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One year after receiving funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for his B-Yond project, Prof Guillaume Berionni has just been named a Fellow of the prestigious European chemistry society Chemistry Europe. This distinction makes him the new representative for Belgium for a period of 2 years.

Characterization of trehalase from Acyrthosiphon pisum for the design of new insecticides SummaryAphids are major pests in agriculture, causing direct damage to plants and acting as vectors for phytopathogenic viruses. Conventional insecticides are widely used to control them, but their toxicity and efficacy pose problems in terms of the environment, human health and the emergence of resistance to these compounds. New alternatives are therefore needed, such as biological control using predators or parasitoids. However, these methods are not always economically viable on a large scale. As part of this thesis, another approach is being explored which involves developing new insecticides targeting the biochemical functions of aphids.The project aims to discover new inhibitors of trehalase, an enzyme essential for insect energy metabolism. Inhibition of this enzyme could disrupt vital insect functions without affecting mammals. This research involved several stages: the purification and complete characterization of trehalase from Acyrthosiphon pisum (the model for this study), the in vivo, in vitro and in silico analysis of commercial inhibitors on this enzyme, before moving on to the search for new inhibitors. Two points of integrated insect management were explored, biological and chemical control.The biological side saw the study of a strain of Streptomyces naturally producing trehalase-inhibiting metabolites, notably validamycin A, a molecule recognized in the literature as one of the best inhibitors, but not applicable as an insecticide. Other molecules appear to have interesting features, but we have not been able to isolate and characterize them.The chemical side has enabled us to create a pharmacophore hypothesis based on experimental results on molecules obtained by virtual screening. Although these molecules are not usable as insecticides as they stand, this hypothesis provides a better understanding of trehalase inhibitors in general and can be used to refine future analyses. JuryProf. Jean-Yves MATROULE (UNamur), presidentDr Catherine MICHAUX (UNamur), promoter and secretaryProf. Frédéric FRANCIS (ULiège), co-promoterProf. André MATAGNE (ULiège)Dr Rudy CAPARROS (ULiège)Dr Morgan HANS (Biocidal)

Initiated in 1969 by Pullmann and Del Re, the congress is an annual meeting to promote collaboration and friendship between Latin-speaking theoretical chemists. In its early years, European researchers were the main contributors. Subsequently, the Latin American community has made a major contribution, with the emergence of teams whose international reputation now extends far beyond our own community.We are delighted to be holding this meeting at the University of Namur, 55 years after the first CHITEL was organised in Paris, France. We are sure that this 2024 edition will once again be an opportunity to take advantage of the good humour and dynamism of Latin to encourage, develop and strengthen scientific exchanges.We look forward to welcoming you at the University of Namur,The CHITEL 2024 Local Organising Committee. Website

Let's go and discover the qualified researchers of UNamur, winners of the funding granted by the FNRS in 2022. Today, we meet Michaël Lobet, currently a lecturer at UNamur, who will begin his new mandate as a qualified FNRS researcher at the NISM Institute next fall. The subject of his research: twisted optics for the manipulation of slow photons or how to create light traps. Explanations.

While still only a dream, the quantum computer is the subject of intense research. The Artemis project, funded by the European Union (EU) and involving UNamur, aims to develop new sources of single photons, and thus lay the technological foundations. A member of the project, physicist Yves Caudano hopes, at the same time, to further explore the foundations of quantum physics.

ECOBAT is an EOS project (FNRS/FWO) that brings together four universities: UCLouvain, KULeuven, the University of Bonn (Germany), and the University of Namur. This consortium currently mobilizes some twenty researchers at all levels (Masters, PhD students, post-docs, promoters), including Dr. Pierre Beaujean, under the supervision of Professor Benoît Champagne..

HPC-MM representatives Permanent members Prof. Yoann OLIVIER +32 (0) 81 72 45 34 yoann.olivier@unamur.be NOP representatives Permanent members Prof. Olivier DEPARIS +32 (0)81 72 52 35 olivier.deparis@unamur.be Non-permanent members Dr. Sébastien MOUCHET adrien.debacq@unamur.be SICN representatives Permanent members Julien COLAUX +32 (0)81 72 54 70 julien.colaux@unamur.be Non-permanent members Emile HAYE lucas.schoenauen@unamur.be FSM representatives Permanent members Nikolay TUMANOV nikolay.tumanov@unamur.be Non-permanent members Tarek BARAKAT anthony.morena@unamur.be

At the 12th International Congress on Mesostructured Materials (IMMA), held from July 8 to 12 in Montpellier, Prof. Bao-Lian Su was re-elected President of the International Mesostructured Materials Association (IMMA).

Program 8:50 | Welcome, registration, and poster setup9:20 | Welcome speechFirst morning session 9:30 | Vladimir N. Uversky - University of South Florida, USA - "Dancing protein clouds: strange biology and chaotic physics of intrinsically disordered proteins" 10:15 | Marie Skepö - Lunds Universitet, Sweden - "Structural and conformation properties of IDPs: computer simulations in combination with experiments" 11:00 | Coffee breakSecond morning session11:30 | Peter Tompa - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium - "Fuzzy interactions of IDPs driving biomolecular condensation"12:15 | Sonia Longhi - Aix-Marseille Université, France - "Intrinsic disorder, phase transitions, and fibril formation by the Henipavirus V and W proteins"13:00 | Lunch and poster sessionAfternoon session14:30 | Sigrid Milles - Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, Germany - "Intrinsically disordered proteins in endocytosis: an NMR and single molecule fluorescence perspective"15:15 | Jean-François Collet - Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium - "How disorder controls the transport of lipoproteins in the cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria" 16:00 | Closing speech16:10 | Networking Beer Time at "Le Chapitre"VenueUniversity of Namur, auditorium Pedro Arrupe (PA02), rue de Bruxelles, 65-67 - 5000 Namur (#21 on the campus map) Download the programme (PDF) Download the campus map Registration guidelines Registration feeStudents (PhD students included): 25 €Seniors: 40 €Payment - Bank transferPayable before 6 December on the account:Name: Université de Namur - ASBLIBAN: BE10 2500 0740 2704BIC: GEBABEBBPlease mention your name/CPO4136330 /e-mail in the payment communication. Abstract guidelines Send us your abstract before 6 December by email: pdid.meeting@unamur.beFormat: Word document, maximum 1 page A4, Times New Roman  Registration All deadlines (registration, payment, abstracts) : 6 December 2024

will take place from September 2 to 6, 2024 at the Gîte du domaine d'Haugimont (owned by the University of Namur) and will deal with medieval manuscripts in their material and historical aspects (parchment and ink manufacture). The event is aimed at historians, archaeologists and researchers in the physical and chemical sciences. Participation is free for doctoral students attached to FNRS doctoral schools in the disciplines concerned. At the crossroads of archaeology, history and the exact sciences, this colloquium-workshop will give the floor to three speakers (a physicist, a chemist and a historian) who will present the interdisciplinary research they are conducting together in this field. Workshops on parchment reproduction, inks and writing materials will be held each day.More information on the event .

The NISM Institute's Multi-scale Modeling through High-Performance Computing (HPC-MM) cluster aims to share techniques, skills and computational tools to develop new materials and predict their final properties. It also aims to improve modeling techniques and computer codes to take into account most of the chemistry and physics of structured matter.