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At the beginning of each academic year, the Board of Trustees grants Namur Research College (NARC) Fellowship status to researchers who demonstrate a high level of research achievement and who have recently received a prestigious award or funding. A look back at the fellowship of Professor Frederik De Laender.

In 2021, the European Union has embarked on a titanic project to safeguard the genomes of all eukaryotic species in Europe. In other words, all living organisms, with the exception of bacteria and archaea (micro-organisms). Called ERGA, for European Reference Genome Atlas, and in which UNamur is participating thanks to Professor Alice Dennis, this project hopes to help safeguard biodiversity, at a time when a fifth of European species are in danger of extinction..

The F.R.S.-FNRS has just published the results of its various 2024 calls. Equipment calls, research credits and projects, FRIA doctoral grants and Mandant d'Impulsion Scientifique (MIS), there are many instruments to support fundamental research. Find out more about UNamur's results.

The Institute hosts five types of research seminars. These seminars bring together members to discuss a variety of topics and are generally held during the day.

Catherine Linard, a researcher in the Department of Geography at UNamur, was recognized for her work at the intersection of geography and epidemiology. This Francqui-Collen fellowship will allow her, starting in September and for the next three years, to be relieved of most of her teaching duties so she can devote more time to her research on the influence of environmental changes on the spread of infectious diseases. 

"Methods" is a series of seminars co-organized by the Transitions and Development Finance & Public Policies (DeFiPP) Research Institutes at the University of Namur with the aim of promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and the exchange of knowledge. All seminars are held in a hybrid format.The "Methods" seminar series focuses on cutting-edge methodological approaches, particularly in the fields of natural language processing (NLP), artificial intelligence (AI), video and image analysis, and multimodal analysis.

By offering several modules to students in healthcare training programs that focus on learning through play, the University of Namur’s Faculty of Medicine is setting itself apart in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. These methods, which educational coordinator Hélène Givron explored in her dissertation, place communication at the heart of the learning process.

AbstractIn this work, I aimed to accurately simulate the Raman optical activity (ROA) signatures of flexible solute molecules in their environment. Indeed, these systems are quite challenging due to the potentially huge number of conformers—that is, local minima on the potential energy surface (PES). Furthermore, the environment can drastically alter the PES, as evidenced by experimental ROA spectra that vary significantly depending on the molecule’s conformation and its surroundings. To address this issue, we have developed a hierarchy of methodologies designated M1, M2, and M3. In M1 and M2, the so-called static approach is used: one or more conformers are identified, their geometries are reoptimized at the Density Functional Theory (DFT) level, and their vibrational signatures are simulated, typically using the harmonic approximation. The initial list of conformers was obtained using the CREST algorithm. In M1, the solvent is treated implicitly, whereas in M2, explicit solvent molecules are added around the solute molecule. In M3, we perform ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the solute molecule surrounded by explicit solvent molecules. The spectrum is obtained by evaluating time-correlation functions along the trajectory. Our first systems of interest were cryptophane derivatives. These are flexible cage-like systems consisting of two hemispheres connected by three -O-(CH₂)n-O- (denoted Cr–nnn) linkers that exhibit chiroptical properties. For Cr–111, the smallest possible cryptophane, the M1 methodology showed good agreement with experimental data, especially in the fingerprint region. However, we demonstrated that the relative ratio between the different conformers was strongly influenced by the choice of the exchange-correlation (XC) functional in our DFT calculations, highlighting the sensitivity of the potential energy surface (PES) description. Cr–222 molecules have been shown to be more flexible, as evidenced by a greater number of significant conformers. The overall agreement with experimental data was also satisfactory. Finally, to test our different approaches (M1–M3), I performed new ROA measurements of amino acids in water at the University of Bordeaux in Dr. Daugey’s laboratory. When compared to our simulations, we clearly observed an improvement in the ROA signatures when explicit water molecules were added to our simulations (M2 vs. M1). Unfortunately, the M3 method did not perform as expected, and further investigation is needed. Overall, I have shown that the PES, as described by our various methodologies, is highly sensitive to various simulation parameters—such as the XC functional, the number and position of explicit solvent molecules, and so on—and that all of these factors strongly influence the simulated ROA signatures.JuryProf. Francesca CECCHET (UNamur), ChairProf. Vincent LIÉGEOIS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Benoît CHAMPAGNE (UNamur)Prof. Carine CLAVAGUÉRA (University of Paris-Saclay)Dr. Nicolas DAUGEY (University of Bordeaux)

AbstractEnvironmental change rarely occurs as a single, isolated event; organisms and communities typically experience one stressor against the backdrop of another that has already passed. Arunima Sikder’s doctoral thesis examines whether an organism’s past environment shapes its response to the environment that follows, and whether that influence propagates upward to affect the stability of the communities to which these organisms belong.The thesis addresses this question in Synechococcus sp., a globally significant marine primary producer, using thermal and chemical stressors as its two environmental drivers. Working across three levels of biological organization, the study examines how past environments shape responses to subsequent ones—whether they occur in sequence, fluctuate, or occur in combination—using functional traits as the common metric for measuring these responses.The results reveal three key findings. First, sensitivity to a stressor depends on the sequence of exposure, not on the stressor alone. Second, response diversity predicts community stability only when measured under the community’s actual acclimation history, rather than under sustained conditions as conventional wisdom assumes. Third, an apparent contradiction in biodiversity–ecosystem function theory—a negative relationship between functional diversity and performance.Together, these findings suggest that sensitivity, response diversity, and functional diversity should be treated as state-dependent quantities rather than fixed properties, with implications for how the performance of biological systems is measured and modeled under increasingly variable environmental conditions.JuryProf. Alice DENNIS (UNamur), ChairProf. Frederik DE LAENDER (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Maren STRIEBEL (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg)Prof. Giulia GHEDINI (Monash University)Prof. Eli THORÉ (UNamur)

Organized by the Children's Rights Unit of the Vulnerabilities & Societies Center. Information and registration

What the management of "foreign terrorist fighters" and their children says about the fight against terrorism, a carte blanche by elise delhaise, coline remacle and chloé thomas, devoted to the repatriation of the children of Belgian jihadistsLa chronique Carta Academica: ce que la gestion des "combattants terroristes étrangers" et de leurs enfants dit de la lutte contre le terrorismeLa chronique carta academica: "bulles sociales et covid-19: un réveillon qui fait du bruit", a carte blanche by nathalie basecqz and elise delhaise in the December 19, 2020 issue of le journal le soirNew elections, a solution? S. Wattier, in the futureFederal negotiations: one month to go before political chaos, s. Wattier, eveningAbortion law: the need to preserve women's rights, convictions and democracy, s. Wattier, le soirFederal negotiations: mouth-to-mouth, the self-proclamation of June 17, s. Wattier, le soirWhite card "alexander i: le premier gouvernement fédéral qui fait place à la diversité de genre", s.wattier in the newspaper le soir"Après le califat, l'embarras", e. Delhaise, c. Remacle, c. Thomas, la revue nouvelle Pilot projects integrated prevention against burn-out whose commission was chaired by v. FlohimontChronique "pourquoi apprécions-nous tant avoir des règles à suivre à la lettre?" la libre.be - l. RizzerioThe pandemic proves that commitment to the common good is not an abstract idea - la libre, l. RizzerioA step closer to social eugenics? La proposition de loi n° 55-1029 modifiant le code civil en vie d'instaurer une protection juridique prénatale - a paraître dans le jdj, j. FierensCoronavirus: we are all vulnerable, la libre.be, column by Madame l. Rizzerio Isolate? Regroup? What to do with prisoners convicted of terrorism? Interview with Mr. f. Xavier Could the decrees banning ritual slaughter be overturned? in the evening, Madame s. Wattier

Researchers at the Unit study, among other things: children's rights protection systems; children's vulnerability; children's best interests; children's right to autonomy and participation; children's procedural status; children's rights in the context of youth welfare and youth protection: the rights of the child in parentage and adoption law; the rights of the migrant child; the right of the child to a non-violent education; the rights of the child in the digital environment; the rights of intersex children; the rights of transgender children.The Unit's activities are manifold: promotion of doctoral theses and research projects; teaching and training (intervention in the Master de spécialisation interuniversitaire en approche interdisciplinaire des droits de l'enfant, the Certificat en approche interdisciplinaire des droits l'enfant, the Certificat en accompagnement de l'accrochage scolaire et social and the Certificat en approche multidisciplinaire des maltraitances infanto-juvéniles) ; organization and participation in colloquia, conferences, seminars in Belgium and abroad; publication of individual and collective works, articles, commentaries and proceedings; consultancy activities for public or private bodies; links with the associative world (Service Learning); collaboration with universities abroad.List of membersGéraldine Mathieu - Professor and Director of the UnitGilles Abel - Scientific collaborator and philosopherAline Bodson - Doctoral studentEmma Bourcelet - Assistant and doctoral studentManon Brulard -. ResearcherAurélie Cassiers - LecturerCéline Derclaye - Assistant and family mediatorAurore François - Visiting professorMarie Goffaux - Scientific collaborator, lawyer at the Namur BarEmilie Hermans - Doctoral studentPauline Mailleux - AssistantMichaël Mallien - Visiting lecturer, lawyer at the Brussels BarBee Marique - Didactic collaborator, lawyer and family mediator at the Dinant BarFrançois-Xavier Polis - Scientific collaborator, adolescent psychiatrist, director of AthanorAnne-Catherine Rasson - Scientific contributorMathieu Rolain- Didactic contributor and lecturerAgathe Willaume - Scientific contributor, director of SMAJ Other units Health, Social and Well-being Unit Vulnerabilities and Citizens' Rights Unit The CSS