Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Picturing the Roman Army in Third-Century Egypt. Roman Tombstones from the Military Necropolis at Nicopolis." "Katelijn Vandorpe" "Ancient History, Leuven" "Following the defeat of Marc Antony and Cleopatra in 30 B.C., a Roman fortress was established southwest of the newly founded town of Nikopolisnear Alexandria in Egypt. Its necropolis was located close to the fortress and produced more than 140 tombstones, most of them associated with legio II Traiana fortis. Only a small minority has been discovered in situ; the major part has been sold on the antiquities market in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As a result, the tombstones are now scattered among various museum collections (Alexandria, Port Said, Tanta, Cairo, Suez, London, Warsaw, Brussels, Marseille, Bologna, Stockholm, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Barcelona, Athens, Paris, Uppsala and Edinburgh). I have reconstructed this corpus by combining the method of museum archaeology with criteria such as language (primarilyLatin), material (primarily marble, presumably from Asia Minor), size (diminutive) and iconography. The tombstones, previously published in scattered studies with no particular attention to their dating or iconography, are now for the first time available to scholars in a single volume. " "Fighting crime and corruption? Police forces, army and society in Late Hellenistic and Roman Egypt." "Katelijn Vandorpe" "Ancient History, Leuven" "Following the final defeat of Marc Antony and Cleopatra in 30 BC, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire. Some traditions remained unbroken, but fundamental changes were made to the criminal justice system – including the police. In spite of what historians have long assumed, Egypt had a police system, although nothing like modern police. The evidence shows a wide spectrum of officials carrying out police work. The Roman rulers not only introduced various new types of police officials, but also disbanded Egypt’s professional police, which had long since existed. Roman soldiers henceforth acted as the strong arm of the law alongside local policemen. This project seeks to examine how the coming of Roman rule transformed the role of police and army in Egyptian society, addressing the gap in the secondary literature on the impact of Empire. To assess the role of the police in Egypt, I will discuss how effectively the police system dealt with violence and other threats to public order, and how the interaction between people and police influenced or even interfered with their efficiency. Recent studies on the effectiveness of the police system tend to generalise conclusions, drawn from particular evidence or police duties, to the police system as a whole. I will offer a more systematic treatment of the complex social context of the police system in Late Hellenistic and Roman Egypt by introducing a new approach, taken from the concept of social control from sociology." "Fighting Crime and Corruption. The Impact of Police Forces and Army on Village Life in Graeco-Roman Egypt." "Katelijn Vandorpe" "Ancient History, Leuven" "My research focuses on police forces in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, with particular attention to the impact of Greek and Roman rule on the organization of these forces. Fundamental changes were undoubtedly made to the policing system under Greek and Roman rule, but a comparison between the Ptolemaic and Roman police forces may reveal more continuity than scholars have acknowledged. In the past, scholars were primarily interested in writing a history of violence in Roman Egypt, using petitions for evidence about what sorts of crimes were committed and who committed these crimes against whom. Hardly any attention has been paid to the army as police force an sich in Roman Egypt or to the internal institutions of villages to ensure the safety of its residents. My research aims to provide an innovative approach by (1) comparing the Ptolemaic and Roman police forces with each other, (2) studying the specific policing duties of the army and police forces in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt and (3) providing a social context by examining the interaction between villagers and police forces, with particular attention to the impact of corruption on their relationship. The evidence attests that local people made regular use of police forces, a fact that is, however, incompatible with the general belief that there was an atmosphere of mutual hate and distrust. Closely connected to the topic of interaction between the villagers and police forces is the corruption among military and civilian officials." "Because I am Greek: Polyonymy and the Expression of Ethnicity in Ptolemaic Egypt" "Mark Depauw" "Ancient History, Leuven" "The use of double names in Graeco-Roman society has fascinated many researchers and is mentioned in numerous studies. Despite the abundance of references, however, no comprehensive and up-to-date investigation of the phenomenon exists. Whereas earlier works had a merely classifying approach, more recent studies are usually confined to case-studies combined with some sociological remarks. To fill in this gap, my colleague Yanne Broux and I have each written a dissertation on polyonymy and the use ofdouble names, as a part of the project Creating Identities in Graeco-Roman Egypt (M. Depauw, W. Clarysse, K. Vandorpe, 2008-2012), with respective focus on the Ptolemaic and the Roman period. The approach of thesestudies is interdisciplinary, incorporating both Greek and Egyptian (hieroglyphic, demotic and Coptic), papyrological and epigraphic documents.Statistical research is combined with modern theoretical research aboutidentity. The chronological division into Ptolemaic and Roman period may seem a rather arbitrary decision, since traditions in naming patterns were not abruptly overthrown with the conquest of Egypt by Augustus. Theend of Ptolemaic regime is, however, not merely a chronological dividing line: with the arrival of the Romans, the social structure in Egypt changed. Since naming patterns are closely related to society, the regime change can serve as a useful finishing and starting point. The intentionis, moreover, that taken together, these two studies offer a complete chronological overview on the subject. The aims of my study are twofold. In the first part, a full investigation of polyonymy in Ptolemaic Egypt will be conducted. In the second part, a specific subset of polyonymous persons, those combining a Greek and an Egyptian name, will be used to investigate the expression of ethnicity in Ptolemaic society. Although social interactions in Ptolemaic society can be approached from many angles, both concepts of polyonymy and ethnicity provide us with a useful framework for outlining these relations.393 polyonymous individualshave been identified for the Ptolemaic period. Their references are listed in the prosopography in Part III. In Part I of this study, the prosopographical data are used to discuss the historical, onomastic and social aspects of polyonymy and double names. In chapter three, the history of polyonymy in Egypt, from the Old Kingdom up to the Ptolemaic period, is sketched on the basis of previous studies. The subject of double namesoutside Egypt is also briefly touched upon, in order to answer the question on the origin of polyonymy and double names. Chapter four, the longest chapter, starts with a chronological and geographical investigation of double names, but also investigates the types of document in which both names were used together. In the next part, the formulation of doublenames is examined: the Egyptian and Greek formulae that were used to connect the two names are discussed, as well as the (problematical) use ofjuxtaposition. The position of the double name in the genealogical string is presented separately for the Egyptian and Greek documentation. Thethird part of the chapter treats the onomastic aspects of polyonymy. After chronologically and geographically examining the combinations of names from different linguistic origin (e.g. Egyptian-Egyptian or Greek-Egyptian), attention goes to the different types of names used (e.g. theophoric or basilophoric) and the relationship between both names (e.g.  semantic (meaning), phonetic (sound) or linguistic (abbreviations)). The last part of chapter two discusses the identity of polyonymous persons, outlining different facets such as gender, age and social position. Special attention goes to the seemingly higher popularity of double namesamong women; the moment of allocation of a second name; and the social position of polyonymous persons, mainly on the basis of titles and ethnics. Finally, chapter five revolves around the motivations for polyonymy and the reasons for using the two names together as a double name. Family membership, religious devotion, political allegiance and ethnic identity can all be expressed by using different names. It is this last motive, the articulation of membership of an ethnic community, that will be examined in the second part of this study. The seventh chapter of this study focuses on Greeks and Egyptians before the Ptolemaic period. First the expression of identity by these two ethnic groups is discussed separately, after which the history of their encounters is sketched. At the beginning of chapter eight, previous studies on the relation between Greeks and Egyptians in Ptolemaic Egypt are summarised. The constant factor in these discussions is the degree of fusion and separation between the two main ethnic players in society. By means of the above outlined flexible definition of ethnicity, however, these seemingly contradictory themes of fusion and separateness, of creating and crossing borders, can be reconciled. The last part of chapter two deals with the possibility of ethnicity to create borders; some texts give us an idea of thetensions that may have lingered between Greeks and Egyptians; the same ethnic division is found in the Ptolemaic tax system, where being Greek (or Hellene) was a privileged status. Ethnics were also used for official identification. While most of these markers originally indicated origin, some of them evolved into pseudo-ethnics and could be acquired through serving the Ptolemaic king. As such, a privileged Greek status wasnot reserved for those of Greek origin or descent. Many of these new-Greeks assumed not only a Greek ethnic but also a Greek name. The choicebetween their Greek or Egyptian name seems to have depended on the perceived ethnicity of the context they operated in. This contextual switching of identities according to the ethnic space is the topic of the ninthchapter. On the basis of some case studies of bilingually polyonymous persons, the importance of ethnicity in diverse domains of Ptolemaic society is discussed, including court, administration, army and religion. The topic of bilingual polyonymy amongst women is also examined here. The division of Ptolemaic society in these particular spheres is somewhat artificial, with many individuals combining functions in several of these domains. Each of them nevertheless highlights some specific aspects, contributing to the larger picture of polyonymy and the expression of ethnicity that emerges." "Pioneering the Modernisation of the Laws of War and Peace: Balthazar de Ayala (c. 1548-1584) and the Emergence of the Law of Nations" "Randall Lesaffer" "Division for Roman Law and Legal History" "The field of international law owes a significant debt to the works of Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) who, together with Alberico Gentili (1552-1608), has been recognised as a progenitor of a modern and secular law of nations. While much scholarly attention has been devoted to their contributions, other influential authors have predominantly remained in their shadow. One of these is Balthazar de Ayala (c. 1548-1584), a Leuven educated jurist and auditor-general in the Army of Flanders. While in the service of the Spanish Crown, Ayala witnesses the fight against the Dutch Revolt and writes a treatise devoted to the justification of the Spanish war effort in the rebelling Low Countries. His work, De iure et officiis bellicis et disciplina militari libri tres, is both unique and radical. By drawing on a wealth of historical source material, Ayala combines three distinct literary traditions – the laws of war, the duties connected with war and military discipline – to lay the foundations for a new perspective on the laws of war and peace. His focus on legality rather than morality is a radical departure from his theological precursors, and an uncharted source of influence for his successors. This PhD research seeks to establish Balthazar de Ayala as the missing link between late-medieval legal scholarship and Grotius’ subsequent synthesis of the canonist, civilian and theological (i.e. neo-scholastic) traditions within the law of nations. To this end, this research will combine a close study of his written work with an investigation of how Ayala’s experience in the field correlated with his theory. In doing so, the proposed research aims to innovatively demonstrate that Ayala’s influence on modern international law has been greater than previously thought." "Life and death of legionary soldiers in third-century Agypt. An interdisciplinary study of tomb monuments of Legio II Traiana Fortis." "Katelijn Vandorpe" "Ancient History, Leuven" "This interdisciplinary project starts from funerary monuments of Legio II Traiana Fortis, originating from the necropolis of Nikopolis in the neighbourhood of Alexandria (third century). They belonged to legionary soldiers, their wives and children. The tomb stones have been dispersed over several collections: the major part is kept in Alexandria; the other tomb stones are now in Europe and the US. The project will result in two volumes. In a first volume the Latin and Greek texts will be edited and the reliefs will be described and interpreted. In a second volume a historical and iconographical analysis will be presented. The historical section aims at a better understanding of the military presence in third-century Egypt, the military and social life in and around the camp of Nikopolis and of the Roman soldiers and veterans in Egyptian society in general. In the iconographical section a typology of the reliefs will be presented, with particular attention for the military equipment. This section is under the supervision of dr. Jon Coulston of de University of St Andrews (Scotland)." """The origins of European Kingship (c. AD 400-500): Towards a new model of military leadership in Late Antiquity.""" "Koenraad Verboven" "Department of History" "Early medieval concepts of kingship are primarily seen as the result of processes of ethnic solidarity, or as the self-explanatory outcome of the institutional disintegration of the western Roman empire. My project will argue that the fifth-century emergence of new forms of kingship was the result of a crisis of leadership structures within the imperial Roman army." "Socio-ecological resilience: a new perspective for artisanal and small-scale mining communities?" "Sara Geenen" "Catholic University of Bukavu, Institut Supérieur de Développement Rural, Development processes, actors and policies" "This research project explores whether the concept socio-ecological resilience can further our empirical and conceptual understanding of changes in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities. It has three main objectives that will address gaps in the ASM literature: 1) to improve our understanding of the internal structures, actors and dynamics of ASM communities; 2) to develop a conceptual framework to understand the interacting socio-ecological systems that surround ASM communities, by focusing on key trends transforming ASM; 3) to contribute to the literature on resilience by exploring the relationship between resilience at the community level and at the socio-ecological system level. It will use the conceptual framework of socio-ecological resilience combined with perspectives from political ecology to examine case studies – namely, two different ASM communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In doing so, it aims to provide more holistic perspective of the role of ASM as a livelihood strategy. Moreover, the knowledge generated could be used to better inform policies and interventions to mitigate the problems that have for so long afflicted ASM communities. The findings will be published through four articles in high-impact academic journals: one article for each of my three research objectives; and a fourth to discuss the potential for socio-ecological resilience to be combined with perspectives from political ecology." "PrevenD 2.0: Implementation of gamified cognitive control training to prevent recurrence of depression" "Ernst Koster" "Department of Experimental clinical and health psychology" "The goal of PrevenD 2.0 is to deliver a freely accessible, cost-effective, preventive intervention for (recurrent) depression and guide implementation in clinical practice. For this purpose, we aim to maximize the impact of a recently developed and proven effective preventive gamified cognitive control training (CCT) procedure for remitted depressed patients (developed and tested in PrevenD 1.0). In particular, we will be working towards clinical implementation of CCT, addressing key questions which were identified during the process of PrevenD 1.0: (a) further delineating the target population, (b) optimizing and further evaluating the CCT procedure (evaluating effects of training intensity, booster sessions, and interactions with other treatments), and (c) providing a detailed analysis of the societal impact of CCT, from a Applicant: Ernst Koster | Application number: T000720N - 3 - health economic perspective. In particular, we will: • Update the PrevenD platform to remain compatible with the most recent devices and browsers; • Further delineate the target population, allowing for targeted referral to the intervention by clinicians and increasing our understanding of differential etiological pathways towards recurrent depression. For this purpose, we will: ○ Reanalyze data of a large pragmatic trial from PrevenD 1.0, identifying different profiles of (cognitive) vulnerability for depression using clustering techniques in relation to treatment adherence and treatment effects; ○ Use pooled data from previous randomized controlled trials to crossvalidate the predictive role of group membership (based on the latent profiles identified in the previous step) for treatment adherence and treatment response in an independent dataset; • Building on the eligibility criteria obtained from the previous step, we will identify the optimal dosage of CCT as well as the minimum required dose to obtain treatment effects, experimentally manipulating training intensity in N = 158 RMD patients; • Informed by both the optimal dosage and minimum dosage necessary to affect functioning, we will investigate whether flexibly adding booster sessions to the CCT protocol based on participants’ emotional wellbeing over a period of one year may lead to more sustainable effects of CCT (N = 101 RMD patients); • Provide a test of the comparative effectiveness of our ‘optimized’ CCT procedure compared to treatment as usual in terms of prevention of recurrent depression in a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT; N = 450 RMD patients) with a one year follow-up period. This RCT will contain three arms (CCT vs. TAU vs. CCT+TAU). As such, it also allows to model how CCT interacts with TAU (treatment augmentation), offering vital information regarding optimal mode of delivery of CCT; • Provide a detailed analysis of the societal impact of CCT from a health economic perspective. • Actively disseminate the results of our research: ○ Release computerized training as free and open source software; ○ Continuation and expansion of our efforts to support use of CCT in clinical practice; ○ Publish results of (we anticipate at least 6) research articles that will be submitted to leading academic journals in clinical psychology/psychiatry; ○ Actively disseminate results among stakeholders through workshops and publications in the specialized press and report to the general public by means of popular media; ○ Produce two PhD theses based on the results of the PrevenD 2.0 project" "FORTUNA - The fate of planets orbiting around ageing stars." "Leen Decin" Astronomy "More than 4700 exoplanets have been discovered, over 90% orbiting main-sequence stars. Nearly all of these stars will evolve through the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase at the end of their life, during which the star expands, becomes very luminous and develops a strong stellar wind. The question then arises whether and how planets survive stellar evolution? Detecting planets orbiting AGB stars has remained tantalisingly out of reach until, in 2016, we published the first observational evidence. Thanks to a large international campaign of which I am PI, we recently have caught several planets interacting with the wind of AGB stars (Decin et al. 2020, Science). But there is no theoretical framework that can explain and predict how a planet simultaneously changes (1) its orbit due to stellar mass loss, equilibrium and dynamical tides, gravitational and frictional drag and (2) its atmosphere due to accretion of stellar ejecta, evaporation from stellar radiation, stellar wind ram pressure, etc., as the giant host star is evolving. This area of multi-dimensional multi-physics modelling is basically terra incognita. FORTUNA aspires to tackle the fundamental question on the distant future of the Solar and other planetary systems. Here I (1) will merge concepts of exoplanet climate models and of AGB stars interacting with a companion to (2) rewrite the field of planetary astrophysics for ageing stars. FORTUNA will construct the first 3D models for planets orbiting ageing stars that address all key processes together and that will lead to a revolutionary new quantitative metric for predicting their fate. In contrast to conventional approaches to radiative transfer, FORTUNA will augment modern computational techniques with the mathematical strength of innovative probabilistic numerical methods, with unparalleled speed-up in modelling time of up to x105. All tools will be open-source to provide fundamentals for all topics in modern astrophysics that rely on numerical modelling."