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Molecular Synthesis, Materials, Energy Engineering


Contributing to economic development and improving the living conditions of our fellow citizens and mankind in general, working with a view to sustainability, respecting the planet's limited resources and taking care to bequeath to future generations a better-balanced world - these are the challenges that engineering and applied physics and chemistry are increasingly having to face up to. At the ULB, several well-endowed teams are working on developing new materials meeting up to sustainable development requirements, with a particular focus of different surface treatments, research into ''smart'' materials, organic polymers or LCD semiconductors. In the energy field, key to sustainable development, research is focused on developing such renewable energy forms as photovoltaics, wind turbines and biomass, optimising the generation of traditional energy forms, and problems associated to transport and energy consumption. The optimisation of industrial processes, in particular the study of catalysis, and the problems involved in sustainable construction are at the heart of a wide range of research efforts. One of the drivers of this research at the ULB is the collaboration with the theoretical teams, whether in physics, chemistry, nanoscience or mathematical modelling. Such research is often conducted in collaboration with companies, and benefits from substantial funding from the regional authorities of Brussels and Wallonia (in particular the GreenWin, Mecatech and Skywin Business Development Clusters), and from EU funding (framework programmes). Outcomes include the filing of patents and the creation of spin-off companies.


Structure of Matter and Science of the Universe


What are matter, space and time? What are the fundamental forces of nature? Where does our universe come from? How is it going to evolve? How do we explain the emergence of complex systems from simple constituents? A large number of ULB researchers are very active in different fields of science - both theoretical and experimental, as mathematical physics and string theory, quantum gravity, theoretical and experimental particle physics, astroparticle physics, cosmology, astrophysics and exoplanet research, nuclear physics, theoretical chemistry, quantum chemistry, experimental spectroscopy, complex systems and non-linear processes. All this work is fully in line with the ULB's strong tradition of theoretical research going back to Théophile De Donder (1872- 1957), and upheld by Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003), winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1977, François Englert (born in 1932), Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 and Robert Brout (1928-2011), winners of the Wolf Prize in 2004 or, on a more recent note, Marc Henneaux and Pierre Gaspard, holders of the Francqui Prize. Much of this research is conducted in dialogue with other disciplines, whether fundamental or applied: mathematics and computer science, theoretical biology, engineering, materials science, medical imaging, electronics, instrumentation, etc. Among the top achievements in the experimental field we need to highlight the contribution by Jean Jeener (born in 1931) to two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, an invention behind today's medical imaging.


The Environment, Earth Science, Population Science and the Science of Organisms


Preserving biodiversity and fighting the negative effects of climate change are two of the century's major challenges. Free and independent scientific research is essential for tackling the problems and coming up with the right solutions: the critical spirit characteristic of science is concerned with the societal implications, though needs to remain independent of political and business interests. At the ULB, multidisciplinary teams are working on paleoclimatology issues via the study of old polar ice, on the processes at work in the atmosphere using satellite data, on exchanges between the atmosphere, land cover and oceans, and on the evolution of the Earth and volcanology. Research into living organisms covers a wide spectrum, ranging from fundamental research in theoretical biology, the molecular biology of plants and animals (including the emergence of living organisms), up to field studies in various regions of the world, looking at such things as insect communities, marine biology, the ecosystem of tropical mangroves, plant biodiversity in Central Africa (with exceptionally well-stocked collections), or the numerous forms of interaction between human beings and the environment. One of the outstanding ULB names in this field is Paul Duvigneaud (1913-1991), an internationally recognised figure in the field of ecology and in particular the urban environment from the 1950's onwards. The research conducted at the ULB often leads to very concrete projects, looking for instance at the phytoremediation of soils, understanding the migration of plants and animals associated with climate change and human activity, the spread of avian Influenza, or aquaculture in a tropical environment.