012 to 2022.

The MIC-CSE Chair's research program will be conducted in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, Guardian Glass, Velan and Pratt & Whitney Canada. It will focus on developing the next generation of non-polluting, vapour-phase manufacturing processes for nanostructured coatings and thin films with customizable properties. These coatings will be used on vision eyewear lenses, energy-efficient and intelligent windows, industrial valves and advanced aircraft engines—all of which are areas of interest for industries that are vital to Quebec and Canada.

The MIC-CSE Chair builds on the NRSERC Alliance project aimed at developing a holistic approach to multifunctional coatings and surface engineering for a sustainable future, and on a contribution from the PRIMA Québec advanced materials research and innovation centre. Its key achievements will contribute to research and innovation centres working on innovative materials, transportation, energy and manufacturing, while also contributing to the wellbeing of Quebecers and Canadians. The chair has received more than $4.67 million in funding, including $2.04 million from NSERC, $0.83 million from PRIMA Québec and $1.80 million from industrial stakeholders.

Congratulations to our researchers!


Learn more

Professor Carl-Éric Aubin's expertise
Professor James Alexandre Goulet's expertise
Professor Ludvik Martinu's expertise
Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering Department website (in French)
Mechanical Engineering Department website
Engineering Physics Department website

Suggested Reading

September 25, 2012
NEWS

Polytechnique Montréal and seven partners inaugurate the largest NSERC research chair in coatings and surface engineering

January 25, 2012
NEWS

CFI and Gouvernement du Québec award nearly $800,000 to finance a research infrastructure project at Polytechnique Montréal