Team
GEOSCIENCES
Teaching
Ground and Basement (G&B) Option
The track’s curriculum includes track-specific intensive sessions, supplemented by specialized courses, one of which is required. The track’s core curriculum consists of two weeks of instruction in the second year and four weeks of instruction in the third year. The second-year block [curriculum] aims to introduce students to the various industrial sectors involved in the exploitation and development of the subsurface, and then to familiarize them with the specific characteristics of subsurface-related projects (subsurface property rights and relations with public authorities, underground projects and the environment, risks specific to underground projects, and financing of subsurface-related projects). The third-year segment aims to introduce students to the analysis of the multiphysical behavior of a rock mass and its structures. Participation in the specialized course “Practical Geology,” which complements training in the observation and understanding of a geological environment (S3), is strongly recommended for students in this track. In addition, the School’s curriculum includes numerous other specialized courses related to this track, allowing students who wish to do so to further their education. These include: Descriptive and Applied Mineralogy; Gemology; Hydrogeology; Subsurface Geophysics; Exploration Geophysics; Geochemistry for Engineers; Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology; Structural Analysis; Current Topics in Geosciences; Climate Dynamics; Ecology and the Environment; Environmental Impacts; Natural Hazards. The elective project, or final thesis, is the culmination of the program at the School. Within the Soil and Subsurface track, this project is always an R&D-type project, generally more development-oriented than research-oriented. For students interested in topics related to market finance, the track—even though it does not include courses directly related to the subject—allows them to complete their final thesis in this field (related, of course, to the markets for petroleum products or mineral resources). Some examples of topics: Preliminary technical and economic feasibility study of the Tamgak deposit, AREVA, Alain Besson, Class of 2005 Analysis and improvement of blasting practices in an aggregate quarry, COLAS, Cécile Coulombez, Class of 2004 Pre-feasibility study of an underground aggregate quarry, LAFARGE, Anne-Laure Calvez, Class of 2004 Technical and economic modeling of the cobalt supply chain: from deposit to cathode, MANAGEM, Hubert Dumon, Class of 2002: Influence of Freezing on the Stability of Structures at the Cigar Lake Mine, AREVA, Jean-Felix Hubert, Class of 2006: Optimization and Planning of the Mining of Oxidized Nickel Deposits in New Caledonia, Eramet, Vincent Perin, Class of 2005: “Pre-feasibility study for the development of the Bakouma uranium deposit in the Central African Republic,” Areva, Anja Bechter, Class of 2005 Resources: The program draws on the School’s Geosciences Center, which has more than 50 full-time researchers covering a broad spectrum of expertise and fields of activity, and which maintains close ties with industry partners in the sector. In addition, the Center has developed its own simulation tools dedicated to the study of underground projects and has extensive experimental resources that support the work carried out in this specialization. In addition to this strong internal support from the School, the courses offered in the specialization feature significant participation from industry representatives (AREVA, ERAMET, TOTAL, EIFFAGE, SOLETANCHE BACHY, etc.). Finally, the course periods alternate between classroom lectures, laboratory practicals, and industrial site visits. This last component is particularly important, as the visits account for nearly 50% of the track’s time and are designed to allow students to explore construction sites or projects on a global scale (visits to Canada in 2006 and 2011, to Scotland and Sweden in 2007, to Australia and New Caledonia in 2008, to Namibia and South Africa in 2009, to Indonesia in 2010, and to the United States in 2012). In addition, the faculty associated with this track is heavily involved in supervising students’ final projects.