Maria Helena Leite began his university studies at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio, Brazil) where she obtained her B.Sc.A. in Civil Engineering (1981) and his Masters in Geotechnical Engineering (1984). After two years as professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at PUC-Rio, she began her doctoral studies at the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal where she obtained her PhD in 1991. She then held a position as research associate in the Department of Mineral Engineering prior to receiving the scholarship from NSERC Research Professor (1994-1999) that will launch her career as professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at École Polytechnique. She was promoted to associate professor in 1999 and full professor in 2002.

Because of her excellent teaching skills, her availability to students and her tangible contribution to his department, the Academic Council of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal has decided to award him the Excellence in Teaching Award 2009.