Four Scientists from ULiège Awarded by the Royal Academy of Belgium
Researchers from the Faculty of Sciences, François Beaufay, Şftefan Marincea, Xavier Raick, and Lauriane Soret, have been awarded one of the fifteen prizes of the Science Class of the Royal Academy of Belgium. This recognition highlights the excellence of their work in their respective fields of research.
François Beaufay, Laureate of the Léon and Henri Fredericq Fund Prize (Physiology of All Organisms)
François Beaufays , a lecturer at the Centre for Protein Engineering (CIP), focuses his research on the plasticity of bacterial genomes. His work has revealed the existence of structures in bacteria analogous to eukaryotic chromatin. These structures play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression and significantly contribute to bacterial evolution and adaptation. A striking example of this phenomenon is the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance within bacterial populations.
Established in 1969, the Léon and Henri Fredericq Fund aims to honour researchers whose work has been conducted in laboratories based in a European Union country. The prizes awarded by the fund recognise the entirety of a researcher’s published work, regardless of the publication date.
Şftefan Marincea, Laureate of the Henri Buttgenbach Prize (Geology)
Ştefan Marincea is a researcher at the Geological Institute of Romania and a visiting researcher at the Geology Laboratory of the University of Liège. His research focuses on mineralogy and the formation conditions of skarns, which constitute significant mineral deposits in Romania.
Established in 1945, the Henri Buttgenbach Prize rewards research in mineralogy, petrography, or palaeontology.
Xavier Raick, Laureate of the Jean Lebrun Fund Prize (Ecology and Biogeography)
Previously an assistant at the Department of Biology, Ecology, and Evolution (Faculty of Sciences) at ULiège, Xavier Raick is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Cornell University (NY, USA) and a visiting researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MA, USA). He remains actively involved at ULiège as a scientific collaborator with the UR FOCUS research unit. His research in passive acoustics explores aquatic environments and their inhabitants, with a focus on low-frequency sounds (fish and whales) and, more recently, high-frequency sounds (invertebrates and dolphins). The Jean Lebrun Prize has been awarded to him in recognition of his work in fish ecology and bioacoustics.
Established in 1988, the Jean Lebrun Prize is awarded every three years by a jury to recognise research in the fields of ecology and biogeography conducted during the three years preceding the competition deadline.
Lauriane Soret, Laureate of the Agathon De Potter Prize (Astronomy)
Lauriane Soret, a planetary scientist and scientific collaborator at the F.R.S.-FNRS, conducts her research at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Planetary Physics (LPAP) at ULiège. Her doctoral thesis focused on nocturnal emissions (nightglow) in Venus’s atmosphere, analysed in infrared using the VIRTIS instrument aboard the Venus Express mission (ESA). She also studies Martian auroras using the ultraviolet instruments SPICAV (Mars Express, ESA) and IUVS (MAVEN, NASA). Additionally, she analyses Martian dayglow and nightglow using UV and visible data from NOMAD/UVIS aboard TGO (ESA). Her research aims to deepen our understanding of the composition and atmospheric dynamics of Venus and Mars, as well as their interactions with the Sun.
Established in 1919, the Agathon De Potter Fund provides financial support for participation in conferences or research missions abroad.
About the Royal Academy of Belgium
The Académie Royale de Belgique is a scientific and cultural institution founded in 1772 to promote science, literature and the arts in Belgium. It brings together experts from a variety of fields and is organized into four classes: Sciences, Letters and Moral and Political Sciences, Arts, and Technology and Society. Its main role is to encourage research, publish academic works and advise the authorities. It also organizes conferences and colloquia, and awards scientific prizes. Its headquarters are in Brussels, at the Palais des Académies.
