Research institut

Institute of Life, Earth and Environment

Welcome to ILEE, the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment at the University of Namur, committed to addressing pressing environmental issues.We bring together a team of experts from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to work collaboratively using innovative technologies and rigorous scientific methods to make meaningful contributions to the field of environmental science. 

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Research institut

Namur Institute of Structured Matter

The NISM institute federates the research activities of the chemistry and physics departments at the University of Namur. Research at the NISM institute focuses on various research topics in organic chemistry, physical chemistry, (nano)-materials chemistry, surface sciences, optics and photonics, solid state physics, both from a theoretical and an experimental point of view.

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Article

A publication on non-linear optics in the prestigious "Accounts of Chemical Research" (ACS) journal

An international team of researchers, including Professor Benoît Champagne from UNamur, has just published a paper in the prestigious journal "Accounts of Chemical Research" (ACS). They have demonstrated the role of dynamic fluctuations in the structure of molecules on their optical properties. This aspect of dynamics is innovative because previous studies were limited to rigid structures.
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"La Salle des Pros", the new partner of education professionnals

The four UNamur continuing education centers specializing in the education sector have come together within "La Salle des Pros" to strengthen their collaborations, their cross-functional approach and their visibility. However, each center retains its autonomy and its faculty roots in order to preserve its specificities and maintain a close link with research and the initial training of teachers.
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Laurent Houssiau, an FNRS physicist working on dental implants

In the summer of 2022, we set out to discover the UNamur researchers who were awarded funding by the FNRS in 2022. Today, it is Laurent Houssiau, who has been awarded a bilateral collaborative research project funded by the FNRS and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ). His project focuses on the design and development of new multifunctional thin overlays that aim to improve the clinical performance of dental implants.
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Article

Parchment bindings under the microscope

To restore an old book correctly, it is essential to know the secrets of its manufacture and the reasons for its deterioration. Thanks to the King Baudouin Foundation's Jean-Jacques Comhaire Fund, the restoration workshop of the Moretus Plantin University Library has launched a new research project on parchment bindings in the Southern Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries. The aim is to gain a better understanding in order to improve conservation.
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An ERC Consolidator grant for Professor Guillaume Berionni's B-YOND project!

The ERC CoG, a funding instrument of the European Research Council (ERC), enables outstanding scientists to implement innovative concepts over a period of five years and thus strengthens the European research landscape. The B-YOND project will focus on the reprogramming of chemical elements properties in order to initiate the creation of a new generation of more robust and accessible catalysts.
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TINALTA: Development of an innovative coating

Researchers at the UNamur have just filed a patent for a completely innovative coating, in collaboration with the spin-off Innovative Coating Solutions (ICS). This project was supported by the Win²Wal programme of SPW Research.
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REF: 4 days of meetings on education and didactics

The Réseau international francophone de recherche en éducation et formation (REF), founded in 1989, brings together every two years in one of the four founding countries (France, Belgium, Quebec, Switzerland) researchers in education sciences and didactics. The meetings are usually held over two days and take the form of parallel symposia on different educational research themes, linked by a common thread. They took place at UNamur last July. A look back at a successful edition.
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Article

From the Namur snail to the Galapagos snail, there is only one step!

An international team of researchers, including Prof Frederik De Laender, from the University of Namur, publish in Nature Communications. The editor highlights that the authors use theoretical models and field data to show how eco-evolutionary processes can force species to develop more similar characteristic traits in more species-rich communities to avoid competition. Which goes against what we intuitively perceive.
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Article

Geologists discover that pterosaurs had feathers

A pterosaur from Brazil that preserved melanosomes in its feathers provides insight into the function of primitive feathers. An international team of palaeontologists and geologists, including UNamur (Dr Aude Cincotta and Prof. Johan Yans), has demonstrated that pterosaurs, the flying cousins of dinosaurs, had feathers and were able to control their colour.
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Fluorescence: shedding light on transparent wings of insects

In a new study published in February 2023 in the Journal of Luminescence, an international group of scientists led by Sébastien Mouchet from UNamur, reported the previously unknown fluorescence properties of transparent insect wings. This research highlights the valuable information that can be obtained from advanced optical characterisation techniques.
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