Résultats de recherche

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.

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.

JuryDr Luca FUSARO (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Carmela APRILE (UNamur), SecrétaireProf. Francesco GIACALONE (Université de Palerme)Prof. Paolo PESCARMONA (Université de Groningen)Prof. Michelangelo GRUTTADAURIA (Université de Palerme)AbstractThis PhD research focused on the design, synthesis, and catalytic evaluation of novel materials based on metal phthalocyanines (MPCs) and imidazolium bromide salts. The initial materials were extensively characterized using a wide range of analytical, spectroscopic, and spectrometric techniques, including solid-state NMR, XPS, TEM, EDX, FT-IR, Raman, CHN analysis, ICP-OES, N₂ physisorption, and TGA. These systems showed remarkable performance in promoting the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epoxides to form cyclic carbonates. Building on these results, a new class of catalysts was developed by covalently anchoring metal phthalocyanines and imidazolium salts onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), yielding materials denoted as MPC@MWCNTs. This strategy enabled the creation of a versatile family of catalysts—prepared with different metal centers (Al, Mg, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn)—while maintaining a unified synthetic approach. The incorporation of MWCNTs was aimed at enhancing both catalytic activity and stability through synergistic support effects. The resulting MPC@MWCNTs were successfully applied in diverse catalytic contexts: CO₂ valorization into cyclic carbonates (Mg-, Fe-, Cu-, and Zn-based systems), nitro-reduction reactions to afford amines (Fe-based system), and electrocatalytic methanol oxidation for energy-related applications (Ni-based system). Overall, this work demonstrated the potential of MPC@MWCNT hybrid materials as robust, tunable, and multifunctional catalysts for sustainable chemical transformations. Assister à l'événement à distance (Teams)

Présentation des 6 nominés aux deux Prix des meilleurs mémoires de la communauté française, l’un dans l’orientation Biologie des Organismes et Ecologie (BOE) et l’autre dans les deux orientations associées Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (BBMC) / Microbiologie.Programme13h30 Sarah Cornet (UNamur - UCLouvain) 14h05 Axel Cuche (UMons)14h40 Morgan De Wette (UNamur - UCLouvain)15h15 Carla Pugliese (UMons) 16h00 Enkela Musliu (UCLouvain) 16h35 Eléonore Cassiers (UCLouvain / Huis-clos) 17h10 Délibération du Jury 18h00 Attribution des deux prix suivie d’une réception à l’espace BauchauInscription souhaitée. Je m'inscris

Alexandre Mauroy est professeur et chercheur au Département de mathématique depuis près de 10 ans, dans le domaine des systèmes dynamiques. Il est également le directeur de l’Institut de recherche naXys, qui met son expertise en systèmes complexes au service des chercheurs de l’UNamur, toutes disciplines confondues. Conscient de la réputation parfois austère des maths auprès du grand public, Alexandre Mauroy œuvre à démontrer que cette discipline est au cœur des défis technologiques et scientifiques actuels.

Aujourd’hui, notre planète subit des changements climatiques majeurs. Face notamment à l’augmentation des températures, il n’est pas facile de prédire comment les faunes et flores vont réagir et s’adapter dans des écosystèmes perturbés. Une recherche internationale, à laquelle participe l’équipe du Professeur Johan Yans (Département de géologie et Institut ILEE), a trouvé des éléments de réponse dans les fossiles, mémoires de l’évolution darwinienne depuis des millions d’années. Explications.

JuryDr Nikolai TUMANOV (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Bao-Lian SU (UNamur), SecrétaireProf. Yann GARCIA (UCLouvain)Prof. Teng BÊN (Jinhua University)Prof. Guillaume BERIONNI (UNamur)Prof. Alain KRIEF (UNamur)AbstractPorous crystals with structural flexibility are difficult to realize because flexible molecules often rearrange or leave the lattice, leading to pore collapse. Since the early 2000s, it has become clear that combining robust intermolecular interactions with flexible linkers and deformable nodes can stabilize porous crystals during guest removal. Frameworks such as MOFs, COFs, and HOFs benefit from strong noncovalent interactions, yet permanently porous HOFs remain uncommon due to dense molecular packing.Porous organic salts (POSs) offer an alternative strategy, assembling predictable networks from oppositely charged organic ions where electroneutrality and stoichiometry guide structure formation. However, most 3D POSs rely on planar guanidinium or tetrahedral tetraphenylmethane derivatives, resulting in a narrow set of topologies compared with the thousands of 3D nets catalogued in the Reticular Chemistry Structure Resource (RCSR).Here we report triptycene-based ionic frameworks (TIFs) formed via charge-assisted ammonium–sulfonate hydrogen bonding. By tuning triptycene symmetry and functionalization, together with sulfonate linker geometry, we generated diverse supramolecular architectures with tailored porosity, stability, and function.

JuryProf. Guillaume BERIONNI (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Stéphane VINCENT (UNamur), SecrétaireProf. Carmen GALAN (Université de 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.