Résultats de recherche

Monday February 9th at 3.00 pm / Academic seminar room (5th floor of the UNamur chemistry department)inaugural lecture: Prof. Ryan Gilmour (Institute for Organic Chemistry University of Münster, Germany): "Generalizing Stereoselective (photo)Catalysis"Dr. Romain Losa (University of Namur, Belgium): "short talk on selected photochemical reactions"inaugural lecture: Prof. Sami Lakhdar (University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France): "Constrained Phosphorous Compounds Under Visible Light: Challenges and Opportunities" Tuesday February 10th: Room CH22 (Prof. Sami Lakhdar)10h30 : Class 1 - Basic principles of photochemistry13h00 : Class 2 - Principles of photo-induced electron transfer:redox properties of excited statesthermodynamics of photo-redox reactionsmodern kinetic theories of electron transfer Wednesday February 11th: Room CH22 (Prof. Sami Lakhdar)10h30 : Class 3 - Introduction to photoredox catalysis: applications in organic synthesis (formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds, dual catalysis...)13h00 : Class 4 - Mechanistic aspects of photocatalytic reactions Thursday 12th: Room CH22 (Prof. Sami Lakhdar and Guillaume Berionni)10h30 : Class 5 - Photoreactivity and applications of molecular switches in organic synthesis To register (freely), please send an email to guillaume.berionni@unamur.be or marion.mathot@unmaur.be before February the 6th. 

Bien cachées aux yeux des passants, les grottes recèlent pourtant des secrets particulièrement esthétiques. Depuis 4 ans, Martin Vlieghe, effectue un doctorat en géologie à l'UNamur.  Il explore l’origine des colorations étonnamment variées de certaines concrétions nichées au cœur des grottes belges et françaises. Avec le Prof. Johan Yans et Gaëtan Rochez, il échantillonne, observe et analyse ces magnifiques objets dans le but de lever le voile sur les mystères qu’ils cachent.

Dans les prochains mois, l’Université de Namur participera à une mission spatiale exceptionnelle à bord de la Station spatiale internationale (ISS), aux côtés de l’astronaute belge Raphaël Liégeois. Le projet BeBlob, porté par les chercheurs Boris Hespeels (Institut ILEE) et Anne-Catherine Heuskin (Institut NARILIS), vise à étudier les capacités de réparation de l’ADN d’un organisme fascinant : le blob (Physarum polycephalum).

Alison Forrester est Chercheuse Qualifiée (CQ) du F.R.S.-FNRS. Ses recherches portent sur l'étude de composés susceptibles de modifier l'efficacité des processus de production des protéines à l'intérieur de nos cellules et d'ouvrir ainsi de nouvelles voies thérapeutiques. En collaboration avec un groupe de chercheurs internationaux de premier plan, elle a publié un article présentant une feuille de route dans la prestigieuse revue Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology.

Abstract Transmission tower inspection is a crucial step in maintaining high-voltage electrical infrastructure. To perform these inspections, UAVs have proven to be a groundbreaking method for conducting such inspections. The UAV provide a fast, precise, cheap, and modular way to perform thorough audits. The next step in the transmission tower audit is to automate the analysis task. During this thesis, the goal of achieving a relative and adaptive autonomous flight for the transmission tower was attempted. In the first part of the thesis, we explain how the audits are executed. We explain the history of the UAV and describe them. We then make a small state-of-the-art Computer Vision neural network. This first part brings the basic understanding of the domain. In the second part of the thesis, we present our distinct contributions. Due to the sponsorship of this thesis, we highlight the industrial and scientific contributions. The first contribution is the creation of a platform that enables a comprehensive analysis of flights within the domain. That platform displayed flows and offered some guidance on how to perform audits more effectively. Thanks to the software, we were able to showcase the capabilities of our autonomous system in comparison to other solutions.The second scientific contribution is the creation of datasets around the domain of transmission towers. To train the machine learning algorithm, well-curated datasets were necessary. Due to the scarcity of data in that domain, we decided to study the impact of synthetic data to help train AI in computer vision. The datasets showed promising results in different ML algorithms such as UNet and Mask2Former. In some situations, hybrid dataset-trained models outperform models trained on only the physical world dataset. The third scientific contribution involves training a Convolutional Neural Network for transmission tower segmentation. This modern neural network is designed for use in an embedded computer on a UAV. The fourth contribution is the development of different flight controller algorithms during the thesis. These autopilots ranged from a more basic flight assistant for the pilot to an autonomous flight system. A large-scale comparison is done of the different flight controllers.The final scientific contribution is a study on monocular depth perception in the context of a UAV flying around a transmission tower. This study compares six state-of-the-art pre-trained models. A large data set is created using photogrammetry software to generate pixel-wise depth annotations for each image. The study compares the models using different metrics and ranks them based on their capabilities.  Jury Prof. Tuci Elio - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Anthony Cleve - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Pierre-Yves Schobbens - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Alvaro Gutierrez - Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, EspagneMr. Fabian Duchesne - Qualitics SPRLProf. Anders Lyhne Christensen - SDU, Denmark Evènement public et gratuit - Inscription obligatoire Je m'inscris

A l’occasion de la Journée internationale de lutte pour les droits des femmes, célébrée le 8 mars, nous vous invitons à découvrir les portraits de sept femmes inspirantes issues des sept Facultés de l’université. Tout au long du mois de mars, une série de portraits de femmes de l’université sera visible dans différents espaces du campus. Imaginé et réalisé par quatre étudiantes de l’UNamur, et coordonné par le Service Vie de la communauté universitaire (VéCU), ce projet offre une vitrine inspirante aux parcours, aux voix et aux engagements de ces femmes qui font vivre l’institution au quotidien.  

Créée à l'initiative du Centre d'étude de l'énergie nucléaire belge SCK CEN, cette Chaire est décernée tous les deux ans par le F.R.S.-FNRS et le FWO afin de récompenser un chercheur de premier plan dans le domaine des sciences nucléaires et de leurs applications. En 2025, la Chaire rend hommage à la brillante carrière de Carine Michiels, pour ses contributions exceptionnelles à la radiobiologie et à la recherche sur le cancer. 

In a world marked by unprecedented global interconnection and universal claims to justice, deeply entrenched injustices continue to persist, especially in the context of indigenous peoples. This thesis begins from a simple but pressing question: how come certain forms of injustice remain unseen or insufficiently addressed within our prevailing theories of justice? This research argues that part of the answer lies in our epistemic practices—the ways knowledge is produced, validated and mobilized in theorizing justice. It explores how dominant theoretical frameworks, while designed to promote fairness and universality, can also generate forms of blindness that obscure the historical and social realities of those most affected by injustice. Through a critical engagement with contemporary theories of justice and objectivity, the thesis proposes a “realized epistemology”: an approach that emphasizes the inseparable relationship between knowledge and justice. Grounded in encounters with the indigenous Pulangiyen community in Mindanao (Philippines), the research shows how philosophical reflection can be reshaped through engagement with lived experiences of injustice, inviting a more situated and reflexive understanding of objectivity and justice.  Jury Prof. Louis CARRE (Président), UNamurProf. Stéphane LEYENS (Promoteur, Secrétaire), UNamurProf. Jeremy BENDIK-KEYMER, Case Western Reserve UniversityProf. Anya TOPOLSKI, Radboud Universiteit NijmegenProf. Krushil WATENE, University of AucklandVous êtes cordialement invités à assister à cette soutenance.La proclamation sera suivie d’un drink à la Salle académique.

A quel chatbot peut-on réellement faire confiance ? Une réponse fiable à cette question peut désormais être apportée grâce à un outil scientifique inédit : l’AI Score.  Développé par une équipe multidisciplinaire de chercheurs de l’Université de Namur, il permet de mesurer de manière objective, reproductible et transparente la fiabilité des chatbots éducatifs.

Sommes-nous prisonniers de notre patrimoine génétique ? La filiation se réduit-elle uniquement aux gènes ? Peut-on échapper à son destin ? Des questions existentielles que nous nous posons tous et auxquelles Gaëlle Pontarotti, chargée de cours et chercheuse au Département Sciences, philosophies et sociétés de l’UNamur, apporte un éclairage inédit dans son livre Par-delà les gènes. Une autre histoire de l’hérédité, paru en octobre dernier aux éditions Gallimard.

School-IT, porté par la Faculté d’Informatique de l’Université de Namur, propose une mallette numérique innovante pour initier les élèves du maternel, primaire et secondaire à l’informatique. Conçue pour simplifier la tâche des enseignants, elle rassemble des activités prêtes à l’emploi, courtes et indépendantes, accompagnées de ressources pédagogiques et multimédias pour les enseignants et leurs élèves. Avec School-IT, enseigner l’informatique devient simple, concret et accessible à tous.

JuryProf. Régis HALLEZ (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Jean-Yves MATROULE (UNamur), SecrétaireDr Rob VAN HOUDT (SCK CEN)Dr Kristel MIJNENDONCKX (SCK CEN)Prof. Liselot DEWACHTER (UCLouvain)AbstractThe viable-but-nonculturable (VBNC) state is a type of bacterial dormancy triggered by sublethal stress, where cells remain intact but lose the ability to grow on standard media. This poses challenges for microbial monitoring and public health, as VBNC cells can evade detection and might regain virulence upon resuscitation. Copper compounds are explored as antimicrobial agents, however sublethal Cu concentrations were shown to induce the VBNC state in certain bacteria. This thesis investigates the Cu-induced VBNC state in Cupriavidus metallidurans, a metal-resistant betaproteobacterium, and examines the involvement of its Cu resistance determinants (CRDs). While resuscitation is usually mediated by external factors, we aimed to uncover intrinsic processes that enable spontaneous resuscitation, a rare phenotype lacking mechanistic understanding. Proteomic analysis revealed that expression of CRDs, among others, correlated with mitigated dormancy. Time-resolved profiling showed that VBNC cells exhibit highly dynamic proteomes: VBNC entry involved oxidative stress response, and resuscitation correlated with metabolic reconstitution and the strong induction of periplasmic CRDs. Temporal clustering corroborated the explored proteomic modifications. Through mutational studies we identified the plasmid-encoded copAB system as the minimal resuscitation factor, where integrity of the CopA methionine-rich domain proved critical. ICP-MS analysis indicated that detoxification relies on Cu sequestration rather than export. Altogether, this work uncovers key intrinsic factors and proposes a mechanistic basis for spontaneous resuscitation from the Cu-induced VBNC state in C. metallidurans. These insights refine our understanding of the VBNC state as a dynamic survival strategy and of bacterial Cu resistance.