Simone Markus

PhD Geological Engineering

Research Interests

My research is focused on groundwater issues in tunneling and underground construction, and excavation induced consolidation in rock and competent ground. I use continuum and discontinuum numerical models to study hydro-mechanical interactions in geological media, with the goal of updating and advancing design models for tunnel and cavern construction.

About Simone

Simone is a geotechnical engineer-in-training, returning to Queen’s for a PhD after spending over 2 years working in the construction and oil and gas industries in Canada. Simone has been involved in a number of projects during her time in industry, including the Muskeg River Mine in Northern Alberta, the Ottawa East-West LRT expansion, the Kingston Third Crossing bridge, and the Little Long Dam Safety project in Northern Ontario. Simone completed a B.A.Sc. in Geological Engineering at Queen’s in 2017 and a M.A.Sc. at Queen’s in 2019.

Awards

• RockEng Graduate Scholarship
  Awarded by RockEng Inc. in 2022 (Value CA$10000)

• Dan Eisenstein Memorial Scholarship
  Awarded by the Tunnelling Association of Canada Oct 2021 at the TAC 2020-One Conference in Toronto, ON (Value CA$6000)

• Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Graduate Engineering Ambassador Award
  Awarded by the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) in 2021 (Value CA$15000)

• Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference Scholarship
  Awarded by the UCA of SME in June 2019 (Value US$1000)

• Manuel Fine Civil Engineering Scholarship
  Awarded by the Deep Foundations Institute in 2018 (Value US$2500)

• North American Tunnelling Conference Scholarship
  Awarded by the UCA of SME in June 2018 (Value US$1000)

• Hemmera Teaching Award
  Awarded by the Dept. of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering in Dec 2017

• Raymond Price Prize for Geological Engineering Design (Group submission)
  Awarded by the Dept. of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering in June 2017

Publications

• Markus, S. & Diederichs, M. (Apr. 2021) "Use of Continuum and Pseudo-Discontinuum FEM Models in Stepwise Verification of the FDEM for Simulating Damage Around Tunnels in Brittle Rock", RocScience International Conference, April 20-21 2021, Toronto, Canada

• Markus, S. (2019). A Stepwise Approach to Verification of the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method for Modelling Instability Around Tunnels in Brittle Rock. MASc. Thesis, Queen's University at Kingston, Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Kingston.

• Markus, S., Diederichs, M., & Vazaios, I. (Sept. 2019) Establishing a Stepwise Verification and Upscaling Process for Modelling Brittle Failure in Rock Using the FDEM Method, 14th Annual International Congress on Rock Mechanics, Iguassu Falls, Brazil

• Dadashzadeh, N., Markus, S., Diederichs, M., (Jun. 2019), "EDZ Analysis with Discontinuum Modelling: Reliability, Sensitivity, and Verification." [Poster Presentation] Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) GeoScience Seminar, June 2019, Toronto, Canada

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