RIME

What we do

The RIME encompasses a major research program aimed at developing environmentally friendly, original, and practical solutions for the entire life cycle of a mine. Much of this work is accomplished while also training highly qualified personnel who represent the workforce of tomorrow.

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)

Polytechnique Montréal

Polytechnique Montréal

Polytechnique Montréal

Polytechnique Montréal

Our team

The RIME team includes approximately twenty researchers who are all respected specialists in their areas of expertise. They are supported by many research professionals, technicians, and administrative staff. Governance of the Institute is carried out by a Board of Directors that is composed of representatives from both universities as well as the industrial partners.

  • Administration
  • Executive board
  • Management
  • Researcher
Abdelkabir Maqsoud
Fields of specialization
  • Hydrology applied to the mining environment
  • Hydrogeology and hydrochemistry
  • Mining environment and mine site reclamation
  • Hydrochemical modeling
  • Artificial chemical tracing
  • Hydraulics of springs and rivers

Abdelkabir Maqsoud

Professor
UQAT
Ahmad Shakibaeinia
Fields of specialization
  • Hydraulic engineering
  • Hydrologic engineering
  • Water ressources and supply
  • Water quality, pollution
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Multi-phase systems
  • Modelling, simulation
  • Surface water

Ahmad Shakibaeinia

Professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Akué Sylvette Awoh

Akué Sylvette Awoh

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR (BY INTERIM),
RESEARCH AGENT,
STUDENT COORDINATOR,
UQAT
Alain Perreault

Alain Perreault

Laboratory technician
UQAT
Antoine Jacquey
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Engineering geology
  • Rock mechanics
  • Solid mechanics
  • Plasticity, creep
  • Modelling, simulation and finite element methods
  • Continuum mechanics
  • Seismology
  • Applied geophysics

Antoine Jacquey

Assistant Professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Benoît Courcelles
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Engineering geology
  • Environmental engineering
  • Water quality, pollution

Benoît Courcelles

Associate Professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Benoît Plante
Fields of specialization
  • Environmental geochemistry in a mining context
  • Prediction of geochemical behaviour of mine waste
  • Acid mine drainage
  • Neutral mine drainag

Benoît Plante

Professor
UQAT
Bruno Bussière
Fields of specialization
  • Mine Waste Management
  • Rehabilitation of mine sites in northern, temperate and semi-arid climates
  • Environmental geochemistry
  • Passive treatment of mine effluents
  • Unsaturated hydrogeology

Bruno Bussière

Scientific Director at UQAT
Holder of the NSERC-UQAT Industrial Research Chair In Mine Site Reclamation
Professor at UQAT
Carlos Ovalle
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Geology engineering
  • Mining engineering

Carlos Ovalle

Professor
Polytechnique Montreal
Carmen Mihaela-Neculita
Fields of specialization
  • Biogéochimie environnementale
  • Traitement et gestion des eaux minières
  • Restauration minière

Carmen Mihaela-Neculita

Professeure titulaire à l'UQAT,
Titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur le traitement et la gestion des eaux minières
Cathy Chouinard

Cathy Chouinard

Research agent
UQAT
Chloé G. Larochelle

Chloé G. Larochelle

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AT RIME UQAT,
RIME UQAT-POLYTECHNIQUE COORDINATOR,
UQAT
Elmira Hassanzadeh
Fields of specialization
  • Water ressources and supply
  • Surface water
  • Hydrologic engineering

Elmira Hassanzadeh

Associate Professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Étienne Bélanger

Étienne Bélanger

Research agent
UQAT
Faneva Rarison
Fields of specialization
  • Restauration de sites miniers avec des systèmes de recouvrement incluant des matériaux géosynthétiques
  • Caractérisation des propriétés chimiques, mécaniques et hydrogéologiques des matériaux géosynthétiques
  • Évaluation de la durabilité des matériaux géosynthétiques utilisés dans les systèmes de recouvrements miniers
  • Instrumentation des systèmes de recouvrements miniers incluant des matériaux géosynthétiques
  • Géotechnique minière

Faneva Rarison

Sub-grant professor at UQAT specializing in mine site reclamation
Gabriel Fabien-Ouellet
Fields of specialization
  • Applied geophysics
  • Environmental geophysics
  • Wave propagation
  • Mathematical modelling

Gabriel Fabien-Ouellet

Assistant Professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Geneviève Pepin

Geneviève Pepin

Sustainability and External Relations Manager
Newmont - Éléonore
Gwendoline Hotton

Gwendoline Hotton

Research agent
UQAT
Isabelle Demers
Fields of specialization
  • Gestion des rejets miniers
  • Restauration des sites miniers
  • Développement minier durable
  • Mouvement des gaz dans les rejets miniers
  • Modélisation environnementale
  • Désulfuration environnementale

Isabelle Demers

Professeure titulaire à l'UQAT,
Titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur l'intégration de l'environnement dans le cycle de vie d'une mine
Jean-Christophe Turcotte

Jean-Christophe Turcotte

Research agent
UQAT
Joël Beauregard

Joël Beauregard

Technical assistant
UQAT
Josée Grenier

Josée Grenier

Laboratory technician
Julie Beaulieu

Julie Beaulieu

Analytical chemistry technician
UQAT
Karine Groulx

Karine Groulx

Management secretary
UQAT
Li Li
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnics (rock, soil and fill mechanics; foundations)
  • Numerical modeling (mining and civil)
  • Development of analytical solutions (mining and civil)
  • Slope stability
  • Evaluation of pressures in backfilled openings (backfilled construction sites, underground pipe trenches, silos)
  • Elasto-plastic analysis of underground structures (tunnels, boreholes, galleries and construction sites)

Li Li

SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR AT IRME-POLYTECHNIQUE
MINING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER
GEOTECHNICAL LABORATORY MANAGER
PROFESSOR AT POLYTECHNIQUE
Li Zhen Cheng
Fields of specialization
  • Géophysique appliquée à l’exploration des ressources naturelles et à la structure de la croûte terrestre.

Li Zhen Cheng

Professeure
UQAT
Lincar Pedroni

Lincar Pedroni

Water and waste management manager
IAMGOLD Corporation
Louis Imbeau

Louis Imbeau

Vice-Rector for Teaching, Research and Creation
UQAT
Lucie Coudert
Fields of specialization
  • Recovery in industrial waste and mine tailings
  • Hydrometallurgy
  • Treatment of contaminated mining effluent

Lucie Coudert

Professor
UQAT
Mamert Mbonimpa
Fields of specialization
  • Environmental and mining geotechnics
  • Soil mechanics, including unsaturated soils
  • Classical and environmental hydrogeology
  • Rheology and transport of mine tailings
  • Environmental management of mine waste
  • Reclamation techniques for mining sites generating AMD

Mamert Mbonimpa

Professor
RIME-UQAT
Marie Guittonny
Fields of specialization
  • Vegetal ecophysiology
  • Soil-plant system
  • Ligniculture
  • Fertilizing residual materials
  • Reforestation and mining revegetation
  • Mine sites reclamation

Marie Guittonny

Professor
RIME-UQAT
Marie-Pier Éthier

Marie-Pier Éthier

Specialist - restoration and closing,
Glencore - mine Raglan
Marilyne Trudel

Marilyne Trudel

Administrative technician
UQAT
Mathieu Villeneuve

Mathieu Villeneuve

Agent de recherche
UQAT
Michel Aubertin
Fields of specialization
  • Mining geotechnics
  • Mine waste management
  • Environment and hydrogeology
  • Rock behaviour
  • Stability of excavations in rock masses

Michel Aubertin

Professor Emeritus
Polytechnique
Michel Aubertin
Fields of specialization
  • Civil engineering
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Engineering geology
  • Mining engineering
  • Rock mechanics
  • Environmental engineering
  • Water quality, pollution

Michel Aubertin

Professor Emeritus
Polytechnique Montréal
Michel Julien

Michel Julien

Chairperson of the board,
Vice President of Environment and Critical Infrastructure
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
Monica Monzon

Monica Monzon

Coordinator
RIME-Polytechnique
Nelson Morales
Fields of specialization
  • Mining engineering
  • Operations research and management science
  • Mathematics of computing
  • Optimization
  • Modelling and simulation studies

Nelson Morales

Associate Professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Noura El-Harrak

Noura El-Harrak

Technician in Civil engineering - structures
Polytechnique
Pedro Cacciari
Fields of specialization
  • Rock mechanics
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Engineering geology
  • Numerical analysis

Pedro Cacciari

Assistant professor
Pierre-André Gignac

Pierre-André Gignac

Principal Advisor - Environment
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane
Pooneh Maghoul
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Engineering geology
  • Earthquake engineering
  • Solid mechanics
  • Plasticity, creep
  • Vibrations
  • Stress analysis
  • Modelling, simulation and finite element methods
  • Continuum mechanics
  • Wave propagation
  • Numerical analysis
  • Mathematical modelling
  • Acoustics
  • Applied geophysics

Pooneh Maghoul

Associate professor
Polytechnique Montréal
Rahim Barzegar
Fields of specialization
  • Hydrogeological and water ressources modeling
  • Machine learning/deep learning
  • Water quality
  • Groundwater vulnerability/risk
  • Impact of climate change on water resources

Rahim Barzegar

Professor in hydrogeology
UQAT
Raphaël Chartier

Raphaël Chartier

LABORATORY TECHNICAL ASSISTANT,
UQAT
Richard Simon
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Engineering geology
  • Mining and mineral processing
  • Mining engineering
  • Rock mechanics
  • Environmental geology

Richard Simon

Associate professor,
ADMINISTRATIVE RIME Director,
Polytechnique Montréal
Roch Germain

Roch Germain

Technician
UQAT
Samuel Yniesta
Fields of specialization
  • Geotechnical earthquake engineering
  • Soil dynamics
  • Geomechanics
  • Constitutive modeling
  • Behavior of organic soils
  • Behavior of sensitive clays
  • Numerical simulations
  • Stability of levees
  • Centrifuge testing

Samuel Yniesta

Professor
Polytechnique
Théo Gaxotte

Théo Gaxotte

Research agent
UQAT
Tikou Belem
Fields of specialization
  • Matériaux composites
  • Physique des géomatériaux
  • Rhéologie des pâtes
  • Remblayage de mines
  • Environnement minier
  • Contrôle des terrains
  • Mécanique des roches
  • Mécanique des sols

Tikou Belem

Professeur
UQAT
Vincent Boulanger-Martel
Fields of specialization
  • Mine site reclamation in northern / arctic climate
  • Mining geotechnics in cold regions
  • Thermo-hydro-geotechnical behavior of mine wastes
  • Thermal and hydrogeological modeling

Vincent Boulanger-Martel

Professor
UQAT
Violaine Houle

Violaine Houle

Liaison agent
UQAT