Roger A. Blais, (February 4, 1926 – September 25, 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

geological engineer and academic. He helped develop a number of prospecting and exploration technologies. Born in

Shawinigan, Quebec Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and ...

, he graduated from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

and from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. In 1970, he was appointed a professor in

economic geology Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals and construction-grade stone. Economic geology is a subdisciplin ...

and the first director of research at

École Polytechnique de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

. He was the father of two children.

Honours

In 1975 he was awarded the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

's Bancroft Award. In 1984 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and was promoted to Companion in 2002. In 1995 he was made an Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

. In 1997, he was awarded the Government of Quebec's

Prix Armand-Frappier The Prix Armand-Frappier is an award by the Government of Quebec, part of the Prix du Québec, "given to people who have pursued a research career and have helped build up a research institution. Or it goes to those who have devoted themselves t ...

. He was a Fellow of the

and of the

Engineering Institute of Canada The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) ( French: l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs; ICI) is a federation of fourteen engineering societies based in Canada, covering a broad range of engineering branches, and with a history going back to 1887. ...

References

University of Ottawa Gazette feature
*
Royal Society of Canada obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blais, Roger 1926 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Canadian geologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Fellows of the Engineering Institute of Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec Companions of the Order of Canada Academics in Quebec People from Shawinigan Université Laval alumni University of Toronto alumni