NGUYEN Frédéric
Professeur ordinaire
Géophysique appliquée
Faculté des Sciences appliquées
Vice-doyen à la recherche (Sciences appliquées)
Urban and Environmental Engineering
- ULiège address
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Bât. B52/3 Géophysique appliquée
Quartier Polytech 1
allée de la Découverte 9
4000 Liège 1
Belgique
- Local
- -1/523
- ULiège phone number
- +32 4 3663797
- ULiège Fax
- +32 4 3669520
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- Conseil sectoriel à la recherche et à la valorisation
- Sciences et Techniques
- Personal website (s)
- Applied Geophysics Research Unit (to be updated)
- University degrees
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2005 : Docteur en sciences appliquées (Université de Liège)
Biography
The candidate develops research in applied geophysics both from the point of view of methods (technological aspect) and the field of application (contribution of new knowledge). Geophysics consists of studying the subsoil by sending for example seismic waves and analyzing the response received by sensors usually positioned on the surface. Unlike medical imaging, geophysical imaging is limited in resolution and is subject to uncertainty. This uncertainty is inherent either to the physical principle or to a mathematical point of view. It is therefore essential to (1) improve the imaging algorithms and to be aware of the uncertainties; (2) be diagnostic of the phenomena studied; and (3) integrate multiple data sets into a unified context. To improve the imaging, the candidate and his team developed algorithms that integrated independent data, e.g., measured in drilling or observed along rock faces. This resulted in significantly more realistic images. They also proposed image quality indicators and innovative data processing. Secondly, the candidate and his team demonstrated that the temporal dimension of geophysical observations contributes to obtain diagnostic and -relatively- unambiguous information in the study of dynamic processes. For example, the candidate and his team have shown the existence of a seasonal geophysical signature related to the degradation of diesel in the subsurface, which could improve the efficiency of in-situ pollution control techniques. Finally, subsurface systems are by nature difficult to predict either in terms of geometry or evolution over time. It may be more useful to quantify the uncertainties in the predictions rather than provide a single wrong answer. To do this, the candidate and his team have developed a methodology where a large number of models capable of simulating a desired response and observational data are generated in order to learn a direct relationship between the observables and the response of interest. Once this simulation work is done, this framework makes uncertainty assessment easier and faster. The results of this research will allow significant advances in a large number of fields.
Recent publications:
Duties or mandates
- Vice-Dean for Research, Engineering School
- Head of Research, Urban and Environmental Engineering Department (UEE), 2018-2021