You are a renowned chemist. What made you want to pursue this field? 

During an open day I attended, I had the opportunity to speak with a professor who convinced me to pursue Chemistry. According to her, it was a discipline in which there were more questions to ask than answers to give. I am naturally curious, and I have always been fascinated by open questions. 

Today, when people ask me for advice about choosing what to study, I always answer very simply: “Do you prefer solving problems or discovering problems?” For me, it is rather the second option. 

How did you start working on magnetism? 

I became interested in it during my second year at university. I had the opportunity to work on paramagnetic systems with my mentor, Dante Gatteschi. These materials have the particular property of developing a small magnetization in the presence of a magnetic field, although this magnetization is not permanent. 

At the beginning of my career, I discovered that some molecules could behave like small magnets. This is what is known as a single-molecule magnet (SMM). The interest of these materials lies in the fact that, when a magnetic field is applied to these molecules, they become magnetized and then take a very long time to return to their equilibrium state once the magnetic field is removed. This is referred to as slow relaxation time. This property makes it possible to store magnetic information for long periods of time. 

What were the implications of this discovery? 

At the time, physicists were investigating these types of effects, but they worked mainly with iron oxides, which had to be ordered—primarily in crystalline structures—in order for these effects to be observed. 

The magnetic properties of molecules are essentially defined by their chemical structure, which can be modulated more easily than the structure of inorganic solids. I therefore tried to draw the attention of various professors to this discovery, but it was difficult for me to gain their interest because I was a woman, I was young, and I was a chemist. I eventually had the opportunity to meet Professor Jacques Villain, a very well-known French theoretical physicist. He became fascinated by SMMs, and we began working together. Thanks to his interest in my research, other physicists also began looking into SMMs. 

You are also currently working on chirality. What is this phenomenon, and why is it interesting for your research? 

Through a project funded by the European Research Council (ERC), we recently started working on a phenomenon called chirality-induced spin selectivity. 

Chirality is a fundamental property of objects that cannot be superimposed on their mirror image. A chiral molecule therefore exists in two forms, called enantiomers, which are mirror images of one another and consequently cannot be superimposed. 

Spin, meanwhile, is a quantum property of a particle that gives it an intrinsic magnetic moment and, in simple terms, makes it behave like a small magnet. 

When electrons emerge from a chiral medium after passing through it, their spins are predominantly oriented in a particular direction, depending on which enantiomer was used to create the chiral medium. 

This is particularly interesting for applications such as oxygen production, artificial photosynthesis, and even the development of electrochemical systems. We use it to transform spin information into an electrical signal (spin-to-charge conversion). This makes it easier to detect the spin state of molecules by monitoring the electrical current. This is one of the main objectives of our ERC project, but it requires a multidisciplinary approach. To achieve this, we are working as a team with four partners, bringing together physicists and chemists in order to combine all the necessary expertise. 

Has being a woman influenced your career in research? 

At the beginning of my career, I encountered some difficulties in establishing myself in a field that was not originally mine and that was largely dominated by men. 

The only thing that can prevent us from building a successful professional career is imposing a mental burden on ourselves. Some women sometimes feel guilty when they are at work because they feel they are not present enough for their children, or conversely, that they are not sufficiently present at work. This is a pressure I refused to submit to by establishing, from the very beginning, a clear boundary between these two parts of my life. 

What message would you like to give to young people who are considering a career in science? 

First of all, it is important to have confidence in the future rather than trying to control it. Instability is part of life. I am thinking in particular of the day when I had to defend my PhD thesis in Rome with my seven-day-old child. Nevertheless, this did not frighten me because I know that there is a solution to every problem. 

Secondly, we should not forget that the most sincere motivation, and therefore the most enduring one, is to follow our own ideas. External recognition does not matter as long as our inner motivation remains strong. 

Finally, we must remain open-minded and never be afraid of change. Whether it is the people around us, the tools we use, or our opinions, everything can evolve. The important thing is to remain flexible and curious so that we never close ourselves off from new opportunities. 

Interview by Léa Ciparisse, UNamur, February 12, 2026. 

Their mission is to support and develop curiosity-driven research in Physics, Chemistry, and related fields, with the aim of “broadening and deepening our understanding of natural phenomena.” 

“2025 was the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Receiving the Solvay International Chair is a responsibility, especially for me, because it is the Solvay Chair in Chemistry, and I do not really consider myself a ‘true’ chemist, in the sense that I work somewhat at the interface between chemistry and physics. But I am convinced that, even though I do not work on the major research themes that currently dominate the field—catalysis, batteries, or CO₂ capture, which are very much in vogue—there are other areas in which Chemistry can play a role.” 

Roberta Sessoli, February 2026.

Using numerical simulation methods, his research allows him to investigate these properties at the molecular and even atomic scale. 

His research has numerous applications, from a technological perspective (OLED TVs and smartphone displays), to energy (photovoltaic cells and lighting panels), healthcare (monitoring devices and biosensors), and, more recently, quantum information (molecular qubits, quantum computing, and quantum cryptography). 

In addition to being a member of the Departments of Chemistry and Physics, he is also a member of the NISM Research Institute, where he has strengthened its multidisciplinary team of researchers working on the synthesis and functionalization of molecular systems and novel materials (from 0D to 3D), the design of solids with specific architectures, their surface properties, and the development of advanced techniques for studying their physicochemical properties. 

During high school, I had a teacher, Matthieu Dontaine, who managed to inspire me with his passion for physics. Since I already loved math and could pursue this program in Namur, I decided to go for it. At first, I didn’t have a favorite subject, but when I started taking courses in optics and biophotonics with Professor Jean-Pol Vigneron, I immediately found them fascinating.

Yes, bio-inspiration was a major theme during my studies at UNamur. I thought it was amazing to discover incredible physical properties right in nature. I remember Socrates, the snake in Professor Vigneron’s office. He used to tell us, “I study snake skins because they have iridescent colors, but also because they have an interesting structure that allows them to move.”

He also told us about the Morpho, that large butterfly with dazzling metallic blue wings. This fascination made me want to explore the subject further. Together with Professor Vigneron, we traveled to France, Panama, and even Bolivia to “hunt” for cicadas and butterflies in order to study their wings. Their surfaces are made up of successive thin layers that interact with light to create unique colors. 

My desire to grow led me, after three years, to Eclat Digital, a subsidiary of AGC Glass Europe. As a business developer for optical simulation software, I reconnected with the topic of my thesis during an exciting period filled with travel and discussions with high-level industry leaders.

My career path then brought me back to the heart of the product when I became product manager for FINEO: a new generation of insulating glass. This innovative product combines an ultra-thin design with exceptional thermal and acoustic performance, and is manufactured using a revolutionary process right here in Wallonia.

My professional journey ultimately led me to AGC Plasma Technology Solutions, where I’ve come full circle. Here, we manufacture and market the machines that enable the industrial-scale reproduction of the multilayer structures I once observed in nature. For example, we supplied the coaters used to produce the mirrors for the world’s largest telescope, built by the ESO in Chile. In a way, it’s a return to my roots.

On the contrary, that’s where I truly thrive! I really love the fact that this job combines a business aspect with solid technical knowledge. I get to keep traveling, meeting people, and discovering markets I’m not familiar with. I’m constantly learning, and that makes the work particularly stimulating.

Speaking of adventure, we had gone on a two-week “insect hunt” in Bolivia, in a remote area. On our last night, the camp manager told us: “I’m glad there weren’t any problems, but a big cat has been prowling around the camp for the past two or three days.” He didn’t want to freak us out. All in all, we were really lucky not to have been devoured!

These are magnificent fields of study that help us understand the universe. Without physics, we would be at a loss to understand the world around us. If physicists had never studied the electron, none of the modern electronic world would exist.

What I also particularly appreciated was being able to study at the University of Namur, a university on a human scale. The classes are small, which fosters a close relationship with the professors. You feel supported and guided there. Plus, they do cutting-edge science there that opens up so many doors! Who wouldn’t want, for example, to help develop 100% silicon anodes to increase battery life? That’s one of the challenges we’re tackling at AGC Plasma.

Based in Louvain-la-Neuve, AGC Glass Europe manufactures, processes, and markets flat glass for the construction sector (exterior glazing and interior design), the automotive industry, and other industrial sectors (transportation, solar energy, and high-tech). It is the European division of AGC, a global leader in flat glass. With approximately 12,300 employees, it operates more than 100 industrial sites across Europe.

For more information: www.agc-glass.eu (corporate website), www.agc-yourglass.com (glass for construction), www.agc-automotive.com (glass for the automotive industry).

Through its AGC Plasma Technology Solutions division, AGC Glass Europe is active in a business segment that offers its vacuum coating technologies to a wide range of industries outside the glass industry. For more information on the equipment and services offered by AGC Plasma Technology Solutions.

Six researchers have been awarded doctoral fellowships to begin their doctoral dissertations: Rachel LAURON from the Faculty of Sciences; Océane WATELET, Vera NOVAK, Camille LAMBIET, Alionka WÉRENNE, and Théodore HARDY (who received his grant from ULB under a joint supervision arrangement with UNamur) from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. 

Researchers from Namur also achieved great success in securing research fellow grants. Seven of them received this postdoctoral funding. They are Eleonor CELORA, Nataliya PUCHENKINA, Jérémy ARTRU and Bernardino PITOCCHELLI from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters; Romain MERTENS from the Faculty of Law; and David TALUKDER and François WOITRIN from the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Communication at SciencesPo (EMCP). 

In addition, two permanent F.R.S.-FNRS researchers at UNamur have been promoted to Senior Researcher: Francesca CECCHET and Yves CAUDANO, both members of the Department of Physics and the NISM Institute. 

The Télévie call for proposals also enabled Marc HENNEQUART to secure funding to begin research aimed at identifying the metabolic determinants of the response to arginine deprivation in pancreatic and colorectal cancers. 

Congratulations to them!

Heritage sciences are experiencing a resurgence at UNamur. This field of research—which involves applying techniques and expertise from the exact sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) to study ancient heritage objects—is reinventing itself thanks to the PHOENIX project, led by seven researchers from the Faculties of Science (Department of Physics) and Philosophy and Letters (Departments of History and Classical Languages and Literatures). 

“PHOENIX emerged from the collaboration of several researchers from different backgrounds, yet all driven by the same desire to study the materiality of heritage objects. One notable figure is Julien Colaux, whose predecessor had led the first heritage science projects at UNamur’s Laboratory of Analysis by Nuclear Reactions (LARN). It’s a sort of return to our roots,” recalls Nicolas Ruffini-Ronzani, a researcher in the Department of History, president of the PaTHs Institute, and one of the project’s leaders. 

With PHOENIX, researchers aim to “make” two types of objects speak: ancient coins and medieval parchments (see box). More specifically, their research is guided by three objectives:

• To understand the composition of the artifacts being studied. For the parchments, to identify the animal species (sheep, goat, or calf); and for the coins, to characterize the metal alloy.
• Gain a better understanding of the production and processing workflow. For example, determine which parts of the animal were used in the production of a parchment.
• To propose the most precise dating possible. 

It is in this last objective that the main challenge lies. “We won’t be able to date these objects to within a year,” warns Olivier Deparis, a professor in the Department of Physics and a member of the NISM research institute. “The idea is to provide a time frame that is as precise, if not more so, than that already provided by paleography (the study of ancient scripts) or textual analysis. If we can narrow it down to a quarter-century, that will already be a significant step forward.”

To achieve this, the PHOENIX team uses various non-invasive techniques, in particular infrared and Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and ion beam analysis (IBA). These approaches—which utilize UNamur’s state-of-the-art tools such as the ALTAÏS particle accelerator (see Omalius #36)—provide detailed information on the physicochemical composition of materials, such as the animal origin and ink formulations for parchments or the type of metal alloy for coins. “The use of the exact sciences will enrich our studies and thus allow us to better understand how these objects were produced in the past,” explains Nicolas Ruffini-Ronzani. “Contrary to what one might think, collaboration between the humanities and the exact sciences has a long history, dating back to the 19^th century, and even much earlier in the case of coins.”

These tools will make it possible to examine parchments and coins down to the finest detail, at the pixel level. These in-depth analyses therefore generate a colossal volume of raw data to process. This is where artificial intelligence comes into play to speed up the processing and reveal the information “hidden” in the data, identifying major trends invisible to the naked eye. 

Above all, it will provide a boost in meeting the challenge of dating the objects under study. Dated documents, such as charters, will thus be used as references to test the model’s robustness by comparing the results obtained with already known dates. “If the results are convincing, the technique could be applied to undated documents,” says Nicolas Ruffini-Ronzani. This would represent a significant breakthrough in historical research.

“The use of machine learning methods is not a panacea,” Olivier Deparis qualifies, however. “We wanted to explore it as an open-ended question to assess its benefits.”

PHOENIX could thus herald a new era for heritage sciences, where artificial intelligence—much like the phoenix after which the project is named—opens up new ways to analyze and understand materials from the past.

• Francesca Cecchet (Department of Physics – NISM and NARILIS Institutes)
• Lucas Baseil (Department of Physics – NISM Institute)
• Julien Colaux (Department of Physics – NISM and PaTHs Institutes)
• Olivier Deparis (Department of Physics – NISM, naXys, and PaTHs Institutes)
• Christophe Flament (Department of Classical Languages and Literatures – PaTHs Institute)
• Louise Fauchier (Department of Classical Languages and Literature – PaTHs Institute)
• Laurent Houssiau (Department of Physics – NISM Institute)
• Alexandre Mayer (Department of Physics – NISM and naXys Institutes)
• Giulia Morabito (Department of Physics – NISM and PaTHs Institutes)
• Nicolas Ruffini-Ronzani (Department of History – PaTHs Institute)
• Nicolas Gros (Department of Physics – NISM and PaTHs Institutes)
• Manon Bart (Department of Physics – NISM and naXys Institutes)

The PHOENIX project is funded by the Concerted Research Action (ARC) program from September 2024 to August 2029. It is a continuation of the interdisciplinary Pergamenum21 project, launched in 2014 by the Moretus Plantin University Library (BUMP) under the leadership of Professor Olivier Deparis and dedicated to the scientific study of parchment with a view to improving conservation practices.

Young people from Rochefort showcased the PHOENIX project at the international First Lego League competition, a robotics contest open to students aged 10 to 16. To align with the annual theme focused on new technologies in the field of archaeology, this team from the Rochefort Youth and Culture Center drew inspiration from IBA technology to develop a research game designed to identify the origin of Ancient Greek coins modeled using a 3D printer. Their project caught the jury’s eye and earned them a spot in the national finals, which took place last March. Beyond the competition, this original game will be presented during Family Day at the Malagne Archaeological Park (Rochefort).