Anthony Allard: a dedicated researcher and innovator  

Did you know that concrete - like people - can become sick? This intriguing new finding, and its impact on the longevity of infrastructures and buildings, are at the heart of Anthony Allard's academic and professional work. 

Anthony has always had a passion for research and innovation. While completing his bachelor's degree in geological engineering, he discovered a keen interest for acquiring knowledge. This interest was strengthened during his master's and doctoral studies, which he is currently completing while working full-time at Englobe.  

Anthony’s primary work focuses on concrete pathology, also known as the alkali-silica reaction. This pathology, similar in nature to a human virus, causes concrete to swell and leads to cracking and rapid deterioration. Notably prevalent in Quebec structures, this condition is currently difficult, time-consuming and costly to characterize, due to the scarcity of skilled professionals to carry out this analysis.

Driven by knowledge and mentorship

During his master's studies at Université Laval, Anthony was fully committed to his academic life, obtaining scholarships and becoming a research assistant. The effervescent university environment helped him learn a great deal and develop a keen interest in concrete pathologies.     

During this same period, he had the opportunity to be mentored by Nicolas Rouleau, who was a research professional in his master's program. Shortly after, Nicolas joined Englobe as Team Leader in Concrete Expertise. Through their relationship, Anthony learned more about Englobe and its involvement in various large-scale projects. 

He was soon offered a Project Manager role with the company and the opportunity to work on major projects, which he accepted without hesitation.  

When academic and professional skills join forces

Currently acting as Team Leader, Concrete Expertise – Material Engineering, Anthony has built a multidisciplinary team over the years, including collaborators such as master's and doctoral students from the University of Ottawa and established civil and geological engineers. This blend of academic and professional expertise gives his team the unique ability to develop high-level knowledge anchored and validated in real-world projects, and to cultivate a balance and synergy between theory and practice. 

Innovating through technology 

Anthony and his team have already delivered tangible benefits from their approach. To do so, they set themselves two simple objectives. “We seek first and foremost to remove subjectivity from the pathology analysis process by replacing people with technology, and to democratize the analysis methodology by making it accessible to the general public,” Anthony notes.  

Thanks to the creation of sophisticated algorithms, images of an affected concrete infrastructure can now be automatically captured and processed. Through these images, it’s possible to determine the degree of damage and predict the pathology’s future encroachment on the remainder of the building. Ultimately, this analysis will equip administrators to better manage the advancement of deterioration on buildings and structures, and plan the necessary remediation work. 

In addition to contributing to the development of new knowledge, Anthony and his team also enjoy disseminating and sharing it by drafting scientific articles, taking part in industry conferences, and speaking to audiences worldwide, notably in Canada, Japan, Brazil, and the United States. They took a major step towards achieving their objectives with their paper published in the internationally renowned journal Materials. 

They also presented their findings last May at ICAAR, a world-renowned conference, at which over 250 leading global researchers and sector specialists gather annually.    

Thanks to Anthony and his collaborators, we can be confident that some of our current problems are being tackled in a responsible and innovative way. This is yet another way in which Englobe supports its local communities in becoming more sustainable and leverages technology to protect and secure their critical infrastructure.