Search results

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).

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. 

At a time when bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a public health problem, Professor Stéphane Vincent's team is currently developing dynamic constitutional frameworks (Dynamic Constitutional Frameworks, DCF): a molecular system that would be able to break down certain resistances and thus deliver antibiotics as close as possible to pathogens.

Are we prisoners of our genetic heritage? Can filiation be reduced to genes alone? Can we escape our destiny? Existential questions we all ask ourselves, and to which Gaëlle Pontarotti, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Sciences, Philosophies and Societies at UNamur, sheds new light in her book Par-delà les gènes. Une autre histoire de l'hérédité, published last October by Gallimard.

One foot in the past, the other in the future. From Etruscan granulation to PIXE analysis, Serge Mathot has built a unique career, between scientific heritage and particle accelerators. Portrait of a passionate alumnus at the crossroads of disciplines.

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

A plant does not seem to have much in common with animals. Yet naturalists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries attempted to study plants as if they were animals: they set out, for example, to find an equivalent to the circulatory or respiratory systems. Why did they feel the need to resort to analogical reasoning? What results did they obtain? And more generally, what is the value of this type of reasoning?On the agendaTuesday, May 5, 202612:15 PM – Welcome and light lunch1:30 PM – Introductory remarksThibault De Meyer (University of Namur): Why Analogy?2:15 PM – Session 1: Theory and Practice - Cristiana Oghina-Pavie (University of Angers): The analogy of pragmatic knowledge: actions and transactions in 19th-century horticulture and Quentin Hiernaux (FNRS / Free University of Brussels): The plant-animal analogy employed by A.-P. de Candolle’s physiology in addressing the issue of the sensitivity of living beings3:45 PM – Coffee break4:15 PM – Plenary Session 1 - Thierry Hoquet (University of Paris Nanterre): Is the plant/animal analogy valid?5:45 PM – End of the first day7:00 PM – Conference dinnerWednesday, May 6, 20269:00 AM – Welcome9:15 AM – Session 2: Relationships and Boundaries of the Living - Dario Galvão (University of Namur): Analogy and the Faculties of the Living: Animal Reason and Plant Sensibility in the Enlightenment and Ugo Batini (University of Poitiers): Understanding Humanity Through Plants: Analogy and the Metaphysics of the Living in Schopenhauer10:45 AM – Coffee break11:15 AM – Plenary Lecture 2 – Pascal Duris (University of Bordeaux): Plants as Humans. Analogy in Linnaeus and the Linneans12:45 PM – Lunch break2:00 PM – Toward New Disciplines - Vera Staetmanns (Ruhr University Bochum): Do Plants Think? Analogy in the Plant Psychology of Raoul Heinrich Francé (1874–1943) and Matthieu Amat (University of Rouen Normandy): Analogy and Homology: Transfers from the Life Sciences to the Cultural Sciences in the 19th Century3:30 PM – Coffee break4:00 PM – Plenary Session 3 - Aliènor Bertrand (CNRS / ENS de Lyon): “Les œufs du vent” and Their Descendants5:30 PM – Closing of the conference5:45 PM – End of the dayContact: Dario Galvao - dario.galvao@unamur.be

Ethics is practiced in hospitals. But ethics is also practiced in care and support facilities for the elderly and people with disabilities, as well as in pharmaceutical companies, research centers, and universities.We “practice ethics” in groups whose scope may be local, regional, national, continental, or international. We “practice ethics” by organizing conferences, conventions, meetings, roundtables, workshops, symposia, think tanks, and so on.But what exactly “do we do” in these settings? Is there really anything in common among all these groups, these settings, these collectives? It is not desirable to strive for a single model that would ignore the specific characteristics of the environments in which this activity takes place.But it is interesting and undoubtedly necessary to seek to better understand and define what each group does in this regard. What's on 9:00 a.m. Introduction9:30 a.m. Sharing of experiencesDarius Makindu - Kinshasa School of Public Health (DRC)Yannick Courtin, Jérôme Bouvy, Laurence Gillard - GHdC TeamHerimampita Rarivomanantsoa - University of Antananarivo (Madagascar)Nicky Sacré, Véronique Weber - La Maison Sainte-Joséphine (MR-MRS) in Theux and Résidence Bon-Air (MR-MRS) in Petit-RechainAlain Loute - UCLouvain, ELMAC research group on “places of connection” in mental health11:00 AM Break11:30 a.m. Discussion of the presentations12:30 PM Lunch1:15 PM Theatrical interlude: Compagnie Nicomaque2:00 PM Sharing of experiencesMarius Kedoté - Regional Institute of Public Health, BeninBruno Krug, Étienne Gourdin, Marie-Laure Cornet - Team from the UCL Namur Godinne University HospitalPatrick Robert, Tonino D’Arcangelo - La Galice (non-profit organization)Sami Richa - Saint Joseph University of Beirut, LebanonChristian Byk - UNESCO, Paris3:30 PM Break4:00 PM Discussion of the presentations5:00 PM Conclusions of the day5:30 PM End of the day In practice To ensure we can provide you with the best possible experience, we kindly ask for a contribution of €30, to be paid into UNamur’s BNP Paribas Fortis account at Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur (IBAN BE10 2500 0740 2704; Swift/BIC: GEBABEBB), with the following reference: “Last name, first name of the registered person CPO 4-16670-00 ETHICS Workshop Sept 26.”Contact personsLaurent RAVEZ - coordinator: laurent.ravez@unamur.beVéronique OROSE - Secretariat: veronique.orose@unamur.beRegistration is required. Sign me up Organizing Committee Catherine Bert (UNamur, Research Associate, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society; Director of the Health Division at the Léonard de Vinci University College)Charlotte Costenoble (UNamur, Assistant, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society, Faculty of Sciences)Vincent Darche (UNamur, Research Associate, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society; Surgeon, CHRSM Meuse Campus)Albert Fox (UNamur, Research Associate, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society)Geneviève Guillaume (UNamur, Researcher, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society)Bruno Krug (UCLouvain, Clinical Professor, Chief of Clinic, Nuclear Medicine, CHU UCL Namur, Godinne Site)Sébastien Loix (UNamur, Research Associate, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society; Intensive Care Physician, HELORA Jolimont)Alain Loute (UCLouvain, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Health and Society Research, Higher Institute of Philosophy)Darius Makindu (UNIKIN, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Kinshasa, DRC)César Meuris (ULB, Associate Professor; Robert Schuman University College, Director of the Ressort Center)Véronique Orose (UNamur, Secretary, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society, ESPHIN Institute, Faculty of Sciences)Laurent Ravez (UNamur, Full Professor, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society)Sami Richa (Saint Joseph University, Professor, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Beirut, Lebanon)Claire Rommelaere (UNamur, Researcher, Center for Bioethics, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Sciences, Philosophy, and Society)

The IBAF Meetings have been organized since 2003, every two years since 2008, by the Ion Beams Division of the French Vacuum Society (SFV), the oldest national vacuum society in the world, which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2025.As in previous editions, IBAF 2026 will offer a rich and varied program with guest lectures, oral and poster presentations, and technical sessions. All this will be complemented by an industrial presence to promote exchanges between research and innovation. The conference will cover a wide range of topics, from ion beam instruments and techniques to the physics of ion-matter interactions, including the analysis and modification of materials, applications in the life sciences, earth and environmental sciences, and heritage sciences. More information on the IBAF2026 website

AbstractIn CO2-rich atmospheres such as that of Venus, the study of water vapor requires the use of H2O collision parameters for CO2. However, due to a lack of data, models still use collision parameters for air to estimate the abundance of water vapor in this type of atmosphere. In this thesis, new experimental laboratory measurements of the collision parameters of H2O, HDO, and D2O by CO2 were carried out. These were then used as the basis for dedicated theoretical calculations. Their impact was evaluated using radiative transfer simulations applied to the atmosphere of Venus, under conditions close to those of future observations by the European EnVision mission. The results clearly show that using collision parameters for air instead of CO2 can lead to an overestimation of nearly 40% of the abundance of water vapor in the mesosphere and to inversion difficulties in the troposphere. This work thus provides essential elements for improving the spectral analysis of CO2-rich atmospheres.JuryDr. Ha TRAN (Sorbonne University), ChairProf. Muriel LEPÈRE (University of Namur), SecretaryDr. Emmanuel MARCQ (University of Versailles)Dr. David JACQUEMART (Sorbonne University)Dr. Laurence RÉGALIA (University of Reims)Dr. Séverine ROBERT (Royal Institute for Space Aeronomy, Belgium)

In line with its predecessors, ICEL 2026 will provide an excellent opportunity for the intellectual and social exchanges that keep our community closely connected. It will bring together participants from all over the world involved in the research, development, and manufacturing of emissive materials. A wide array of subjects will be explored, offering a comprehensive perspective on contemporary advances in these fields. We extend a warm invitation for the dissemination of recent breakthroughs in related topics, with a particular emphasis on fostering the active participation of young and motivated researchers.We especially expect to cover the following topics:Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence emittersRadical emittersOrganometallic complexesPerovskitesLasingCircularly polarized luminescenceLight emission from exciplexesGreen- and biophotonicsComputational modeling of light-emitting materialsAll practical information (registration, abstract submission, and accommodation) is available on the ICEL2026 website. Access the ICEL2026 website