ENVIRONMENTS- ECONOMIC GEOLOGY-SOIL MANAGEMENT-GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING-GEOMATERIAL-NANOMATERIAL

IMACS is an integrated Master of Science designed by 4 institutions with a wide range of leadership in clay science :

Interest in clays results from their common availability, and their unique physical and chemical properties. No other minerals currently attract so great an interest.

In addition to their conventional ancient use as bricks, tiles, ceramics and for paper coating and waste management more recently, clays have found many novel applications. Clay minerals have provided a boost in technology because they are inexpensive nanomaterials, and as such, they have a huge potential for the synthesis of polymer nanocomposites with superior mechanical and thermal properties. The optimisation of adsorption, colloidal and rheological properties also opens prospects of using clay minerals for medical uses, pollution control, and environmental protection. Clay minerals play a role in economic geology (both as an important mineral resource and in energy resource exploration) and soil management. Clays also have many negative effects in geotechnical engineering, manifested in the form of landslides, mudflows, and the deterioration of clay-based construction materials.... [-]

The Master Hydrogeology and Transfers of the University of Poitiers aims to train high-level hydrogeologists able to apprehend the major environmental problems of groundwater resources management both quantitatively (optimization of the implementation of drilling, determination of the volumes that can be sampled) than qualitative (physicochemical quality of water, pollution problem, ...).

Hydrogeological Experimental Site of the University of Poitiers

HEU is a unique research and training infrastructure in Europe. Thirty holes of more than 120m deep are located on land belonging to the University of Poitiers. These boreholes intercept an aquifer (hydrogeological reservoir) limestone fractured and karstified.... [-]

The future and sustainability of our societies are critically linked to the exploitation of primary raw materials. The need for innovation in this sector is considered as new deposits will be more and more difficult to process, due to their lower quality and the increasing regulations to minimize their impacts on the environment. Such innovations are only possible if a deep understanding of the geology is integrated throughout the whole mine lifecycle, from mining to site rehabilitation. Innovation requires a geometallurgical approach.

Geometallurgy aims at integrating geological characteristics into new resource-efficiency based models. It requires a deep understanding of geology and advanced mineral processing techniques, expertise in geo-modeling, knowledge of state-of-the-art monitoring tools, and an acute awareness of the environmental, economic and societal issues in mining.... [-]