Projects
Carbon cycling from a catchment perspective: an integrated approach to terrestrial-aquatic linkages in the Tana River basin (Kenya) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Characterization of the ecological and biogeochemical functionality of microbial community structures via compound-specific isotope analyses Ghent University
This project aims to test and validate the use of selected biomarkers as indicators for the variation in the active microbial community structure in grassland soils via compound-specific stable isotope analyses. This will lead to new insights regarding the role of microbial communities in C and N cycling in grassland soils and how this varies with land-use and climate change (i.e. increased greenhouse gas concentrations).
Rethinking Roman Nutrition. Assessing the nutritional biochemistry and stable isotope chemistry of archaeobotanical cereals and pulses from Roman Egypt. Vrije Universiteit Brussel
MEDICIS-produced radioisotope beams for medicine. KU Leuven
Pure accelerated radioisotope beams have been used for 50 years in fundamental physics R&D, e.g. for nuclear structure studies (pear shaped exotic nuclei, Nature 2013); CERN-ISOLDE plays a central role in developing accelerator technologies and fostering collaborative approaches to advance this field of isotope mass separation online. Our most recent contribution was the use of nanomaterial targets for more intense and reliable beam ...
New strategies for monitoring and risk analysis of hazardous chemicals in the marine environment 'Passive Samplers' Ghent University
The NEWSTHEPS project will develop innovative approaches and novel practical techniques that address the current fundamental scientific and methodological issues related to the implementation of Good Environmental Status (GES) for Descriptor 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in national and European waters.
In this research project, novel and integrated passive sampler (PS)-based approaches (modelling and measurements) ...
Search and Study of Antartic meteorites, Belgian contribution SAMBA Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Meteorites are the left over building blocks of the Solar System. As such they provide valuable clues to its origin and evolution as well as to the formation of the planets. The majority comes from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, extremely rare ones were ejected from the deep crust of the Moon and Mars during large impact events. The meteorites are classified in groups corresponding to ...
Atomic scale observation of atom distributions in 3D devices using atom probe tomography KU Leuven
The rapid growth of the semiconductor industry over the past several decades was enabled by scaling of the integrated circuits to smaller physical dimensions, which allowed to increase their performance simultaneously decreasing their cost. However, due to this decrease of dimensions, the complexity of semiconductor devices had to be increased to preserve and improve their functionality. New device architectures and additional materials are ...
Radiometal laser and mass separation for innovative medical applications KU Leuven
Cancer is one of the major causes of death in our society, and a burden on people and the economy. Distributed cancers are most challenging. Chemotherapy is the most common treatment, accompanied with important secondary effects. However, targeted radionuclide therapy (TRNT) is a promising alternative, where a radiopharmaceutical product – consisting of a delivery drug linked to a radioactive element – is delivered selectively to cancer ...
Modelling the current and future impacts of liana infestation on the demography and biogeochemical cycles of tropical forests Ghent University
Tropical forests are currently experiencing large-scale structural changes, the most apparent being the increase in liana abundance and biomass. Lianas (woody vines) are a key growth-form of these ecosystems where they constitute up to 40% of the woody stems. The (structural) parasitic relationship they impose on trees leads to increased tree mortality, decreased tree growth rate, and hence overall reduced forest carbon sequestration. Climate ...