Pierre Robin

Physical chemistry of deformation and phase transitions within minerals:

• Thermodynamics and stress
• Theory and models of coherent transformation reactions within crystals: coherent exsolution, shear-induced coherent transitions, order-disorder transitions

Physical chemistry of deformation of polymineralic rocks under crustal conditions of temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.:

• Physical chemistry of diffusion transfer in rocks, induced by stress (alias pressure solution) or by metamorphic reactions
• Modelling and interpretation of textures caused by interaction of deformation with diagenetic and metamorphic reactions
• Development of tectonic layering and cleavage
• Fluid flow within and toward shear zones
• Migmatization, migmatites, melting under stress

Measurement of large “paleostrains”, and, more generally, objective, numerical description of the fabrics of rocks:

• Numerical methods of strain analysis in deformed rocks, statistical evaluation of the results, petrographic image analysis
• Graphical representation and evaluation of oriented fabric data

Tectonics:

• PreCambrian tectonics: selected problems in Archean, Hudsonian and Grenvillian orogenic belts
• Mathematical and numerical modelling of deformation in tectonic belts

Fluid flow through porous media:

• Laboratory measurements and interpretation of very low permeabilities in rocks
• Theoretical models and numerical calculations of fluid flow through ‘crystalline’ rocks and fractured media.