Tomasz Hueckel, researcher with feet of clay

To get to the lectern, he uses a discreet cane to move around with ease, never losing his generous smile. Tomasz Hueckel radiates confidence, like someone who has nothing to prove. He has been immersed in research for over 50 years, but his feet are firmly planted. Rooted, even. In his speech, delivered in fluent French, he begins by paying tribute to his family roots. His father, Stanislaw Hueckel, professor of marine engineering at the Gdańsk Polytechnic and member of the Academy of Sciences, who "introduced himto engineering sciences." And his great-grandfather, botanist Edward Hückel, a true "family legend."

Land of welcome

Although Tomasz Hueckel is honored as professor emeritus at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, United States), his career began in Poland, his native country. He studied there, graduating with honors in civil engineering from Gdańsk University of Technology in 1968 before going on to earn a doctorate in applied mechanics from the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw in 1974 under the supervision of Professor Zenon Mróz, a leading figure in continuum mechanics whom he considers one of his "masters." As if struck by a premonition, he left for Italy just two months before the communist military coup that shook Poland in 1981. Italy became his home for many years. He taught in Rome and then Milan, where he had completed his postdoctoral studies in 1975 under the supervision of Professor Giulio Maier, before leaving for France to complete his training with a doctorate in physical sciences at the University of Grenoble in 1985. At that time, he was already noted for his innovative exploratory research in the field of multiphysics geomechanics, with applications in underground energy and environmental geomechanics. He was interested in the ground, and even the subsoil.  The subject was new: harnessing the thermomechanics of clay as a geological barrier for nuclear waste storage, which involved developing a new theory of clay thermoplasticity. From 1983 to 1987, he collaborated with the nuclear waste storage industry at ISMES in Bergamo. Before taking the plunge and flying across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States.

Builder of multiphysics geomechanics

In 1987, Tomasz Hueckel arrived at Duke University in North Carolina as a civil and environmental engineering specialist. Unable to continue his research on underground nuclear waste storage, as all programs on the subject had been halted in the country, he turned his attention to chemomechanics. Multilingual, he collaborated with colleagues from universities in Canada and Europe: Belgium, France, Switzerland, and of course Italy. His expertise was widely recognized internationally. He was equally involved in research, teaching, and the life of his university. Addressing his colleague and friend, whom he is sponsoring at this honorary doctorate ceremony, Moulay Saïd El Youssoufi, researcher at the LMGC and director of the UT in Nîmes, highlights "a career marked by a true passion and ongoing commitment to fundamental and applied research in the field of soils." This has earned him numerous awards for his scientific work, including the IACMAG John Booker Medal in 2008 " for his pioneering work in the field of environmental geomechanics, in particular for his seminal articles on the thermoplasticity of geomaterials and chemo-mechanical coupling." He also co-founded a leading Elsevier journal in the field: Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment.

His sponsor emphasizes the importance of his research: "Thanks to your work, taking into account multiphysics and multiscale characteristics has become a requirement in any serious study of geomechanics. In a way, you are a builder of multiphysics geomechanics and one of the world's pioneers in this field. " He cites his many innovative works, such as soil thermoplasticity and chemoplasticity, and of course his exploration of "evaporation and cracking phenomena, capillary instabilities, and liquid bridges between grains." This research topic brought Tomasz Hueckel closer to the LMGC teams at the University of Montpellier, to which Moulay Saïd El Youssoufi belongs, in 2007.

Radioactive waste storage

Since 2008, the American-Polish researcher has been a visiting professor in Montpellier on nine occasions, co-directing research, teaching courses, co-authoring articles (around thirty) and participating in the training of doctoral students and interns. "You were also one of the few international experts to evaluate ANDRA's work as part of the national Cigéo project on the geological storage of radioactive waste. Your involvement in European networks, including ALERT and IRN GeoMech, has strengthened the scientific ties between our institutions,"said the director oftheIUT in Nîmes. In 2021, the scientist received the 2021 Geotechnical Research Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers (London) alongside Boleslaw Mielniczuk and Moulay Saïd El Youssoufi from Montpellier. This is a wonderful recognition of a long-standing and fruitful collaboration.

In the eyes of Moulay Saïd El Youssoufi, the scientist embodies "rigor, inventiveness, humility, knowledge sharing, and of course academic freedom." This makes him above all "a great scientist, a transmitter of knowledge, a loyal collaborator, and a friend of the University of Montpellier." In 2023, Tomasz Hueckel became professor emeritus at Duke University, where he continues to contribute enthusiastically to research and the training of younger generations. It is a way of continuing to pay tribute to his roots while helping to establish other pioneers on both sides of the Atlantic in the field of research.