2025 Science Festival – From earthquakes to laboratory seismology

For the Fête de la Science 2025 (2025 Science Festival ), which will take place on October 11, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the GeoRessources laboratory, and more specifically the GOR (Geomechanics, Structures, and Risks) research team, has put together a few activities for you.

Come and discover how, at the laboratory level, we try to reproduce natural or anthropogenic events (earthquakes, land subsidence, etc.) in order to better understand:
♦ what happens at the fault level,
♦ and the impacts this has on underground structures and homes.

One of the objectives of the GOR research team is to study the processes leading to fault rupture, which causes earthquakes, and their impact on underground structures (networks, tunnels) and buildings.

You will have the opportunity to discover the various research topics of the GeoMechanics, Structures and Risks team of the GeoResources Joint Research Unit through:
♦ a few simple experiments,
♦ manipulable objects to understand wave propagation,
♦ and the 2 m3 experimental device, unique in the world, which reproduces complete seismic cycles in three dimensions in materials similar to rock.

Demonstrations of the experimental device will take place at:
♦ 11:30,
♦ 14:30,
♦ 15:30.
The tour will be complemented by lectures:
♦ at 10:30 a.m.: How do you dig a tunnel?
Hosted by Olivier Deck, professor at the École des Mines and researcher at UMR GeoRessources
♦ at 15h : Geological walk along the Toro-Bunyoro fault (Uganda)
Hosted by Bastien Walter, research engineer at UMR GeoRessources.

UMR GeoRessources
Bâtiment Recherche – École des Mines – Campus Artem
Rue Léonard de Vinci – Nancy