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Essay topic Essays on the Empirical Analysis of Crypto-Assets: Market Efficiency, Peg Failures, and Financial Flights Composition of the Jury Promoter: Prof. Jean-Yves Gnabo (UNamur)Other jury members: Prof. Sophie Béreau (UNamur)Prof. Kris Boudt (UGent)Prof. Sarah Bouraga (EM Normandie)Prof. Jérôme Lahaye (Fordham University)Jury president: Prof. Corentin Burnay (UNamur)

The program 09:30 | Welcome speech and coffee10:00 | Presentation of the platforms11:00 | Group visit of the platforms12:00 | Lunch and networking Pysico-Chemical Characterization (PC²)The PC² platform comprises a wide range of instruments, including: liquid and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, X-ray diffractometers for single crystals and powders, instruments for analyzing textural properties (nitrogen physisorption, mercury porosimetry, etc.), instruments for analyzing chemical composition (combustion chemical analysis, ICP-OES, etc.), as well as various separation techniques (chromatography, centrifugation, etc.).), instruments for analyzing chemical composition (combustion chemical analysis, ICP-OES, etc.), and various separation techniques (chromatography, centrifugation, etc.). The combination of these techniques with the presence of two research logisticians and a technician dedicated to sample analysis, as well as highly qualified researchers for the development of advanced applications, reflects the strategic intent of this platform. Among these characterization techniques, solid-state NMR and X-ray diffraction are the most advanced and unique characterization tools.Synthesis, Irradiation and Analysis of Materials (SIAM)The SIAM platform specializes in the advanced synthesis and characterization of materials and nanomaterials. It actively contributes to fundamental research in (bio)materials science, particularly in terms of characterizing surfaces, interfaces and ion/material interactions, in collaboration with international university laboratories. SIAM's analytical capabilities enable it to study a wide range of samples from fields as diverse as materials science, life sciences and heritage science. One of SIAM's key assets is its recognized expertise in spectroscopy (XPS and ToF-SIMS), which can be coupled with nuclear analysis (Ion Beam Analysis or IBA). Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment, all support is provided by a highly qualified team in a dynamic of continuous development and innovation. As part of the University of Namur, SIAM is a privileged partner both for academic research projects and for the provision of services to industrial and institutional players.Lasers, Optics and Spectroscopies (LOS)The LOS platform is developing its expertise around optical methods for the study of materials. LOS recently acquired a Raman scattering microscope for the analysis of liquids, powders, solids and thin films, both organic and inorganic. This technique can be used to identify a sample's chemical composition and structure, as well as certain properties of the medium. Raman spectroscopy can be used to characterize polymers, nanomaterials, pharmacological compounds, geological materials, precious stones, heritage objects and food products, to name but a few. In imaging mode, this technique can map the distribution of a compound in a heterogeneous sample, as well as detect traces. Practical information Registration required before November 4, 2025. I want to register Find out more about UNamur's technology platforms Contact Research Administration | Business Developer - Joël Marinozzi : joel.marinozzi@unamur.be

Nature is a spectacle! Every year, the Festival International Nature Namur (FINN) devotes an entire week to highlighting the beauty of the natural world. Its mission is clear: to amaze in order to raise awareness. Through exceptional images, the festival invites the public to discover the wealth of nature that surrounds them, and encourages them to adopt responsible behavior towards their environment.Created in 1995, FINN has become an unmissable event for lovers of nature and spectacular images. With over 35,000 visitors each year, three international competitions (photography, amateur and professional films) and a host of activities, it now ranks among the top five European events dedicated to nature.Among the highlights, the nature village brings together the festival's partners. UNamur will be hosting a stand showcasing the best shots from the Biology department's multidisciplinary trip. Fun activities will also enable the public to discover nature from a scientific angle. Brochures and information on training courses related to the festival's themes will also be available.The FINN is also organizing an Environment Day, dedicated to the major issues affecting biodiversity and human well-being. This year, it will take place on October 16 and feature three themed sessions followed by debates led by experts. For this 31st edition, the speakers will be professors Jean-Yves Storme, geologist, and Nicolas Dendoncker, geographer, as well as Manon Poignet, researcher at the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (University of Namur, Faculty of Science, Biology Department, ILEE Institute). More info on the FINN website

This evening is the perfect opportunity to discover our projects for the year, meet other committed young people and learn more about the opportunities offered by FUCID. See you this Monday, September 29 from 6pm at FUCID!Address: Rue Bruno 18 (la maison blanche opposite the Arsenal), 5000 Namur. More info

Abstract Primarily described as an alarmone, secondary messenger (p)ppGpp, when accumulated, binds to many targets involved in DNA replication, translation, and transcription. In the asymmetrically-dividing a-proteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus, (p)ppGpp has been shown to strongly impact cell cycle progression and differentiation, promoting the non-replicating G1/swarmer phase. Mutations in the major subunits of transcriptional complex, b or b' subunits, were able to display the (p)ppGpp-related phenotypes even in the absence of the alarmone. We identified that the transcriptional holo-enzyme, RNA polymerase (RNAP) is a primary target of (p)ppGpp in C. crescentus. Furthermore, mutations that inactivate (p)ppGpp binding to RNAP annihilated the (p)ppGpp-related phenotypes and phenocopied a (p)ppGpp0 strain. Our RNAseq analysis further elucidated the changes in the transcriptional landscape of C. crescentus cells displaying different (p)ppGpp levels and expressing RNAP mutants. Since the DNA replication initiation protein DnaA is required to exit the G1 phase, we observed that it was significantly less abundant in cells accumulating (p)ppGpp. We further explored its proteolysis under the influence of (p)ppGpp. Our work suggests that (p)ppGpp regulates cell cycle and differentiation in C. crescentus by reprogramming transcription and triggering proteolytic degradation of key cell cycle regulators by yet unknown mechanisms. In Part II, we identified two σ factors belonging to the ECF family that might be involved in this (p)ppGpp-accompanied phenotypes. In Part III, we propose an overlapping role of the ω subunit, RpoZ, and the heat shock subunit, RpoH, in carbon metabolism.JuryProf. Gipsi LIMA MENDEZ (UNamur), PresidentProf Régis HALLEZ (UNamur), SecretaryDr Emanuele BIONDI (CNRS-Université Paris-Saclay)Prof. Justine COLLIER (University of Lausanne)Dr Marie DELABY (Université de Montréal)

Abstract Estrogens originating from human and animal excretion, as well as from anthropogenic sources such as cosmetics, plastics, pesticides, detergents, and pharmaceuticals, are among the most concerning endocrine-disrupting compounds in aquatic environments due to their potent estrogenic activity. While their effects on fish reproduction are well documented, their impact on development, particularly metamorphosis, remains poorly studied. This hormonal transition, mainly controlled by the thyroid axis, is essential for the shift from the larval to the juvenile stage in teleosts.The effects of two contraceptive estrogens on zebrafish (Danio rerio) metamorphosis were evaluated: 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic reference estrogen, and estetrol (E4), a natural estrogen recently introduced in a new combined oral contraceptive formulation. Continuous exposure from fertilization to the end of metamorphosis allowed the assessment of morphological changes, disruptions of the thyroid axis, and modifications of additional molecular pathways potentially involved in metamorphic regulation.EE2 induced significant delays and disturbances in metamorphosis, affecting both internal and external morphological traits, confirming its role as an endocrine disruptor of concern. In contrast, E4 did not cause any detectable morphological alterations even at concentrations far exceeding those expected in the environment, indicating a limited ecotoxicological risk. Molecular analyses showed that EE2 strongly affected thyroid signaling and energy metabolism during metamorphosis, whereas E4 induced only minor transcriptional and proteomic changes.This study provides the first evidence that EE2 can disrupt zebrafish metamorphosis and highlights the importance of including this developmental stage in ecotoxicological assessments. The results also suggest a larger environmental safety margin for E4, although further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms linking estrogen exposure to metamorphic regulation.JuryProf. Frederik DE LAENDER (UNamur), PresidentProf. Patrick KESTEMONT (UNamur), SecretaryDr. Sébastien BAEKELANDT (UNamur)Dr. Valérie CORNET (UNamur)Prof. Jean-Baptiste FINI (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris)Dr. Marc MULLER (ULiège)Prof. Veerle DARRAS (KULeuven)

Turning to authorized and unauthorized investments of public space, performances, uses of ephemeral supports and other departures from the framework, various interventions will question the stakes of forms of writing deployed outside the book and their effects on representations of poetic practice.Today's theme: Poetry in the streetThe acclimatization of poetry to advertising communication has contributed to reinforcing its urban inscription, so that today it frequently appears on the walls of our cities, often through fragmentary quotations and isolated verses. These writings are sometimes the result of commissions and are therefore perfectly authorized, but they can also be the product of wild production: what are the preferred forms in such cases, and how can they be archived? From the enunciation of these urban poems to their revival on social networks, this first session of the OLSa seminar will be an opportunity to examine the modes of emergence, circulation and conservation of wild literatures. Next seminarsOctober 29, 2025, L12, 4-6pm: Benoît Cottet (Paris 8) - Poetry in performance.December 11, 2025, L01, 4-6pm: Arvi Sepp (VUB) and Florence Pierre (UNamur) - Other forms, other walls.

The notion of "academic freedom" is often evoked in public debates, but is it really known in its singularity? Where does it come from? What is its history? What decisive role does it play in our democracies and the defense of the university's role as a counter-power? To what extent is it threatened today, particularly by the reforms announced?This morning of reflection, open to all, will explore these questions from a variety of perspectives. Historians, philosophers and jurists will shed light on the subject. Institutional leaders will share their concrete experience and their analysis of the threats that reforms could pose to this essential principle.An organization of the Philosophy Department, the History Department, the ESPHIN Institute in collaboration with the Centre d'Action Laïque Namur.The speakers- Anne-Emmanuelle Bourgaux, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Mons- Nicolas Offenstadt, Professor of History at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne- Quentin Landenne, Qualified Researcher at the FRS-FNRS at the UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels, scientific leader of the ERC BildungLearning project- Susanna Zellini, Research Fellow at the FRS-FNRS at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels- Annick Castiaux, Rector of UNamur- Edouard Delruelle, Professor of political philosophy at ULiège; Chargé de mission by the Rectrice of ULiège on "ULiège facing global conflicts".PracticalitiesThéâtre Jardin Passion 39, rue Marie Henriette - 5000 Namur.Free admission - Welcome from 9amAn organization of the Departments of Philosophy and History of the University of Namur and the ESPHIN Institute in collaboration with the Centre d'Action Laïque Namur with the support of the ERC BildungLearning project. I want to register The ERC BildungLearning project is funded by the European Union (n° 101043433). The views and opinions expressed, however, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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)

An innovative initiative at the heart of primary care in French-speaking Belgium In a bid to bring the academic world closer to the realities of the field, we are pleased to invite you to join our second Medical Journal Club meeting in primary care. Location and frequency of meetingsQuai 22 - UNamur 2x/year What is it? A space for general practitioners, pharmacists and students to meet and discuss scientific literature related to primary care.Objectives of the Journal Club Share and discuss scientific articles relevant to primary care practice in a friendly, caring atmosphere. Strengthen skills in critical reading and evidence-based medicine Create a lasting link between the field and academia Federate an active and committed medical-pharmaceutical communityTarget audienceGeneral practitioners (in practice or in training) Pharmacists Medical students, biomedical sciences and pharmacy Why participate? Because science moves fast, and we all benefit from taking the time to read, understand, and question the literature together. Because quality care starts with shared reflection. And because it's the ideal opportunity to strengthen bridges between disciplines. Interested? Have a question? Want to submit an article? Contact us at:capmg@unamur.beRegistration (free)INAMI accreditation required I want to register

Abstract Deep learning has become an extremely important technology in numerous domains such as computer vision, natural language processing, and autonomous systems. As neural networks grow in size and complexity to meet the demands of these applications, the cost of designing and training efficient models continues to rise in computation and energy consumption. Neural Architecture Search (NAS) has emerged as a promising solution to automate the design of performant neural networks. However, conventional NAS methods often require evaluating thousands of architectures, making them extremely resource-intensive and environmentally costly.This thesis introduces a novel, energy-aware NAS pipeline that operates at the intersection of Software Engineering and Machine Learning. We present CNNGen, a domain-specific generator for convolutional architectures, combined with performance and energy predictors to drastically reduce the number of architectures that need full training. These predictors are integrated into a multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), enabling an efficient search for architectures that balance accuracy and energy consumption.Our approach explores a variety of prediction strategies, including sequence-based models, image-based representations, and deep metric learning, to estimate model quality from partial or symbolic representations. We validate our framework across three benchmark datasets, CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and Fashion-MNIST, demonstrating that it can produce results comparable to state-of-the-art architectures with significantly lower computational cost. By reducing the environmental footprint of NAS while maintaining high performance, this work contributes to the growing field of Green AI and highlights the value of predictive modelling in scalable and sustainable deep learning workflows. Jury Prof. Wim Vanhoof - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Gilles Perrouin - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Benoit Frénay - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Pierre-Yves Schobbens - University of Namur, BelgiumProf. Clément Quinton - University of Lille, FranceProf. Paul Temple- University of Rennes, FranceProf. Schin'ichi Satoh - National Institute of Informatics, Japan