René Therrien

René Therrien is Professor of Hydrogeology in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at Laval University where he teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels which relate to all aspects of hydrogeology and water resources.

Dr. Therrien received his B.A.Sc. in Geological Engineering (1986) and M.Sc. in Hydrogeology (1989) from Laval University and his Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo (1992) for which he won the Governor General’s Gold Medal. He was then an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at the University of Kassel, Germany and later named assistant professor at McGill University before joining Laval University in 1994. Dr. Therrien is currently member of the Minister’s National Advisory Board for the Earth Sciences and also the Canadian Geotechnical Research Board. He was selected as the Fall 2004 Cross Canada Lecturer by the Canadian Geotechnical Society.

Dr. Therrien’s research focuses on the development and application of efficient numerical models in hydrogeology to study variably-saturated groundwater flow; coupled surface and subsurface water flow; transport of reactive surface and subsurface contaminants; and density-dependent fluid flow in complex subsurface environments. Dr. Therrien is the main developer of the FRAC3DVS and HydroGeoSphere numerical models, which are currently used by engineering firms, government agencies and research organizations world-wide.

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