Name Responsible Activity "Expertise Centre for Digital Media" "Frank VAN REETH" "The EDM performs research in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with a mind for possible applications in industry or society.The core competence areas of EDM are:Visual Computing, with special attention to image and video based visualization, modeling, rendering and animationHuman-Computer Interaction (HCI), investigating multi-modal interaction in 3D virtual environments, context-sensitive and adaptive user interfaces, interactive collaborative workspaces, model-based user interfaces and finally user-centered software engineering;Multimedia networking, situated mainly in networked virtual environments, large scale virtual communities and interactive multimedia systems.The EDM participates in iMinds, the Flemish Strategic Research Centre for ICT." "Applied Computer Science Lab" "Frank VAN REETH" "The EDM performs research in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with a mind for possible applications in industry or society.The core competence areas of EDM are:Visual Computing, with special attention to image and video based visualization, modeling, rendering and animationHuman-Computer Interaction (HCI), investigating multi-modal interaction in 3D virtual environments, context-sensitive and adaptive user interfaces, interactive collaborative workspaces, model-based user interfaces and finally user-centered software engineering;Multimedia networking, situated mainly in networked virtual environments, large scale virtual communities and interactive multimedia systems.The EDM participates in iMinds, the Flemish Strategic Research Centre for ICT." "Human-Computer Interaction and eHealth" "Karin CONINX" "The HCI and eHealth research unit performs research in Computer Science, focusing on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). eHealth is an important application domain in the overall research portfolio of the group. The HCI and eHealth research unit is led by Prof.dr. Karin Coninx, and the group has vast experience in basic and applied research, often in the context of a multi-/interdisciplinary research consortium. The most elaborated research lines are (1) technology-supported neurological rehabilitation and (2) prevention and rehabilitation for cardiac patients, next to exploratory research in a number of other Health related and technology-supported contexts. This research is driven by a stakeholder-oriented perspective (e.g. patient-centric approaches, design and development of tools for medical professionals that enhance efficiency and effectiveness, user experience engineering, persuasive design techniques, personalisation). At the same time, our work builds on solid know-how in computer science and Human-Computer Interaction (e.g. mobile computing and sensor-based data collection, interaction in virtual and augmented environments, serious games, (rehabilitation-)robotics and haptic feedback, methodological topics in user-centred software engineering,). We apply a grounded research methodology (e.g. building on theory and developing models and guidelines for design, setting up formal experiments in line with evidence-based approaches,). With a stakeholder-oriented perspective, (software-)technical know-how and solid methodological approaches, our research unit enhances links between end-users, medical and rehabilitation partners, and other technical partners in a multidisciplinary research collaboration. The main research lines of the HCI and eHealth group are:User-Centred Software Engineering; research on user-centred methodologies and tool development to support interdisciplinary design- and development teams; User Experience engineering and evaluation; participatory methods; application of these methodologies in diverse domains such as eHealth, Computer Linguistics,In-depth Human-Computer Interaction research in a selection of topics (based on former research); persuasive interactive systems, motivation, personalization and adaptivity, gamification /serious games, intelligible visualizations, virtual and augmented reality Example project: serious games (GWAP / Games With a Purpose) for in linguistics in Hercules COSER;HCI in technology-supported cardiac rehabilitation and prevention: telerehabilitation; theories/models/applications of Persuasion; theories/models/applications of Shared Decision Making; self-management apps and motivational apps; e-learning tool development; guideline-based exercise prescription + decision support system (EXPERT-tool); Example projects: H2020 CoroPrevention; FWO-ICA (international coordination action) EXPERT network, TBM PRIORITY, SharedHeart study (former BOF PhD),HCI in technology-supported neuro rehabilitation: robot-based rehabilitation with haptics, training environment with serious games, sensor-based tangible devices and environment for hand skill training with gamification, (mobile applications for) the combination of cognitive and motor skills in training and assessment; mobile app to stimulate exercise (walking) and assessment of fatigue, Example projects: Interreg I2-CoRT (accelerator for innovation in rehabilitation technology with e.g. serious games and robotics; finished 2021), internal projects with WalkWithMe app and dual tasking application,The HCI and eHealth research unit of Hasselt University is a separate research group in the Faculty of Sciences, Computer Science since November 2021, after being embedded for a long time in UHasselts Expertise Centre for Digital Media, EDM." "Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology" "Pieter Ballon" "The research centre for Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication was set up in 1990 by Prof. Dr. Jean-Claude Burgelman at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, within the department of Communication Studies. In 2000, Prof. Dr. Caroline Pauwels became director of the centre. SMIT research focuses on socio-economic and policy aspects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and underlying infrastructures. It combines both fundamental (PhD's) and applied research, and has been active in short and long term, as well as national and European research projects. Over the last 15 years the centre has known a steady growth both in terms of personnel as in terms of research output. The centre endeavours an interdisciplinary course: the majority of researchers are communication scientists, but within the projects they work in close conjunction with sociologists, political scientists, lawyers, economists etc. In search for structural trans-national collaboration, it has concluded a research agreement with the Dutch TNO-STB in 2001. ICT and the advent of an information and knowledge society leads to new forms of organising work, education, leisure, social interaction, political participation, health, well-being etc. In this way, ICT do impact on every aspect of the life of the 'networked individual'. The latter being at the core of SMIT's research agenda, projects are articulated under 4 main topics: citizenship, health and well being, media and communication, and culture/leisure. In order to contribute to the rise of a 'user-friendly' Information Society, SMIT indeed has a triple, intertwined research scope. * First, the social shaping of technologies must be studied, as well as their 'domestication' (making a technology one's own) in daily practices and routines. By studying user-related aspects of technology appropriation and domestication, SMIT aims at formulating recommendations ex ante technological engineering. * Secondly, for a user-friendly information society to emerge, policy and regulatory options and foresights are studied and evaluated on their inherent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. * Thirdly, SMIT studies the way ICT influence corporate and institutional behaviour, objectives and output (content, innovation of services). Moreover, SMIT performs in-depth analyses on how ICT affect the overall business modelling of converging multimedia and multiplatform industries. A micro, meso and macro level underlies different research projects. On a policy level, SMIT research indeed focuses on sub national (local (city), regional (Flanders)), national (Belgium) as well as trans-national (EU, worldwide) initiatives, and their underlying (in)consistency. On a corporate and institutional level, research ranges from attention for SMEs to trans national industrial conglomerates involved in telecommunications, computing and media.... As far as the social groups are concerned, SMIT's research projects encompass how both individuals, specific target groups (micro-enterprises, elderly people, youngsters, NGO's...), and Civil Society as a whole use ICT in the organisation of their different activities. Schematically, this constitutes the SMIT's research agenda. Through its research, SMIT is seeking to fill a number of empirical and theoretical gaps in communication science research, attributing equal importance to both theoretical (evaluation, explanation) and empirical verification/falsification (facts and figures). Moreover, a normative stance underlies all research projects: research setups should avoid technological, social and economic determinism. It seems indeed right to stress that SMIT believes that not everything that is technologically possible or economically viable, is socially relevant or worthwhile pursuing. Concepts as equal opportunities for all, social inclusion, bridging the digital divide, community building, cultural diversity... are at the core of SMIT's research concerns. SMIT research, in its methodological articulation, and depending on the topic under scrutiny, combines user, policy and business analysis (see scheme) with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In order to develop new methodological tools, a continuing dialectic between theory and empirical research is one of the centre's high-level objectives. Over the years, three methodologies have become the core of SMIT's research agenda: * user analysis, encompassing * policy analysis * business modelling 1. User analysis Understanding the everyday use of ICT through socio-technological research is one of SMIT's key objectives. We investigate how sociological and economic trends influence ICT developments and vice versa. This process of 'mutual shaping' between society and technology is at the core of the research approach. On the one hand this implies a thorough examination of how and why new media are adopted and used. On the other hand this also requires an investigation of how these media technologies can influence and support developments on different levels in society. Our mission is to translate these findings to industry and policy settings. For this we envisage three main outputs. First of all the research on ICT usage feeds into technological design and development decisions, preferably early on in the R&D process. Second a critical reflection on the interplay between society and ICT supports social, economic and technological policy decisions. Third the user research looks at how the role of 'the user' changes and reconfigures business models of converging ICT and media industries. In order to examine the ICT user we use different techniques, with a focus on qualitative methods. The interpretative approach is ideal for understanding why and how the (potential) user makes sense and behaves in certain ways, when being confronted with (new) media technologies. For this we ground our research on analytical induction, which involves different techniques like in-depth interviews, focus group interviews and ethnographic observations. These techniques are complemented with quantitative methods, like logging analyses and (online) surveys, to enable triangulation of empirical findings. The most optimal set-up for examining everyday use of ICT is confronting (potential) users and (demonstrators of) communication technologies in a real life setting. This kind of test and experimentation platform is called a 'living lab'. It is an experimentation environment in which technology is given shape in real life contexts and in which (end) users are considered 'co-producers'. Setting-up and conducting living lab research is one of SMIT's core expertise domains. 2. Policy Analysis Policy considerations have always been at the heart of our research on media, ICTs and telecommunications policy. SMIT sees policy analysis as an overall analytical framework to understand government policy--both in its actions and inactions--and regulation. In our studies on policy formulation we often start from a political economic point of view and look at how policy comes about, how different stakeholders influence policy and how different layers of policy formulation interact and what the consequences are. We complement this analysis with more evaluative approaches, both formal--assessing outcomes and impacts against formal objectives and goals--and normative--assessing outcomes and impacts against theoretical and moral frameworks. SMIT has--both at the fundamental and more applied level--worked at different policy levels, from the regional (Flanders), over the national (Belgium, Holland, South Africa), to the supranational (EC) and international level (WTO, World Bank, ECA, etc.). In terms of our prescriptive studies we mainly rely on methods and insights related to our political economic studies, user studies and business modelling. In 2003 e.g. we conducted a preparatory study for Cultuurnet Vlaanderen, looking at user aspects of ICTs and cultural participation, formulating recommendations for a segmented approach. In 2004 e.g. we formulated a best-practice study on eDemocracy in Europe and recommended lessons for Flanders for viWTA/Flemish Parliament, etc. More recently SMIT is starting to extend its methodological toolkit in the direction of foresight studies making use of more qualitative research methods, both in its policy and business modelling studies. E.g. in 2005 we elaborated scenario's on home care in Flanders for the next 10 to 15 years on the basis of scenario brainstorms with stakeholders. 3. Business Modelling Increasingly, innovation in ICT services is carried out by networks of private (but also public and semi-public) actors. A common business model is a prerequisite for the success of such innovations. Interest in the concept of business models has been closely linked to the rise of Internet-based e-commerce. The (additional or alternative) channels offered by the on-line environment spurred firms to devise new ways of interacting with their customers, be it end users or other companies. Through various forms of disintermediation and re-intermediation, more direct or value-added ways of interaction between firms and customers seemed to become possible. In the telecommunications sector, interest in the concept of business models has been fuelled by the (partial) unbundling of technical functions and economic roles, caused mainly by technological developments and regulatory pressure, and the expectation of a range of new value-added telecommunications services. For telecommunications firms, the main questions to be solved by new business models are those connected with shifting firm boundaries and the complex provision of new services. The growing notion of a telecommunication system as a complex structure of cultural, process and technology components engineered to accomplish organisational goals, creates the need to analyse just what happens in such systems. This integrated view is what sets business models apart from other models for business design, i.e. process models, business cases etc. Therefore, we define ""business model"" as a description of how a company or a set of companies intend to create and capture value with a product or service. A business model defines the architecture of the product or service, the roles and relations of the company, its customers, partners and suppliers, and the physical, virtual and financial flows between them SMIT helps private and public actors to increase the value of ICT innovations through: * Analysis and benchmarking of existing business models * Scenario construction and development of new business models * Analysis of viability and potential implications of future business models" "Informatics Section" "- Study of declarative programming languages (logic & functional) and their applications. - Efficient implementation of declarative programming languages. - Development tools for declarative programming languages, incl. tools for program analysis, verification and transformation & tools based on abstract interpretation. - Knowledge representation & reasoning in logic programming, representation of open knowledge domains, non-monotonic, abductive and temporal reasoning. - Inductive logic programming : methods for knowledge discovery and data mining. - Constraint logic programming with applications in rostering and scheduling. - Hypermedia: authoring aspects; structure, content and representation; design of hypermedia applications, hypermedia data modeling, design and implementation of open distributed hypermedia systems; integration of query and navigational access. - Telematics for Open and Flexible Learning: distributed database of learning resources; hypermedia course development; integrated distributed environment for authoring and delivery of educaitonal material. - Framework based architectures and patterns for system software - Execution environments and runtime systems for distributed applications : multi agent systems, internet applications, HPCN applications, real-time applications. - Frameworks for fault tolerance, performance optimization and security for distributed applications. - Language support for concurrency, coordination and distribution- Study of object-oreinted programming languages (C++, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Java,...) aimed at the definition of a coherent set of coding rules. - Methods for object-oriented design (Booch, OMT,...) with special interest for design patterns. - Object-oriented analysis, emphasizing a complete and formal specification of a software system's requirements. - Study of formal specification languages in different areas (algebraic specifications, LTOS, Z,...). - Computer Graphics, rendering and phot-realistic image synthesis : Monte Carlo image rendering methods, finite-element solutions, combination of forwards and backwards light transport, modelling for global illumination." "Structural Mechanics" "Geert Degrande" "Research in the Structural Mechanics Section of the Department of Civil Engineering focuses on the static and dynamic analysis of structures. Five related research lines are developed: (1) vibrations in the built environment, (2) vibration based structural identification and evaluation , (3) building acoustics, (4) shape and topology optimization, and (5) computational structural engineering. Model development is supported by laboratory and in situ experiments. The Structural Mechanics Section has powerful computer hardware and software, and modern vibration measurement equipment.Vibrations in the built environment. Vibrations originating from road and railway traffic, construction activities, machine foundations and earthquakes propagate through the soil and excite building foundations. Low frequent vibrations (1-80 Hz) may cause disturbance of sensitive equipment, annoyance to people, and structural damage. Ground-borne vibrations of walls and floors may also cause re-radiated noise between 16 and 250 Hz. Numerical models for the prediction of vibrations and ground-borne noise in buildings are developed and validated. Models are used to design vibration mitigation measures and to perform environmental impact studies. Accurate prediction of vibration requires detailed knowledge of material and geometrical properties, which are identified by means of in situ experiments and inverse modelling. Research focusses on quantification and reduction of model and parameter uncertainty; hybrid prediction models; dynamic soil characteristics; models for rail induced vibrations accounting for parametric excitation; design of vibration mitigation measures using topology optimization; efficient methodologies for large scale dynamic soil-structure interaction problems; vibration induced damage of unreinforced masonry buildings; seismic vulnerability analysis of buildings in low to moderate seismicity areas.Vibration based structural identification and evaluation. Vibration monitoring of civil engineering structures (bridges, buildings, dams, wind turbines) gained a lot of interest, due to the relative ease of instrumentation and the development of new powerful dynamic system identification techniques to extract modal properties (eigenfrequencies, mode shapes, modal strains) from accelerations, displacements and/or strains. Operational modal analysis (using output-only data) opens the way for in situ model based diagnosis and structural health monitoring. Damage assessment can be based on observed changes of modal parameters extracted from vibration measurements. Research focusses on extension of the frequency domain by adding measured artificial forces; use of new sensor types (optical fiber strain sensors, 3D camera or laser based optical systems); determination of optimal sensor locations; automation of the modal parameter extraction process; inverse methods for model tuning, damage assessment and dynamic load identification; virtual sensing methods to estimate unmeasured response quantities from data provided by a limited number of sensors and a structural model; validation of complex interaction models (vehicle-bridge or human-structure interaction).Building acoustics. Many people are affected by noise from traffic, industrial and construction activities or the neighbourhood, resulting in activity disturbance, social tensions and health problems such as sleep deprivation, damage to hearing and cardiovascular diseases. Research on building acoustics focuses on sound-structure interaction with the aim of improving the acoustic quality of buildings and the built environment. Numerical prediction models and experimental techniques are developed for gaining fundamental insights on sound transmission, sound radiation and sound absorption, and for analysing and improving the acoustic properties at the material, component, and building level. Special attention is paid to the many uncertainties that are encountered across the audio frequency range, as this is key for achieving robust solutions. Research objectives are efficient sound transmission modeling through complex building elements and systems; development of techniques for experimental identification of vibro-acoustic parameters; and quantification of prediction and identification uncertainties in order to achieve robust solutions.Shape and topology optimization. Research on size, shape, and topology optimization is developed in collaboration with the Architectural Engineering group of the Department of Architecture. Integration of optimization in computer aided engineering enables design optimization, aimed at finding the best compromise between cost and performance. Research objectives are robust design optimization accounting for data and modelling uncertainties; and development of novel solutions for mitigation of vibration and noise in the built environment.Computational structural engineering. This research line involves the theoretical and numerical modeling of innovative or complex materials and structural systems, with a focus on the failure behavior of civil engineering structures (buildings, bridges, off-shore structures, earth-retaining structures) under static, dynamic and environmental loading conditions. An accurate prediction of the non-linear structural response is achieved through the development of modern advanced numerical models, involving well considered constitutive models, spatial and temporal discretization, and accurate and robust solution schemes.Research objectives are development of robust integration techniques for the non-linear structural response; efficient analysis of the failure modes of structures and materials, including the development of parallel computational strategies for large scale problems; and development of computational techniques for long term cyclic loading with applications to the fatigue behavior of brittle building materials and soils." "Electronics and Informatics" "ETRO (Electronics and Information Processing) focuses on three major topics: devices and electronic technology (LAMI) on the one hand, and on the other hand the processing of information through electronic means in fields related to digital images and video (IRIS) and speech (DSSP). 1. IRIS studies how to map image processing algorithms on appropriate architectures for efficient implementation, image and video compression, data visualisation, pattern recognition, tracking based on visual cues and various aspects of machine vision in applications like satellite image analysis, medical imaging, industrial visual inspection, anti-personnel mine detection. 2. DSSP studies the analysis, modification, and (re-)synthesis of acoustic speech signals by digital processing equipment. It deals with diverse fields, among which are digital signal processing, pattern recognition, phonetics and software/hardware development. 3. In micro-electronic technology research (LAMI), the emphasis of the research is on optical/electrical interconnect technology, new opto-electronic/electronic devices and the design of mixed analog/digital circuits. Together, the three subunits within ETRO are covering a wide range of generic technologies in the field of Information Technology, which cannot be dealt with separately when the real world applications of the 'information society' are envisaged." "Electrochemical and Surface Engineering" "Annick Hubin" "The research group of Electrochemical and Surface Engineering -SURF- is the merger between the former research groups 'Metallurgy, Electrochemistry and Materials Science' within the 'Materials and Chemistry' department, META/MACH, and 'Computational Electrochemistry Group' within the 'Electrical Engineering' department, CEG-ETEC. Research revolves around 5 cross-linked areas in electrochemical engineering, (nano) surface engineering and their combination" "LSEC - Leaders In Security" "LSEC (Leaders In Security) is a European not-for-profit association focused on Information Security, operating from Belgium. It is a Cybersecurity Competence Centre in Belgium. The association is based upon the corporate membership of more than 13.000 individual members, representing over 3.500 end user organisations from a variety of vertical sectors mainly in the Critical Infrastructure domain (ICT, energy, finance, transport, healthcare, government, …) and centred around more than 465 Core Members. The Core Members are the representatives from the information security industry with European dedicated SME’s and large companies focusing on industrial security challenges like SecurityMatters, IntrinsicID, Firmalyzer, Digital Security, Secudea, Flowmon, … and global expert organizations like FireEye, Fortinet, Crowdstrike, McAfee, Symantec, RSA (the Security Division of EMC), PwC, Dimension Data, KPMG, Deloitte and many others. Within the association there is representation of more than 70% European Security SME’s. Also amongst the core members are ict security research institutions throughout Europe, associated members (industry associations, financial services, and other critical infrastructure operators such as smartgrid, energy, e-commerce and other networks. Partners include other associations such as the bank regulators, state security, CERT.EU, DFN-CERT, CERT.RO, FEDICT, EC3 and other government and LEA-type organisations. LSEC is a Digital Security Catalyst with fundamental expertise in the domain of user requirements interests, having identified the context of their environment, and fundamental developing needs as parts of applicable scenario’s for current and future risk management considerations. cybersecurity, ict security, data security, cloud security, security management, identity, access control, authentication, virus, malware, analytics, AI, machine learning, virtualization security, kubernetes, containers, web application security, firewall, intrusion detection, firmware, intrusion prevention, CIA, confidentiality, mitigation, continuity, retention, end point protection, multi party computation (MPC), privacy enhancing technologies (PET), distributed ledger technologies (DLT), crypto, encryption, AES, RSA, mobile, industrial control systems, industry4.0, industrie4.0, cybersecurity for robotics, Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, NIST, ISO 27000, IEC62443, data protection, privacy, GDPR, AVG,  ... " "Materials and Surface Science & Engineering" "There is a historical tradition in the field of materials research in Flanders, and in particular metallic materials. The research biotope is unusually versatile and includes several leading actors. Besides! The universities with extensive faculties or departments of materials science (including UGent, VUB) consist of various knowledge institutes such as OGAS, CRM, VITO, SCK and Flamac, which are active in the field of (metallic) material research in Flanders. In addition, oak is a significant industrial activity in the metal production sector with several major companies such as Arcelor-Mittal, Bekaert, Aleris Aluminum, SAPA and Umicore. The VZ \ / 11 Strategic Initiative for Materials (SIM) was also recently established. Applicants of this joint research group are actively embedded in this network of material-related activities."