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Abstract Since its emergence in 1996, the Asian H5 Goose/Guangdong (Gs/Gd) lineage has circulated widely in poultry in southern China, spilling over to wild birds by 2002. Wild bird infections facilitated global dissemination via migratory waterfowl and repeated spillback into poultry, challenging the view that HPAI primarily arises from LPAI mutation. Subclade 2.3.4.4b emerged in Asia in 2013, reached Europe in 2016, caused recurrent epizootics, diversified into multiple genotypes, became dominant in wild birds, and shows zoonotic potential.This thesis investigates critical knowledge gaps regarding H5Nx subclade 2.3.4.4b in poultry: (1) early within-flock spread after punctual introduction in chickens, particularly during the first European epizootics; (2) influence of pre-existing immunity on silent circulation; (3) limitations in diagnostic throughput during epizootic peaks; (4) potential of environmental surveillance, including air and dust sampling; and (5) impact on egg contamination and the reproductive tract, relevant for food safety and zoonotic risk.Four main objectives were addressed: (1) development of an experimental model simulating punctual introductions and spread, comparing 2017 and 2020 strains and assessing pre-existing immunity; (2) enhancement of diagnostic capacity via alternative sampling, semi-automated RNA extraction, and high-throughput processing; (3) evaluation of air and dust sampling for virus monitoring under experimental and field conditions; and (4) assessment of egg contamination risk. Alternative sampling and environmental monitoring were also applied to Newcastle disease virus as a comparative notifiable pathogen. Jury Prof. Catherine LINARD (UNamur), ChairProf. Benoît MUYLKENS (UNamur), SecretaryDr. Damien COUPEAU (UNamur)Dr. Jean-Luc GUÉRIN (INRAE & ENVT)Dr. Cyril BARBEZANGE (ECDC)Dr. Steven VAN BORM (Sciensano)Dr. Mieke STEENSELS (Sciensano)Dr. Bénédicte LAMBRECHT (Sciensano)

At UNamur, research is not confined to laboratories. From physics to political science, robotics, biodiversity, law, AI, and health, researchers collaborate daily with numerous stakeholders in society. The goal? To transform ideas into concrete solutions to address current challenges. 

JuryProf. Nicolas DENDONCKER (UNamur), ChairProf. Sabine HENRY (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Frédéric SILVESTRE (UNamur)Dr. Sébastien DUJARDIN (UNamur)Prof. Kara PELLOWE (Stockholm University)Prof. Romain GLELE KAKAI (University of Abomey Calavi)Prof. Patrick KESTEMONT (UNamur)Prof. Eli THORE (UNamur)AbstractMangroves play an important role in environmental conservation and livelihood provision yet remain one of the most threatened ecosystems on earth. This doctoral study assesses pathways to enhance coastal sustainability in the Anthropocene, by promoting the sustainable use of mangroves and strengthening their social-ecological resilience through an interdisciplinary approach. The thesis is structured into four specific objectives: assessing the role of traditional beliefs and local deities in promoting the sustainable use of mangroves, analyzing the synergies between legal frameworks and traditional beliefs in enhancing the social-ecological resilience of mangroves, developing a novel interdisciplinary framework to evaluate the social-ecological resilience of mangroves, and operationalizing the proposed framework in Benin's mangroves, West Africa.  We collected field data using ethnobiological surveys, drone image analysis and document review, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, plant and fish inventories across three coastal communities in Benin. The study draws insights from the seven principles of resilience to analyze mangrove sustainability. The interdisciplinary methodology of this study links plant biology, fisheries sciences, and human geography to analyze mangroves as complex social-ecological systems. Findings of the thesis show that traditional beliefs and local deities play a significant role in regulating the use of mangrove resources, while the overlapping of formal and informal institutions offer opportunities to enhance their social-ecological resilience. The novel proposed framework called Mangrove Social Ecological Resilience Appraisal (MaSERA) outlines variables and indicators tailored to mangroves to assess their social-ecological resilience. Its application in Benin highlights its potential in identifying factors that enable or erode mangrove resilience, for informed decision making. The study argues that promoting the sustainable use of mangroves and enhancing their social-ecological resilience represent dual imperatives for achieving coastal sustainability in the Anthropocene. It contributes to the growing body of knowledge on mangrove conservation and provides actionable insights for integrated coastal zone management.

At UNamur, parchments are much more than objects of curiosity: they are at the heart of an interdisciplinary scientific adventure. Starting with historical sciences and conservation, the research has gradually incorporated the disciplines of physics, biology, chemistry, and archaeology.  This convergence has given rise to research in heritage sciences, driving innovative projects such as Marine Appart's doctoral work, supervised by Professor Olivier Deparis. This research has now been recognized with a publication in the prestigious journal Heritage Science (Nature Publishing Group).

A chemist by training, Véronique Steukers is now the first woman to head the global organization of nickel producers, the Nickel Institute. Her career path has taken her far from the laboratory and into the heart of an industry facing significant environmental, industrial, and social challenges. We meet her.

Brendan Reid has just joined the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) team in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science. This unit functions as a collaborative ecosystem, bringing together skills and expertise to advance research on organisms and their dynamic interactions with the environment. Dive into aquatic and semi-aquatic research!

At UNamur, research is not confined to laboratories. From physics to political science, robotics, biodiversity, law, AI, and health, researchers collaborate daily with numerous stakeholders in society. The goal? Transform ideas into concrete solutions to address current challenges. 

For its inaugural conference, the SPiN (Science & Philosophy in Namur) center will be joined by Claire Rommelaere, a lawyer and researcher at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Namur, and Aude Bandini, a philosopher of science at the University of Montreal, to take a critical look at the theme of "distrust of science." The urgency of addressing this issue is clear in our era, where, despite an overall stable level of trust in science, the parameters of public debate are frequently blurred by misinformation.Having had the opportunity to observe philosophers of science in their natural habitat for nearly fifteen years, Claire Rommelaere will share her thoughts on whether or not we should trust those who think about science.For her part, Aude Bandini will address a major problem that we all face at a time when the mass of available knowledge is such that it is impossible to acquire it on our own. Indeed, the socially distributed nature of knowledge generally leaves us no choice but to rely on the authority of experts, even on very important issues (such as health). However, when we rely on others in this way and follow recommendations that, due to our ignorance, we have no means of evaluating, we place ourselves in a relationship of "epistemic dependence" that conflicts with our aspirations for intellectual autonomy and forces us to ask ourselves a question whose answer may prove unbearable: is intellectual autonomy nothing more than a myth?Conference hosted by journalist Maïté Warland.Program:5:30-6:30 p.m. | Drinks at Quai 22 (Rue du Séminaire 22, 5000 Namur)6:30 p.m. | Claire RommelaereDistrust of philosophers of science7:00 p.m. | Aude Bandini Intellectualautonomy in the face of scientific authority: a headache for social epistemologyRegistration deadline: April 16.Free of charge. Register

Laura Gagliardi is a renowned international researcher at the University of Chicago, recognized for her pioneering contributions to theoretical and computational chemistry, particularly in the study of reticular materials such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The Solvay/Syensqo Chair in Chemistry honors chemists who have made exceptional advances in their fields. As part of this distinction, Professor Gagliardi delivered a series of lectures at several Belgian universities, including a seminar at the University of Namur, Department of Chemistry.

At a time when misinformation, post-truths and conspiracies are undermining confidence in science, UNamur welcomes SPiN (Science & Philosophy in Namur), a new interdisciplinary research center that questions the place of science in society. Founded last September by Olivier Sartenaer, Professor of Philosophy of Science at UNamur, SPiN brings together philosophers and scientists around a common vision: to develop a critical and accessible reflection on science in all its diversity..

Why take English classes when you want to become a veterinarian? How can you teach Spanish to future management engineers? Far from vocabulary lists or lab classes with headphones, these languages are taught as genuine cross-disciplinary skills that are essential for the jobs of tomorrow. 

As part of its seminar, Centre Arcadie will be pleased to welcome Igor Krtolica for a session devoted to his book Romain Gary. De l'humanisme à l'écologie, Gallimard, 2025.Maître de conférences en philosophie à l'Université de Picardie Jules-Verne, junior member of the Institut universitaire de France, Igor Krtolica is the author (in addition to the work to be discussed) of Gilles Deleuze (PUF, coll. "Que sais-je? ", 2015), of Gilles Deleuze et Félix Guattari : Une philosophie des devenirs-révolutionnaires(Éditions Amsterdam, 2024) and of a commentary on an extract from Romain Gary's Les Racines du ciel entitled Antifascism, humanism and ecology (PUF, coll. "Classiques de l'écologie", 2025).After a presentation of the work, Igor Krtolica will be interviewed by Jean-Baptiste Vuillerod and Thibault De Meyer.Free admission. All welcome.Book presentation 1956: the Prix Goncourt is awarded to Racines du ciel, a novel whose hero, Morel, fights against the extermination of elephants in an Africa struggling for independence. Romain Gary described it as the first ecological novel. Ecology enabled him to resolve the unbearable political contradiction in which the post-war West finds itself: the impossibility of believing in man, the impossibility of giving up believing in man. How can we continue to give meaning to the idea of civilization? If we are to maintain the humanist ideal, we need to wage a battle in which man is no longer at the center. Such is the paradox explored here. This literary and philosophical essay reveals the complexity of Romain Gary's thought, his constant irony and humor, his contradictions, his rejection of dogmatism. And its modernity: ahead of his time, the novelist anticipated the controversies driving contemporary ecological thinking, where the human being is only a part of nature, but where nature itself becomes inseparable from history, society and politics. This previously unpublished synthesis of Romain Gary's work is an original analysis of the tension between humanist commitment and ecological cause.. Toutes les activités du Centre Arcadie