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At UNamur, parchments are much more than objects of curiosity: they are at the heart of an interdisciplinary scientific adventure. Starting with historical sciences and conservation, the research has gradually incorporated the disciplines of physics, biology, chemistry, and archaeology.  This convergence has given rise to research in heritage sciences, driving innovative projects such as Marine Appart's doctoral work, supervised by Professor Olivier Deparis. This research has now been recognized with a publication in the prestigious journal Heritage Science (Nature Publishing Group).

A chemist by training, Véronique Steukers is now the first woman to head the global organization of nickel producers, the Nickel Institute. Her career path has taken her far from the laboratory and into the heart of an industry facing significant environmental, industrial, and social challenges. We meet her.

Brendan Reid has just joined the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) team in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science. This unit functions as a collaborative ecosystem, bringing together skills and expertise to advance research on organisms and their dynamic interactions with the environment. Dive into aquatic and semi-aquatic research!

At UNamur, research is not confined to laboratories. From physics to political science, robotics, biodiversity, law, AI, and health, researchers collaborate daily with numerous stakeholders in society. The goal? Transform ideas into concrete solutions to address current challenges. 

For its inaugural conference, the SPiN (Science & Philosophy in Namur) center will be joined by Claire Rommelaere, a lawyer and researcher at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Namur, and Aude Bandini, a philosopher of science at the University of Montreal, to take a critical look at the theme of "distrust of science." The urgency of addressing this issue is clear in our era, where, despite an overall stable level of trust in science, the parameters of public debate are frequently blurred by misinformation.Having had the opportunity to observe philosophers of science in their natural habitat for nearly fifteen years, Claire Rommelaere will share her thoughts on whether or not we should trust those who think about science.For her part, Aude Bandini will address a major problem that we all face at a time when the mass of available knowledge is such that it is impossible to acquire it on our own. Indeed, the socially distributed nature of knowledge generally leaves us no choice but to rely on the authority of experts, even on very important issues (such as health). However, when we rely on others in this way and follow recommendations that, due to our ignorance, we have no means of evaluating, we place ourselves in a relationship of "epistemic dependence" that conflicts with our aspirations for intellectual autonomy and forces us to ask ourselves a question whose answer may prove unbearable: is intellectual autonomy nothing more than a myth?Conference hosted by journalist Maïté Warland.Program:5:30-6:30 p.m. | Drinks at Quai 22 (Rue du Séminaire 22, 5000 Namur)6:30 p.m. | Claire RommelaereDistrust of philosophers of science7:00 p.m. | Aude Bandini Intellectualautonomy in the face of scientific authority: a headache for social epistemologyRegistration deadline: April 16.Free of charge. Register

JuryProf. Guillaume BERIONNI (UNamur), PresidentProf. Stéphane VINCENT (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Carmen GALAN (University of Bristol)Dr. Louis FENSTERBANK (Collège de France)Prof. Raphaël ROBIETTE (Université catholique de Louvain)AbstractCarboxylic acids are ubiquitous in nature and inexpensive compounds. Decarboxylation has become a key chemical transformation and has been widely reported in organic chemistry except for carbohydrates. This reaction can be catalyzed by transition metal and can also be induced by light, thermal activation, or photocatalysis. Borylated compounds have stimulated the pharmaceutical industry's interest (Boromycin, Bortezomib or boron neutron capture therapy). Recent methodologies have been developed to transform carboxylic acids to boronate esters by metal-catalyzed or light-promoted or photocatalyzed reactions. In this thesis, we explored the synthesis of borylated carbohydrates through a decarboxylation pathway. More specifically, sialic acids being among the most important carbohydrates in glycobiology, we addressed the problem of the synthesis of borylated sialic acids. On the other hand, organophosphates play an important role in diverse fields: in materials chemistry, in agriculture, in organic chemistry, and in biochemistry. Phosphorylation is a key reaction in biological processes such as signal transduction and cell activity regulation. The formation of phosphorylated carbohydrates has been widely described through two-electron mechanisms. However, radical phosphorylation of carbohydrates remains unexplored. This Ph.D. thesis describes the development of new methodologies for the decarboxylative functionalization of carbohydrates, focusing on borylation and phosphorylation..

At a time when bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a public health problem, Professor Stéphane Vincent's team is currently developing dynamic constitutional frameworks (Dynamic Constitutional Frameworks, DCF): a molecular system that would be able to break down certain resistances and thus deliver antibiotics as close as possible to pathogens.

AbstractIn CO2-rich atmospheres such as that of Venus, the study of water vapor requires the use of H2O collision parameters for CO2. However, due to a lack of data, models still use collision parameters for air to estimate the abundance of water vapor in this type of atmosphere. In this thesis, new experimental laboratory measurements of the collision parameters of H2O, HDO, and D2O by CO2 were carried out. These were then used as the basis for dedicated theoretical calculations. Their impact was evaluated using radiative transfer simulations applied to the atmosphere of Venus, under conditions close to those of future observations by the European EnVision mission. The results clearly show that using collision parameters for air instead of CO2 can lead to an overestimation of nearly 40% of the abundance of water vapor in the mesosphere and to inversion difficulties in the troposphere. This work thus provides essential elements for improving the spectral analysis of CO2-rich atmospheres.JuryDr. Ha TRAN (Sorbonne University), ChairProf. Muriel LEPÈRE (University of Namur), SecretaryDr. Emmanuel MARCQ (University of Versailles)Dr. David JACQUEMART (Sorbonne University)Dr. Laurence RÉGALIA (University of Reims)Dr. Séverine ROBERT (Royal Institute for Space Aeronomy, Belgium)

AbstractNosocomial infections are a major public health problem, exacerbated by the global spread of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Faced with this challenge, it is crucial to explore alternatives or complementary strategies to conventional treatments. Among these, the use of copper is attracting renewed interest. This metal has natural antibacterial properties that have been recognized since ancient times. It acts through multiple mechanisms such as membrane alteration, the generation of reactive oxygen species, and the denaturation of proteins and nucleic acids, leading to rapid cell death. These characteristics make it an effective biocidal agent in many contexts, particularly in hospitals.However, the selective pressure exerted by the increased presence of copper in the environment has led to the emergence of specific resistance systems in certain bacteria. These systems allow strict control of copper homeostasis by limiting its intracellular accumulation through efflux, sequestration, or oxidation mechanisms. In Caulobacter crescentus, an environmental bacterial model, copper resistance is based in particular on the Pco system. This system is composed of the PcoB protein, located in the outer membrane. Although its structure has been partially described in E. coli, its precise function remains unclear. Preliminary observations suggest that it may be involved in the export of copper from the periplasm to the outside of the cell, thus acting as a release pathway.To explore the role of PcoB in bacterial copper resistance, this study focused on the structural and functional characterization of the protein. After extraction and purification, PcoB was incorporated into artificial liposomes to develop an in vitro transport assay to assess its ability to release copper across a lipid bilayer. At the same time, a truncated mutant lacking the disordered N-terminal region was produced and subjected to the same analyses. The comparison between the complete and truncated forms aims to determine the involvement of this flexible region in the transport mechanism and stability of the protein. These approaches have laid the initial experimental foundations for studying the transport mechanism of PcoB and constitute a first step towards a detailed understanding of how the Pco system works. They also open up prospects for the development of new antibacterial strategies targeting copper management systems in bacteria.JuryProf. Johan WOUTERS (UNamur), ChairDr. Catherine MICHAUX (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Jean-Yves MATROULE (UNamur)Dr. Guillaume ROUSSEL (UCLouvain)Prof. Francesca CECCHET (UNamur)Prof. Hennie VALKENIER (ULB)

In line with its predecessors, ICEL 2026 will provide an excellent opportunity for the intellectual and social exchanges that keep our community closely connected. It will bring together participants from all over the world involved in the research, development, and manufacturing of emissive materials. A wide array of subjects will be explored, offering a comprehensive perspective on contemporary advances in these fields. We extend a warm invitation for the dissemination of recent breakthroughs in related topics, with a particular emphasis on fostering the active participation of young and motivated researchers.We especially expect to cover the following topics:Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence emittersRadical emittersOrganometallic complexesPerovskitesLasingCircularly polarized luminescenceLight emission from exciplexesGreen- and biophotonicsComputational modeling of light-emitting materialsAll practical information (registration, abstract submission, and accommodation) is available on the ICEL2026 website. Access the ICEL2026 website

Our keynote speakers for 2026 are Professor Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke (Ghent University) and Professor Nelly Litvak (Eindhoven University of Technology). More information on the "Women in Science" website

The University of Namur and STÛV, a Namur-based company specializing in wood and pellet heating solutions, are celebrating ten years of fruitful collaboration. This partnership illustrates the importance of synergies between academia and industry to improve competitiveness and meet environmental challenges.