Meet the EERL team through our Researcher Spotlight Series!
Today’s spotlight features Simon Festa-Bianchet. Now – Dr. Festa-Bianchet, who successfully defended his PhD and submitted his final thesis last week 👏 👏 👏
Simon joined EERL as a master’s student after completing his bachelor degree in mechanical engineering at McGill University in 2013 and has been one of our core researchers on the team since then. His key focus over the past few years has been the development and implementation of technologies for monitoring emissions from upstream oil & gas industry.
Along with developing important research skills, the highlight of his time at EERL has been the hands-on experience of designing and creating industry-relevant tools that directly contribute to the technological advancements to improve emissions measurement, tracking and reporting, and have the potential to shape mitigation strategies in Canada and globally.
His biggest accomplishment to date has been the design and development of a novel optical sensor, called the “VentX”, which can simultaneously measure the volume fraction and flow rate of methane. This sensor has been refined and fine-tuned through multiple reiterations and is currently at the leading edge of available tools to accurately measure methane emissions. Simon’s invention has been featured in four publications in the leading academic journals. Beyond the significant scientific contribution, VentX has been successfully deployed at multiple production sites across western Canada, providing critical new insights into the oil and gas sector methane emissions.
Simon’s favourite part of working at EERL has been the variety of projects he got to be involved in, and how quickly the team was able to go from project conceptualization to ‘boots on the ground’, while pivoting, brainstorming solutions in real-time and adapting gear and equipment to particular needs. Admitting not knowing something (which his go-to emoji 🤷♂️ describes perfectly) and problem-solving all the time is part of the game!
When not in the field, climbing storage tanks and flying drones, you can find Simon spending most of his time outdoors, especially when it’s nice and comfortable enough to walk around in a light sweater (“like 3 weeks every year in Ottawa”). He enjoys running, biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing. And what not many people know, he is also pretty good at curling!
Having spent years doing research, here is a piece of advice from Simon to anyone joining EERL or the Faculty of Engineering: “It would be odd if you don’t feel at least a little overwhelmed at first; just keep asking questions and making yourself available for any opportunities that come up and I’m sure you’ll be the one answering questions in no time”.