Professor Robitaille received his Mechanical Engineering degree from Université Laval and completed his M.Sc.A and Ph.D at Polytechnique, Montreal. He also studied at INSA Lyon, France.
In 1997 he accepted a post-doctoral position in the Composites Group at the School of Mechanical, Materials, Manufacturing Engineering and Management at the University of Nottingham, UK. There he proposed a unique modelling scheme to determine the processing and performance properties of advances structural polymer composites, which he applied to the analysis of parts for Aston Martin Lagonda, Ford UK, Rolls Royce (jet engines) UK and other corporate partners. He moved through the ranks to a post of Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in 2003.
Dr Robitaille joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ottawa in 2004. His research interests have focused on aerospace applications of polymer composites in collaboration with research institutes and corporate partners, primarily located in eastern North America. His research interests center on manufacturing processes and performance of advanced aerospace parts, namely the micromechanics and manufacturing of carbon fibre 2D and 3D preforms as well as heat transfer and flow in composites manufacturing, coatings for enhanced heat transfer and abrasion resistance in PMCs and sensor development. His research work is equally balanced between micro- and macro-scale simulation and experimental development.