Two new projects in framework of the BEWARE Fellowships programme
Thanks to the BEWARE Fellowships programme, the University of Namur will welcome two new post-doctoral students. Within the research institutes naXys and NaDI and in collaboration with the companies CISEO and SAVICS, they will contribute to the development of two projects. The first aims to design an intelligent robot for the pharmaceutical industry, and the second, a secure system for sharing decentralized data.
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Do you speak AI?
Katrien Beuls is undoubtedly a fine example of the growing number of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. After a rather literary career, guided by her curiosity, she began studying computer science and became interested in computational methods for processing human language with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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Belgium-Tunisia collaboration: geological and ecological challenges
On Thursday 29 September 2022, the Vice-Rector for International Relations, the International Relations Service and the Department of Geology received Professor Fakher Jamoussi (Tunisia) as part of the "Tunisia on the move - 2022" project. For more than twenty years, the teams of Professors Johan Yans and Fakher Jamoussi have been weaving scientific, didactic and human collaborations aiming at enhancing the fabulous subsoil of Tunisia.
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From the Namur snail to the Galapagos snail, there is only one step!
An international team of researchers, including Prof Frederik De Laender, from the University of Namur, publish in Nature Communications. The editor highlights that the authors use theoretical models and field data to show how eco-evolutionary processes can force species to develop more similar characteristic traits in more species-rich communities to avoid competition. Which goes against what we intuitively perceive.
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Cybersecurity: why we are all concerned
In the course of 2021, 42% of Belgian companies suffered a cyber attack. Those targeting citizens are no less numerous: more than 4.5 million suspicious messages have been sent to Safeonweb, the government body responsible for informing Belgian citizens about computer security. More than ever, at a time when the geopolitical context reinforces the threat of a cyberwar, how can we cope? Jean-Noël Colin, cybersecurity expert, professor at the Faculty of Computer Science of UNamur and member of the NaDI Institute, gives us an explanation.
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Geologists discover that pterosaurs had feathers
A pterosaur from Brazil that preserved melanosomes in its feathers provides insight into the function of primitive feathers. An international team of palaeontologists and geologists, including UNamur (Dr Aude Cincotta and Prof. Johan Yans), has demonstrated that pterosaurs, the flying cousins of dinosaurs, had feathers and were able to control their colour.
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The long-term effects of pollution in our rivers, oceans and lakes
From 11 to 13 May 2022, a hundred or so scientists and actors from the economic and cultural world gathered at UNamur to discuss the issue of water pollution. The aim? To share and enrich knowledge, but also to alert and inform about its long-term effects on fauna, flora and human beings. Scientific sessions, workshops and a conference for the public were on the programme for these three days.
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NHNAI project: when democracy meets artificial intelligence
Increasingly sophisticated technologies are invading our spheres of activity without our prior consultation as citizens. Shouldn't the new digital tools, artificial intelligence or technologies resulting from progress in neuroscience, which are transforming our identity and social relationships, be the subject of broad and sufficiently informed democratic debates? This question is at the heart of the international "research-action" project "A new humanism in the age of neuroscience and artificial intelligence" in which UNamur is participating.
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Fluorescence: A Closer Look at Insects’ Transparent Wings
In a new study published in February 2023 in the Journal of Luminescence, an international team of scientists led by Sébastien Mouchet of UNamur has revealed previously unknown fluorescent properties of the transparent wings of certain insects. This research demonstrates that valuable information can be obtained using state-of-the-art optical characterization techniques. Here’s how it works.
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