All it takes is one night under the stars to plunge us back into the endless questions of childhood: are we alone in the Universe? Can we go back in time? Does space have a limit? And what lies beyond that limit? "Today, we know that the stars around us are spread out over a very large space, and that we are part of the suburbs of one galaxy among many others", explains Eve-Aline Dubois, a mathematician by training and researcher in the Department of Science, Philosophy and Society at UNamur. "But this is a recent realization, marking the beginnings of cosmology as a science, dating back more or less to the 1920s." Because it considers the Universe as a whole, cosmology actually operates a "huge zoom-out" from conventional astronomy. "On the scale of cosmology, a galaxy is a point", sums up the researcher.

An observation that led her to take an interest in the notion of infinity in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. "At the time, infinity was considered an attribute of God: so it was more of a theological question, before the debate shifted to more scientific and philosophical considerations. And it wasn't until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the notion of infinity was properly mathematized." An infinity that can be envisaged in both its temporal and spatial dimensions. "Can we go back to infinity in the past, and does the Universe have an infinite future? With the Big Bang, this theory falls apart, since there would be a beginning... But also: does the Universe have a boundary, or is it like the surface of a sphere which, if traversed, would give the impression of never reaching the end?"

If space is of interest to the philosophy of science, it is also at the heart of very real economic and geopolitical issues. Using applied mathematics, Jérôme Daquin, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at UNamur, is seeking to gain a better understanding of how satellites and space debris in the Earth's vicinity behave. "Ultimately, the aim is to be able to guide political or legislative decisions to preserve space, which is increasingly seen as a resource, on a par with other natural resources," he explains. Today, space has never been so densely populated with satellites, sometimes sent up in squadrons, notably for the needs of new technologies and high-speed Internet. But at the same time, the space environment is cluttered with several million objects that have become useless and out of control. "This space debris has various sources", Jérôme Daquin details.

Thanks to the theory of dynamic systems and the field known as "complexity", Jérôme Daquin is therefore trying to understand how space objects behave on large time scales, in order to propose perennial scenarios. "These scenarios make it possible, for example, to envisage placing a satellite in such and such an orbit that we know will not deform over time." Because today the issue of space debris has become central not only for certain private operators, but also for public authorities and in particular for the defense sector. "Space has always been a place of strategic influence", recalls Jérôme Daquin. "For the armed forces, having a good knowledge of it is always very interesting." Today, moreover, there is a synergy between academic and private players concerning the production of data relating to the space environment. "Fifteen years ago, this didn't exist, but today, more and more companies are producing their own cataloging."

If space is an essential resource for the new technologies sector, computer science and artificial intelligence (AI) in turn enable us to better understand the enigmas it still harbors. For example, the team led by Benoît Frenay, a professor at UNamur's Faculty of Computer Science, is collaborating on the VAMOS project, which is studying the atmosphere of Venus.

"This allows us to work not directly on a system of distant planets, for example, but on its "digital twin", which we will have built from data. While it's impossible to modify a star and its planets, it is possible in computer science! It's quite possible to modify a digital solar system and observe, for example, what would happen if one of the planets were a little bigger... Finally, we can help the missions themselves, by embedding AI techniques in the probe."

By helping to analyze the physical and mineralogical composition of rocks on the surface of Mars or Venus, geology is thus able to better understand the conditions necessary for the appearance of life and why, Max Collinet points out, this life has instead developed on Earth, "our favorite planet"

At the end of 2022, UNamur joined the European Alliance UNIVERSEH (European Space University for Earth and Humanity) focused on the theme of space, with the aim of addressing societal and environmental challenges relating to European space policy. This Alliance is part of the European Alliances initiative launched in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron. "A European Alliance is a network of universities that come together voluntarily with the aim of building an international campus and thus facilitating the development of integrated international pathways accessible to different learner profiles, explains Isabella Fontana, Director of International Relations at UNamur."This implies a great openness for students, who can choose innovative pathways recognized at European level, but also for teachers, who can collaborate in a context conducive to cross-border, transdisciplinary interactions and in dialogue with regional ecosystems."

Alliances can be either transversal or thematic, as is the case with the UNIVERSEH alliance. "The case of Belgium is rather particular since all the universities were already part of an alliance in 2022, with the exception of UNamur. There was therefore a particular strategic challenge for our university to join an alliance in its turn," continues Isabella Fontana. By joining the six other alliance partners - including the University of Toulouse, a European leader in the space field - UNamur can now lay claim to new opportunities in terms of international collaborations, teaching and research. "One of UNamur's strengths in relation to space is the scientific mediation and education component", details Isabella Fontana."Having said that, the aim of the Alliance is above all to be able to work in a network, to fuel the process of raising awareness of the importance of the network especially in the field of education and more generally in economic development. At UNamur, for example, we have devoted part of the budget to stays for members of the academic and scientific staff who wish to develop collaborations particularly at teaching level with partner universities, collaborations which, of course, have the potential to have spin-offs on research too."

"UNamur joined the Alliance relatively recently. Organizing and hosting the general meeting was a way of showing and demonstrating our investment in this project. It was also an opportunity to showcase Namur and its ecosystem", says Annick Castiaux, Rector of UNamur. The main aim of the general meeting was to bring together all the partners and people involved in the project to discuss progress and difficulties, but also to build solid, supportive teams and encourage team spirit. Work meetings, thematic workshops and collective exchange moments took place throughout the three days.

A complex field involving both the "hard" sciences and the humanities, particularly the philosophy of science, space is also very present in literature and film. This makes it a "perfect theme for popularization", according to Maxime Dussong, communications and events manager at Confluent des Savoirs, UNamur's research popularization service."In culture, space is everywhere. It's an interesting gateway, even if we also have to break down stereotypes. And remind people that space isn't just about astronauts...". This is notably the aim of the Printemps des Sciences, an initiative of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in which UNamur is actively involved. "Through this event, we are reminding people that the theme of space can be found in all STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professions. On this occasion, we also organize visits to UNamur's Antoine Thomas Astronomical Observatory, which are always a huge success. They enable the public to discover the various instruments used there, but also, weather permitting, to observe the sky..."

A dedicated event, the Space week organized at UNamur (the last edition was held in October 2024) meanwhile enables schools and the general public to rub shoulders very directly with the thrill of space through meeting astronauts. "Again this year, we were lucky enough to have the participation of Dirk Frimout, who everyone knows, even children in fifth grade...", recounts Maxime Dussong. The event also features themed workshops, on constellations for example, an opportunity to "make the link between legends and science"and to"remind the youngest of the distinction between science and belief"illustrates Maxime Dussong.

Finally, UNamur is collaborating on various space-related art projects, such as "Stellar Scape", an exhibition at the Pavillon - located on the Esplanade de la Citadelle in Namur - which brings together works designed by artists and researchers until January 2025. "This is a fine example of collaboration, enabling people who are not very inclined towards scientific themes to become interested in them via art... and vice versa! ". We should also mention the existence at UNamur of Kap to UNIVERSEH, a kot-à-projet on the theme of space, which brings together students from all backgrounds: scientists, historians, philosophers... A transdisciplinary and cosmic experience!

The "research credits and projects" call resulted in 14 grants for ambitious new projects. These include two "equipment" grants, five "research credits (CDR)" grants and seven "research projects (PDR)" grants, including one in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland. The FRIA doctoral research support call will fund 6 doctoral fellowships.

A prestigious Mandat d'Impulsion Scientifique (MIS) has also been obtained. This 3-year funding supports young permanent researchers wishing to develop an original and innovative research program while acquiring scientific autonomy within their department.

Call for Equipment

• Max Collinet, Institut ILEE
• Catherine Michaux, with Stéphane Vincent and Guillaume Berionni, co-sponsors, Institut NISM

Call for Research Credits (CDR)

• Thierry Arnould, Institut NARILIS
• Thomas Balligand, Department of Medicine
• Danielle Leenaerts, Institut PaTHs
• Denis Saint-Amand, Institut NaLTT
• Elio Tuci, Institut NADI

Appel Projets de Recherche (PDR)

• Nathalie Burnay, in collaboration with "the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland", Institut Transitions (Subject to acceptance by SNSF Switzerland)
• Catherine Guirkinger, Institut DEFIPP, co-promoter in collaboration with UCLouvain
• Luca Fusaro, Institut NISM
• Laurence Meurant, Institut NaLTT
• René Preys, Institut PaTHs
• Stéphane Vincent, Institut NISM, co-promoter in collaboration with UCLouvain
• Johan Wouters, Institut NISM, co-promoter in collaboration with UCLouvain

Fonds pour la formation à la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture (FRIA)

• Alix Buridant - Promoter: Henri-François Renard, Institut NARILIS ; Co-sponsor: Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck - Austria -
• Constance De Maere d'Aertrycke - Promoter Nicolas Gillet, Institut NARILIS
• Noah Deveaux - Promoter: Benoît Champagne, Institut NISM
• Nicolas Dricot - Promoter: Muriel Lepère, Institut NISM; Co-promoter: Bastien Vispoel, Institut NISM and Université Grenoble Alpes
• Laurie Marchal - Promoter Thierry Arnould. Co-promoter: Patricia Renard. Institut NARILIS
• Léa Poskin - Promoter: Catherine Michaux, Institut NISM; Co-promoter: Jean-Pierre Gillet, Institut NARILIS

Mandat d'Impulsion Scientifique (MIS)

• Arthur Borriello, Institut Transitions

Congratulations to all and sundry

The mission of the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS is to develop basic scientific research through initiatives presented by researchers. It promotes the production and development of knowledge by supporting individual researchers on the one hand, and by financing research programs carried out in laboratories and departments located mainly in the universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation on the other.

Based on the sole criterion of scientific excellence, financial support from the F.R.S.-FNRS is provided in several ways. Numerous calls for funding are launched each year to support fundamental research at all levels of researchers' careers.

Among the equipment received are, for example, CO₂ incubators for preserving, under optimal conditions, cells cultured as part of scientific experiments, laminar flow hoods to prevent contamination of biological samples, and a series of -20 and -80 degree freezers for preserving samples at low temperatures.

The lucky recipients of this equipment are the Molecular Physiology Research Unit (URPhyM) within the Faculty of Medicine and the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE), the Microorganism Biology Research Unit (URBM) and the Integrated Veterinary Research Unit (URVI) within the Faculty of Science.

The URPhyM: the research themes addressed in its laboratories have in common the study of the molecular bases of normal biological functions and certain diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases or skin pathologies.

The URBE : its research teams aim to study aquatic organisms, their adaptations and their interactions with the environment Its research focuses range from the study of genomes to that of ecosystems, via organisms and populations.

The URBM: its scientists devote their research to micro-organisms (mainly bacteria) at all levels of integration, from molecular to cellular bacteriology, and their relationship with their hosts.

The URVI: this research unit integrates the expertise of researchers in anatomy, surgery, physiology, ethology and cell biology around a central theme: animal patho-biology. The questions asked range from the molecule to the whole animal.

This list, created by Stanford University and published in August 2024 is compiled in collaboration with Elsevier's ICST lab from Scopus data, aims to provide a standardized means of identifying the world's best scientists and recognizing those scientists who have had a significant impact on their respective fields.

While this list has been adopted by many institutions as a reliable measure of research impact, it is not the only way to evaluate research. Based strictly on bibliometric data, it is also subject to criticism.

Since September 2023, the University of Namur has been strengthening its commitment to the implementation of research assessment reform with the signing of the "Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) "agreement.

This agreement commits the institution to a series of principles, including taking into account career diversity and emphasizing qualitative research criteria rather than relying solely on bibliometric (and therefore quantitative) data.

• Charlotte Beaudart - Faculty of Medicine, Narilis Institute
• Benoît Champagne - Faculty of Science, NISM Institute
• Alain Decrop - EMCP Faculty, NaDi-CRIDS Institute
• Olivier Deparis - Science Faculty, NISM Institute and PaTHs Institute
• Jonathan Douxfils - Faculty of Medicine, Narilis Institute
• Patrick Kestemont - Faculty of Science, ILEE Institute
• Alexandre Mayer - Faculty of Science, NISM Institute and Institut naXys
• Carine Michiels - Faculty of Science, Institut Narilis
• Antoinette Rouvroy - Faculty of Law, ESPHIN Institutes and NaDi-CRIDS Institute
• Frédéric Silvestre - Faculty of Science, ILEE Institute
• Bao-Lian Su - Faculty of Science, NISM Institute
• Johan Wouters - Faculty of Science, NISM Institute

The list is updated every year, with data on the whole career and impacts on a single year, for the sake of transparency and relevance.

A variety of bibliometric measures are taken into account to ensure a fair and balanced representation of researchers' work.

• The C-score: this composite score is based on various bibliometric factors, including the total number of citations.
• The h-index: this impact indicator takes into account the number of a researcher's publications as well as the number of their citations.
• The percentiles of fields and subfields : scientists are classified into 22 major fields and 176 subfields. Only those who rank in the top 2% of their subfield are taken into account.
• Career-wide or single-year impact: rankings are available for both career-wide impact and single-year performance, providing a better understanding of long-term contribution and recent achievements.

Figuring among this top 2% of scientists is therefore a prestigious recognition of an individual's contribution to science and demonstrates the excellence of their research, enhancing their reputation in academia and industry.

The ranking offers visibility across all disciplines, drawing attention to work that might otherwise remain in a niche or be under-appreciated. It also serves as a benchmark for institutions and governments to assess the influence of their research programs.

Many institutions use the ranking to measure the success of their faculty, or other entity, which can also enhance credibility within the academic community.

This list encourages scientists to focus on producing high-quality, impactful research rather than chasing quantity.

By compiling data from all scientific fields and offering a fair, metrics-based approach, this ranking not only celebrates individual achievements, but also highlights the importance of impactful research in advancing knowledge. However, it must be qualified, as it only takes into account quantitative data, which are not necessarily representative of the full diversity of research.

According to another database, that of UNESCO, the number of researchers in the world is increasing by 300,000 per year, reaching 9 million today. The Top 2% comprises 200,000 names, including twelve researchers from the University of Namur.

Congratulations to them for their excellent research and for this prestigious worldwide recognition!