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ML research team
The research team is led by the principal investigator (PI), Professor Michaël Lobet, an FNRS Research associate, who is a member of the Department of Physics and is also affiliated with the NISM Institute (NOP Research Cluster) and the IRDENa Institute. The team is composed of postdoctoral researchers, doctoral students, and master’s students, with the team’s composition varying from year to year and depending on the projects.
It strives to be as diverse and inclusive as possible. It is also very proud of its network of alumni, which has grown over time and has contributed significantly to the team’s development. Committed to excellence, the research team has won numerous prizes and awards.
Promoter (PI) | Michaël Lobet
My research focuses on photonics, materials science, quantum physics, and solid-state physics. I study light-matter interactions at the nanoscale in the broadest sense: metamaterials, photonic crystals, plasmonics, nonlinear optics, photovoltaics, the electrodynamics of 2D materials and materials with a refractive index close to zero, molecular electronics, and biophotonics.
Team composition
Louys Bertand
First-year master's student in physics
Areas of interest
- Numerical modeling of NZI materials
- Study of the impact of superradiance phenomena
Adrien Debacq
FNRS Research Fellow
Areas of Interest
- Fundamental study of laser dynamics in NZI media
- Design of NZI laser cavities
- Numerical modeling of near-field effects in NZI materials
Robain De Wolf
First-year master's student in physics
Areas of interest
- Numerical modeling of twisted photonic crystals
- Moiré photonics
Julie Henry
Master's in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Computer Science
Areas of Interest
- Computer Science Education
- Implementation of AI Chatbots in the Classroom
Sara Lahlali
Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Physics
Areas of Interest
- The Impact of Generative AI on Education
- AI and physics education
Henri Lemineur
Master's student
Areas of Interest
- Numerical modeling of twisted photonic crystals
- Moiré photonics
Abhishek Padhy
Ph.D. in Physics
Areas of Interest
- 2D Photonic Systems and Twisted Photonics
- Simulation of electromagnetic waves using methods such as RCWA, PWE, and FDTD.
Lucas Viseur
Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Physics
Areas of interest
- aerospace engineering
- Applications of metamaterials and metasurfaces to the design of future spacecraft
- thermal control, stray light reduction, and improved optical systems
Alumni
From most recent to oldest (year of completion).
- Tim Laboureur (2026) | Master’s thesis with Professor A. Füzfa as co-advisor. Title: “Modeling the Optical and Dynamic Properties of Photonic Sails for Directed-Energy Propulsion.” Next step: Aldoria
- Martin Bearzatto (2026) | Internship on the near-field properties of 2D ENZ materials. Next step: researcher at the Fresnel Institute, Marseille
- Kevin Persoons (2026) | Master’s thesis with Professor G. Dias de Carvalho Jr. as co-advisor. “Comic Books as a Teaching Tool for Energy Education in High School: A Practical Analysis.” Next step: Confluent des Savoirs - UNamur
- Thaïs Nivaille (2025) | Master’s thesis with Professor A. Füzfa as co-advisor. Title: “Study of light propagation around optical black holes in gravitational analogues.” Next step: “Ways” training program
- Mathias Soumoy (2024) | Master’s thesis: “Characterization of Resonant Cavity Photonic Devices for Slow Light Applications.” Next step: Junior Associate at McKinsey
- Lorenzo Koenig (2023) | Thesis at ULg under the supervision of Professor O. Absil as thesis advisor. Title: “Development of Metasurface Implementations for High-Performance Vortex Phase Masks.” Next step: Postdoctoral fellowship at NASA’s JPL.
Hall of Fame | Awards and Honors
Awards (from most recent to oldest)
- Adrien Debacq: Second place for best poster in the session held at the NISM Annual Meeting 2024 (M.L. PI)
- Adrien Debacq: Award for Best Poster as voted by the audience at bePOM 2024 (M.L. PI)
- Adrien Debacq: First prize in the Best Poster Contest at the 2023 International Scientific Meeting of the Belgian Physical Society (M.L. PI)
- Lorenzo Koenig: Best Contributed Talk at the Belgian Photonics Online Meetup 2022 (M.L. co-PI)
- Bruno Majérus: Belgian Physical Society Award for one of the three best Master’s theses in Physics, 2017 (M.L. co-PI)
- Michaël Lobet: Young Speaker Award from the Belgian Physical Society, 2017 (1st prize)
- Michaël Lobet: Georges Vanderlinden Prize from the Royal Academies of Sciences and Arts of Belgium (Quadrennial Prize, 2013–2016)
- Michaël Lobet: Belgian Physical Society Award for one of the top three Master’s theses in physics, 2012
- Michaël Lobet: Best Poster Award presented by the Quantum Electronics and Photonics Division of the Institute of Physics (UK) at the Photon12 conference (Durham)
Grants (in chronological order)
- “Physix, Energy,” media grant, Wernaers Fund, 2024, 14k€ (Jean-Marc Dubois and André Fuzfa).
- GenAI4Students, PUNCH-UNamur, 30k€, 2024–2025 (Principal Investigator, with Benoit Frenay, Julien Colaux, and Julie Henry as co-Principal Investigators).
- MOONSHINE: Moiré phOtONic platformS for enHanced light-matter iNtEractions, National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), PDR Funding period: Jan. 2024–Dec. 2027, Budget: 483 k€ (Principal Investigator, with Benoit Hackens-UCL as co-Principal Investigator).