Raphaël Farly

During my final year, I had an option courses, which it became a final study project. I worked with Benoit Fournier from the Geology and Geological Engineering Department of Laval University. His field of research is the alkali-reaction silica assessment on concrete.This type of courses is an introduction to the research's domain. So I could have a preview of my current Master's.

With Benoit and his team, we worked on the alkali-silica reaction of the Champlain Bridge's dam. We worked on the alkali release potential of aggregates in concrete. This included several laboratory essays : AAR-8 method, microscopic description of the aggregates, X-Ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscope.

This brought a presentation of the work advancement and the final presentation of my results.

Later this summer 2025, Benoit and his team will publish a scientific article of our work about this unique problem on concrete.

As a 3rd year undergraduate student, I acted as a assistant to the project manager. My responsibilities were to manage geotechnical projects across the province of Quebec. That included :

• Field work (checking the bottom of geotechnical excavation and verify the transport of contaminated soils). I traveled to Mont-Laurier, Qc, to develop an excavation method with the city's engineers, because of a groundwater problem. I traveled to the North of Quebec, to make geotechnical drillings and field mapping
• In the office, I managed some projects with the project manager, prepared samples to the lab, core logging and helped the project manager to the report redaction

By the end of my internship, I gained a lot of professional and personal skills, like :

• Demonstrated adaptability when faced with unexpected site conditions or challenges while working closely with senior engineers to develop solutions.
• Developed my critical views facing a problem or a team conflict. Communication and organization are the keys to a project's success.
• Developed strong problem-solving skills by assisting in the resolution of complex geotechnical issues encountered during projects.

My second intern in my scholarship was a geotechnical intern at Englobe. My personal scopes were to know more about the soil's assessment and to develop my organization through projects and real-life problems.

More precisely, I acted as a geotechnical technician. I had a field formation for one week with a senior technician. After this week, I had little geotechnical projects on my own. That included :

• Field personal's managament and manage geotechnical drillings.
• Daily displacements on the South Shore of Montreal
• Conducted thorough literature reviews to inform decisions on best practices in geotechnical engineering.
• Stayed up-to-date on industry advancements through regular attendance at relevant conferences and workshops.
• Improved soil sample analysis accuracy by utilizing advanced geotechnical testing methods and equipment.
• Conducted field investigations for proper site characterization, resulting in accurate geotechnical reports.
• Soil's description according to the QMT and USCS, on-site soil tests, if necessary (scissometer, Shelby's essay and DCP).

The challenges through this internship were :

• Worked on several projects on a week-scale (two to three days per projects per week)
• Worked on pressure. Time management and communication were the keys to this challenges. I also worked with new equipments, so my adaptation was challenged
• Night shifts for a month along the 30's Highway

As a freshman student in geology, my main objective with this internship was to verify my geology's basics. I wanted to verify if the Earth Sciences domain was my domain. This intern was perfect to respond at my personal objectives.

With SOQUEM, my responsibilities were to assisted the geologist on his exploration works. His works included mining exploration, rock's sampling, mapping, compass utilization and hand drilling. The main goal on the field was to search copper mineralization (VMS deposits).

A typical day on the field was mainly :

• Macroscopic rock description
• Working on various weather conditions, like thunder, cold, wind, humidity or extrem hot conditions
• Displacements across the geological province of Grenville : Senneterre, North Coast and Maniwaki
• On the field, the main displacements was by quad and by walk.
• Dealing with safety and security all day

Participated in continuous professional development activities such as workshops, conferences, and training sessions to stay current with industry trends and best practices. For example, I attended to the CONSOREM, at Val-D'or and an field trip to Rouyn-Noranda, hosted by Gerald Riverin.

By the end of my internship, I gained an unique experience and my professional skills were updated. For example,

• Enabled informed decision-making for project stakeholders through comprehensive reporting of field observations.
• Worked on hard physical conditions with no cell-zone data
• Developed communication and day's goals
• Developed my awareness about safety and security while working