Assistant Professor Gabriel Fabien-Ouellet - Department of Civil, Geologic and Mining Engineering.

Assistant Professor Gabriel Fabien-Ouellet (Department of Civil, Geologic and Mining Engineering), recently received funding of $125,000 from the CFI, coupled with $125,000 of funding granted by the Government of Québec; $321,340 is the project’s total value. Professor Fabien-Ouellet’s ground-moving project? An autonomous high-resolution seismic data system.

This new seismic data system consists of a network of autonomous sensors that continuously measure the earth’s vibrations. The innovation lies in the fact that this new system will grant access to a volume of seismic data previously unavailable to researchers, given that older systems had fewer sensors, all of which had to be linked by cables to a central control system. Autonomous sensors increase the system’s flexibility, permitting more data to be collected, resulting in improved resolution and reliability of ground imaging - all while keeping overall system costs low.

Research infrastructure will also be used to develop advances seismic imaging techniques – for example, the development of a waveform inversion-type treatments that can precisely estimate - with unequalled resolution - variations in the soil’s elastic properties. Likewise, Fabien-Ouellet’s new system will also be used to develop seismic interferometry, a technique that uses the cross-correlation of seismic signal pairs to reconstruct variations in the saturation in or pressure on soil. Additionally, a seismic database generated by the system will be essential to research in the automation of seismic processing using deep learning, which has the potential to greatly simplify the use of seismic imagery.

Professor Fabien-Ouellet’s research activities that are completed using the seismic data acquisition system will lead to significant advances in terms of characterizing soil and rocks, as well as for the long-term tracking of their mechanical properties. The technology in question will also directly benefit geotechnical studies, soil, embankment, and dam stability tracking, as well as the characterization of groundwater and contaminated soil.

Polytechnique Montréal is part of a unique group of 55 universities who have received research project funding from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (via the Canada Foundation for Innovation). The CFI announced a federal investment of over $96 million in laboratories and high-tech equipment, all to support the completion of 377 research projects.

“Support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation is a gauge and indicator of success in every researcher’s career. The John R. Evans Leaders Funds assists Canadian universities, institutes, and research hospitals to solidify the conditions that enable research experts to truly excel,” notes Roseann O’Reilly-Runte, CFI President and CEO.

John R. Evans Leaders Fund

The John R. Evans Leaders Fund (part of the Canada Foundation for Innovation) enables an institution’s top-tier researchers to undertake leading-edge research by providing them with the foundational research infrastructure required to be or become leaders in their field. The latter permits these institutions to remain competitive in the international realm, in such areas as research and technology development. The John R. Evans Leaders Fund also offers institutions research support packages, comprising infrastructure and a portion of operating and maintenance costs, in addition to direct research costs from partner organizations.

Canada Foundation for Innovation

Since its creation in 1997 by the Government of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has ensured Canadian researchers have all the tools necessary to innovate with boldness. The CFI helps contribute to world-class research and technological development through financial contributions to Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research organizations. This funding assists the latter group to attract and retain international calibre researchers, to train the next generation of scientists, to support innovation in the private sector, and to create quality employment opportunities that reinforce Canada’s position in the knowledge economy.

Learn more

Professor Gabriel Fabien-Ouellet – expertise
Department of Civil, Geologic and Mining Engineering website
Polytechnique Montréal Research and Innovation website (In French only)
John R. Evans Leaders Fund website
Canada Foundation for Innovation website