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SummaryAt a time when a stream of research was striving to reformulate quantum mechanics by abolishing operators and substituting functions, Wigner and Szilard proposed in 1932 a quasi-probability distribution defined on phase space thanks to wave functions. They did not explain its genesis.The first part of our thesis proposes a genesis of this quasi-distribution, based on the natural conditions it must fulfill. It briefly examines a pathology it suffers from: exhibiting negative values in certain subdomains of the phase space (hence the "quasi"), a pathology that does no harm to the calculation of mean values. She then shows how, if we take spin into account, with wave functions giving way to spinners, we are led, thanks to the calculation of mean values of observables, to a generalization of this quasi-distribution in the form of a Hermitian matrix. This approach is extended to the Wigner cross transform, i.e. to weak values.An important theorem, which has been the subject of a publication, is proved in the second part of our thesis. Using harmonic analysis, this result expresses weak values in terms of an integral over a Lie group acting on the Hilbert space under consideration. We give two particular examples: SU(2) and SO(3). The case of a quotient group is briefly discussed.In a third section, we recall the well-known link between Clifford algebras and two important equations of quantum physics: the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations, and its generalization to Riemannian spacetimes.Finally, in a fourth section we introduce spin groups, and use the spin group Spin(3,2) in the context of the Wigner cross transform discussed in the first section.JuryProf. André FÜZFA (UNamur), PresidentProf. Yves CAUDANO (UNamur), SecretaryDr. Thomas DURT (Institut Fresnel and Ecole Centrale Marseille, Marseille, France)Prof. Romain MURENZI (Worcester Polytecnic Institute)Prof. Dominique LAMBERT (UNamur)Prof. Bertrand HESPEL (UNamur)Prof. André HARDY (UNamur)

A team of American researchers, with the help of Frédérik De Laender, professor in the Department of Biology at UNamur, has just published in the prestigious journal Nature. Their study describes how changing stream temperatures and human introductions of fish can alter river biodiversity in the USA.

The team of professor Xavier De Bolle has just published an article in the prestigious EMBO Journal published by Springer Nature.  His discovery? A lipid transport channel through the cell membrane of Brucella, the bacteria responsible for Brucellosis in cattle. This finding could be used to generate attenuated strains of the bacteria; a process used in vaccine manufacturing. 

Japan is almost 10,000 kilometers from Belgium, a country that fascinates, not least for its rich culture full of contrasts. Researchers at UNamur maintain close ties with several Japanese institutions, particularly in the fields of computer science, mathematics and video games. Let's take a look at some of these collaborations..

The biodiversity crisis is not only destroying nature: it also threatens our societies, our well-being, and our survival. Based on scientific assessments and findings from IPBES, this Francqui Chair explores our toxic relationship with nature, the global failure to protect it, and the multiple values of living organisms. We will examine ways to recognize these values, repair our relationship, and bring about the transformative change that is needed.Keen to put the protection of ecosystems back at the center of public debate, UNamur is organizing a second Francqui Chair in Law this academic year with Professor Delphine Misonne on a related theme: "Need for the environment, need for law?"Free event upon registration.  More information and full program I'm signing up

The biodiversity crisis is not only destroying nature: it also threatens our societies, our well-being, and our survival. Based on scientific assessments and findings from IPBES, this Francqui Chair explores our toxic relationship with nature, the global failure to protect it, and the multiple values of living organisms. We will examine ways to recognize these values, repair our relationship, and bring about the transformative change that is needed.Keen to put the protection of ecosystems back at the center of public debate, UNamur is organizing a second Francqui Chair in Law this academic year with Professor Delphine Misonne on a related theme: "Need for the environment, need for law?"Free event upon registration.  More information and full program I'm signing up

The biodiversity crisis is not only destroying nature: it also threatens our societies, our well-being, and our survival. Based on scientific assessments and findings from IPBES, this Francqui Chair explores our toxic relationship with nature, the global failure to protect it, and the multiple values of living organisms. We will examine ways to recognize these values, repair our relationship, and bring about the transformative change that is needed.Keen to put the protection of ecosystems back at the center of public debate, UNamur is organizing a second Francqui Chair in Law this academic year with Professor Delphine Misonne on a related theme: "Need for the environment, need for law?"Free event upon registration.  More information and full program I'm signing up

The biodiversity crisis is not only destroying nature: it also threatens our societies, our well-being, and our survival. Based on scientific assessments and findings from IPBES, this Francqui Chair explores our toxic relationship with nature, the global failure to protect it, and the multiple values of living organisms. We will examine ways to recognize these values, repair our relationship, and bring about the transformative change that is needed.Keen to put the protection of ecosystems back at the center of public debate, UNamur is organizing a second Francqui Chair in Law this academic year with Professor Delphine Misonne on a related theme: "Need for the environment, need for law?"Free event upon registration.  More information and full program I'm signing up

Initiated and coordinated by Bernard Pireaux (UCLouvain), this collective work - co-authored in particular by Professors Laurent Houssiau and Jim Plumat (UNamur) - offers a reference manual to accompany students of medicine, biomedical sciences and life sciences throughout their course. Designed as a clear, progressive and practical tool, it illustrates just how essential physics is to the understanding of living organisms and to medical practice.

In 2025-2026, UNamur's Faculty of Sciences has the honor and privilege of hosting Professor Sander Jacobs on the occasion of a Francqui Chair awarded to him by the Francqui Foundation: "Repairing our relationship with Nature to transform our societies". Sander Jacobs is Senior Researcher at INBO (Institute for Nature and Forest), Nature & Society research group, Coordinator of the Urban Nature research program and Visiting Professor at Ghent University.

Developed since the dawn of time, mathematics shapes our daily lives and develops tools for the future. At the heart of hard sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology, mathematics plays a key role in a large number of applied problems, whether in computer science and telecommunications, through discrete mathematics and algorithms, in meteorology and space science, through the theory of dynamic systems, or in finance and actuarial science, through probability and stochastic processes. 

Physics, an adventure of the mind. From the infinitely small to the infinitely large, from elementary particles to galaxies, are you eager to understand the why and how of the natural phenomena you observe?  Why is the sky blue? How does an airplane take off? How can radiation be used for medical treatment? What are the effects of global warming? How can nanotechnology revolutionize telecommunications? How can we produce energy without depleting the planet's resources?Physics answers all your questions.