This text is part of the special section Acfas prices
In order to promote “knowledge as a driving force for the development of our societies”, each year Acfas honors several laureates whose scientific contribution is remarkable. Each in their field, Roberto Morandotti, Jérôme Dupras, Martin Bourbonnais and Pierre Drapeau strive to find solutions and concrete applications to current challenges in order to have an impact on the world around them and to contribute to the progress of humanity. They all four won an Acfas prize last Thursday during the 79e annual gala.
Jérôme Dupras: from the Internet of Things to the Internet of Senses
Professor at the Energy Materials Telecommunications Center of the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), Roberto Morandotti is the winner of the Urgel-Archambault prize for physical sciences, mathematics, computer science and engineering. Mr. Morandotti has always been fascinated by science and physical phenomena. He began his career studying nonlinear optics and is now a pioneer in nonlinear, quantum and terahertz optics. A true visionary, he already sensed that the future would lie in this technology. The professor also works on photonic artificial intelligence and the use of light to process information more quickly within optical networks.
His research has a considerable impact on his field and on the development of the new generation of Internet, that is to say the Internet of senses, also called the tactile Internet. “Thanks to the Internet of senses, we will be able to have conversations with people and feel them, touch them,” explains the researcher. But for this, he continues, “you need a more efficient infrastructure, because the current limitations are bandwidth and latency”.
According to him, “progress brings the evolution of humanity”, it is therefore essential that individuals know how to use the technology available.
Roberto Morandotti: combining ecology and economy
A professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Quebec in Outaouais, Jérôme Dupras was made aware of climate issues very early on, which pushed him to look for ways to combine economic development and respect for the environment. Ecological economics is not very well known, but he found this discipline “gropingly” and is now developing “ideas to return to the very concept of sustainable development” in his laboratory, he explains.
“Currently, billions of dollars are allocated each year to activities destroying the planet, with subsidies for fossil fuels contributing to climate change or harmful to biodiversity,” explains Mr. Dupras. “The way we consume is not sustainable and it gets worse every year,” he says. For him, this brings a philosophical questioning: “should we question our level of comfort, should we consume differently? “. It also raises the question of intergenerational equity and the effects on the Global South in order to understand the ethical problems inherent in our way of consuming. Its objective is to promote a perspective that is “sustainable for the environment while respecting the desires and needs of our societies to develop and respond to present needs”. Happy to receive the Pierre-Dansereau prize for social commitment, he however specifies that it is a matter of team work.
Martin Bourbonnais: sustainable supply of isolated sites
Research professor and head of the TERRE center (Renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency), a technological access center recognized by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), Martin Bourbonnais knew very early on that he wanted to teach . He returned to the Cégep de Jonquière as a physics professor and became involved on a voluntary basis in the field of renewable energies to gradually lead the research chair since 2012. His work is focused on the supply of sustainable energy to isolated sites, in particular resorts, as well as other isolated off-grid sites therefore not connected to Hydro-Québec. He works there in particular in partnership with the Fédération des pourvoiries du Québec. Until now, these sites, often located in the middle of the forest, produced their electricity using diesel generators and fossil fuels. It was his research on the development of a solar water heater, geothermal heat circuits, small wind turbines and decision support tools for managers of energy installations that earned him the Denise-Barbeau prize. Acfas for college research.
Mr. Bourbonnais considers himself happy to be able to put his research into practice, as is the case for his work on isolated sites. The popularization and dissemination of knowledge is also particularly close to his heart. He has to his credit some 350 activities to disseminate his knowledge in energy transition over the last ten years, by means of posters, conferences at universities and CEGEPs, articles, publications and even interviews.
Pierre Drapeau: animal ecology and ecosystem approach to logging
In recent years, Pierre Drapeau, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal, has become interested in forest habitats as well as birds. His research focuses in particular on the way in which forest management influences the composition of the communities and the biological diversity of the birds found there. He studies the effect of old forests and the role of their structure on the composition and relationships of species with habitat elements. He won the Acfas Michel-Jurdant prize for environmental sciences thanks to his ecosystem approach to forestry.
Pierre Drapeau also confides that being able to contribute to the collective of the scientific community in forest science has always represented an important element for him. He was also able to influence the law on sustainable forest land development, directly based on a work dating from 2008 of which he is co-author and which focuses on ecosystem management in the boreal forest. In the eyes of Pierre Drapeau, it is particularly interesting to note that research linked to theoretical concepts can influence public policies in land use planning.
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