Research institut

Institute of Life, Earth and Environment

Welcome to ILEE, the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment at the University of Namur, committed to addressing pressing environmental issues.We bring together a team of experts from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to work collaboratively using innovative technologies and rigorous scientific methods to make meaningful contributions to the field of environmental science. 

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Research institut

Transitions

The Transitions Research Institute brings together researchers in the humanities and social sciences to study the major changes affecting our contemporary societies. Faced with multiple environmental, democratic, economic, health, and social tensions, our development models, institutions, and ways of living together are being called into question. 

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Article

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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Article

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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Article

Vincent Jacquet, the political scientist who scrutinises citizens' assemblies

In the summer of 2022, we set out to discover the UNamur Qualified researchers who were awarded funding by the FNRS in 2022. We met Vincent Jacquet, a member of the Department of Political Science and the Transitions Institute. His research focuses on citizen participation and its impact on solving the crisis of democracy.
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Article

An ERC Starting Grant for F.R.S.-FNRS qualified researcher Vincent Jacquet!

In the summer 2022, we met Vincent Jacquet, a qualified researcher from UNamur, to obtain his FNRS qualified researcher mandate. Today, we meet him after the signature of an ERC Starting Grant for his project CITIZEN_IMPACT.
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Article

An ERC Starting Grant for Professor Jérémy Dodeigne

Jérémy Dodeigne, professeur de sciences politiques à la Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales et de gestion de l'UNamur, et président de l’Institut de recherche Transitions vient de décrocher une prestigieuse ERC Starting Grant de près de 1,5 Millions d'euros pour son projet POLSTYLE.
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Research fields

ILEE combines a broad range of basic, applied and social science skills that focus on three key areas of study, including historical perspectives and extensive partnerships with the global South.
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Characterization and management of natural resources

The availability of natural resources for future generations can only be ensured through prudent use.
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Human-Environment Interactions

Through a variety of chemical, biological and physical factors, humans are modifying ecosystems, often with negative results. Environmental changes, in turn, affect the dynamics of human populations.
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Biodiversity and evolutionary adaptation

For four billion years, life on earth has been evolving and transforming in response to environmental change, resulting in fluctuating biological diversity. Ecosystems provide humanity with a wide range of free services that must be managed responsibly.
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Environmental history

Since arriving on Earth, man has begun to influence and modify his environment.
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