Name Activity "Faculty of Engineering" "Faculty of Engineering" "Environmental Biology" "Jaco VANGRONSVELD" "The group Enviromental Biology has a longstanding experience (since 1976) in the field of heavy metal uptake by plants, the effects of toxic metal concentrations on plants and the transfer of metals to the food chain. The group was involved in several projects concerning the zinc, cadmium and lead contamination in the region Balen, Lommel, Overpelt in the the zinc smelter contaminated area in the north-east of Belgium. They started with laboratory and in situ studies on phytoremediation (phytostabilization and phytoextraction) of heavy metal contaminated soils in 1985 and is involved in several national and international projects and collaborations in this field. Phytoremediation of organics also belongs to the research area of the group, especially on nitroaromatics, oils and BTEX. Special attention is paid to the interaction between plants and plant-associated micro-organisms (mycorrhiza and bacteria).Biological tests for the evaluation of soil toxicity were developed. These activities are practical applications based on the fundamental research program of the laboratory. The latter is concentrated on the (eco-)physiological, cellular and molecular effects and sequence of events after application of pollutants to plants and mycorrhiza. Studies of defence and tolerance mechanisms against heavy metals are also part of the fundamental research program. Special attention is paid to subcellular localisation of both contaminants and defence systems. This research program is performed on several plant species, from which certain species are genetically transformed. " "Department of Archaeology" "Philippe Crombé" "The Department of Archaeology is a very active player in scientific research, which is controlled by various internal research groups. The reputation of the various teams in the field of landscape and settlement archaeology, through the development of major field projects with a wide geographical spread across NW Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia, is particularly strong. Among the notable methodological achievements we mention the development of cutting-edge technology in the field of archaeological aerial photography and remote sensing, geophysical prospections, non-invasive survey methods, geoarchaeological field work and GIS-based analyses. Often associated with the field work, there are many interdisciplinary studies and archaeometrical analyses of archaeological (and ancient artistic) objects. Especially in the field of ceramic studies in a broad sense the department takes a pioneer position. Several projects related to historical periods combine the intensive study of the material culture with the extraction of data from historical documents and texts." "Faculty of Arts and Philosophy" "Faculty of Arts and Philosophy" "Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Solvay Business School" "Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Solvay Business School" "Germanic Languages" "The strong points of this department relate to the following topics: 1. Research on Multilingualism and Bilingualism: A strong team of internationally known people has been working for a number of years in this field. 2. Dutch in the 19th century: This original research is innovative and important at the same time. It offers new insights in the development of the written language. 3. Theatre research: Within the department the study of Modern Dutch Theatre has a strong tradition. 4. Dutch Literature: The study of Modern Dutch literature, prose as well as poetry, has been carried out for years. It continues the tradition started with Jean Weisgerber. 5. Dutch Grammar: The study of grammar is carried out from a socio-pragmatic point of view with a strong non-traditional theoretical approach diverging from the Chomskyan one. 6. German Literature: This study focuses on modern German literature and deals with topics such as gender studies (female authors), youth literature and the editing of correspondences of literary figures." "Department of Public health" "The department of Public Health is a department of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. It focuses on education and research in the domains of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Food and Food Safety, Health Promotion and Education, Health Economics, Medical Informatics and Statistics, Nursing Science and Occupational and Environmental Health." "Analytical and Environmental Chemistry" "The Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is involved in environmental research and more specifically of aquatic systems: open ocean, coastal seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes. This research is funded by international (EC, UN), national and regional organisations. As a part of the greenhouse problem, the impact of plankton productivity on the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide is estimated via nitrogen uptake measurements in the euphotic oceans layer and the subsequent redistribution to the oceans interior and the seafloor. The relationships between the different levels of the aquatic food chain or food web are studied via natural stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Trace metal biogeochemistry (mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, ..), with a special focus on metal speciation, is intensively studied in seas, estuaries and specific freshwater environments. The leaching capacity of contaminated sediments, particularly important when general water quality conditions such as redox or salinity are modified, is assessed by sequential extraction techniques and dynamic flow experiments. Furthermore, major and minor elements are investigated along growth axes of non-organic biogenic substrates such as shells and corals. For all these environmental studies appropriate analytical techniques and protocols, including quality assurance programs, are developed, adapted and validated. Mathematical models conceptualise the transport and biogeochemical processes of the studied compounds in the various aquatic environments." "Applied and Analytical Chemistry" "1. Development and application of suitable analytical strategies for advanced material systems for studying their performance,structure, processing, environmental impact and specific applications with a focus on (bio)polymers.2. Integrated use of complementary and hyphenated analytical techniques for problem solving3. Valorization of waste streams using pyrolysis as a thermal conversion techniques for green energy and chemical feedstock.4. Synergy between fundamental, applied research and scientific servicing." "Department of Applied ecology and environmental biology" "The departement brings together several research groups: CAVElab - Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology Environmental Toxicology (GhEnToxLab) Aquatic Ecology (AECO) Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology Laboratory of Plant Ecology"