ULB Research ⤶	Description of the Unit	Projects of the Unit	Composition
Collaborations of the Unit	Protected technologies	Publications	Skills

Computer Science and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

The spectacular developments in information technology and telecommunications have led, over the course of the last two or three decades, to a veritable revolution in the global economic system as well as in social relations and daily life. These developments are the fruit of fundamental research closely linked to logic and mathematics, and technological developments themselves often the result of fundamental research. The ULB is very active in numerous fields linked to computer science and ICT, including their social implications. This research is often conducted in close relation with companies and the regional authorities of Brussels and Wallonia, and has led to the filing of several important patents and the creation of a number of spin-offs. ULB research in the field of computer science focuses on algorithmics, cryptography, checking code robustness and optimising code, as well as on operational research methods with the aim of providing managers with reliable guidance in their decision-making. This theoretical research benefits practical applications, which in return pose questions to the theory side. The whole issue of artificial intelligence is addressed by several well-equipped teams, taking their inspiration in particular from the way animal communities function to develop innovative forms of robotics. For their part, physicists and engineers are joining forces to study quantum information science issues which may one day help us design ultra-fast quantum computers. ULB teams are also very much present in the field of photonic and telecommunication technologies. Last but not least, the processing of very large quantities of data coming from the sequencing of individual genomes has become a key tool for personalised medicine. The Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels (ULB-VUB), (IB)2, forms the basis for close collaboration between computer scientists, engineers, doctors and biologists. The IT-based methods used there also benefit a number of business-related applications (data mining, business intelligence).

Culture, Heritage and Society

UNESCO describes culture ''as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group. It encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.'' At the ULB, a large number of researchers are exploring these multiple breeding grounds of mankind, with interest focused on such top-notch archaeological sites as Apamea in Syria, the Bibracte oppidum in France, the Theban necropolis in Egypt or the Pachacamac site in Peru. Historians, philosophers, anthropologists, political scientists and linguists are studying the history of ideas, customs and societies, from antiquity to the present day. In addition to the West, the ULB is actively developing research into African and Asian civilisations. ULB has at its disposal outstanding expertise in the history of religions and secularism, gained through a multidisciplinary approach. In the field of philosophy, much of ULB research focuses on epistemological, bioethical and political dimensions. The arts - literature, visual arts, music, theatre arts, film, cartoons - are at the heart of a number of ULB research projects, focusing in particular on the European area and the specific features of Belgium, the Mediterranean and North America. In the field of languages (theoretical and applied linguistics, syntax and semantics, rhetoric and argumentation, etc.), various research models are looking at both plain language and more specific language forms. Last but not least, in terms of its local roots, the ULB is acknowledged for its research focus on Brussels and the city's history, heritage and identity.