Name Responsible Activity "Institute for Contract Law" "Bernard Tilleman" " It is responsible for the teaching of Specific Contracts and research in the field of contract law." "Business & Contracts" "Regine Feltkamp" "MISSION The Research Group Business & Contracts (BuCo) aims at exploiting the synergies in research between the scholars of the Faculty of Law with expertise in general contract law and in business contracts, commercial transactions and business organizations, with the overall aim to stimulate research on all possible topics concerning business contracts (including business engagements by unilateral declaration of will). BuCo focuses on the specifics of business contracts, compared to common civil contracts, as a result of the specific context in which these contracts are concluded, with the final aim of making (comparative) reports, identifying and analyzing specific practices. The purpose is to integrate the research work from theorists and practitioners related to business contracts, with the overall goal to better understand the practices, develop richer theories that incorporate a realistic and pragmatic conception of legal institutions, and of the observed behavior of economic actors as regards business contracts, and to use these new frameworks to analyze and criticize existing legal frameworks and business practices and to propose possible improvements. Collaborations not only concentrate on primary work in contract theory, but also empirical study of existing institutions and contracting behaviors. Due to the ongoing internationalization and globalization process, business contracts are for a substantive part concluded in an international context (e.g. international sales contracts, international cooperation contracts, cross boarder M&A, documentary credits and guarantees, ...). These contracts give rise to specific questions of international law as well as of international private law. The activities of BuCo include the study of international practices. RESEARCH POLES Although they are in principle governed by general principles of civil law and common contract law, business contracts are subject to a set of rules based on (i) business practices developed to satisfy the specific needs of business actors, and (ii) specific laws and regulations, the development of which has increased over the past years. Some of these laws and regulations provide for more freedom in contractual relations between business partners, whereas in other cases these specific rules tend to restrict a business actor's liberty to contract, with a view to protecting the contracting partner of the business actor or avoiding certain unacceptable or undesirable consequences of certain practices and activities. BuCo focuses its activities on 5 research poles. 1. Impact of business context on contracts In the context of this research pole, general questions and issues related to business contracts are studied such as e.g.: - Specifics of contracts in business relations (""B2B"" relations): Do economic actors contract differently than purely private parties and why? - How does the law protect business partners when negotiating and drafting contracts? - Efficiency and necessity of the distinction to be made on the basis of the capacity of the contract partner (company, salesman, consumer, public entity); efficiency of the regulation on the business activities (law & economics approach); - Differences in approach between civil law countries and common law, fundamentals supporting such approach and economic efficiency; - Universal principles applicable to all business contracts, regardless of the legal system to which they are subject; - Examination of the specific clauses generally introduced in the usual contracts in deviation of general contract law and influence of international business practices; - Impact of budgetary constraints (e.g. ESA95) on the introduction of new contract techniques into Belgian (public) law : Private Finance Initiative, Design Build Finance Maintain, contractual PPP etc. and the renewed attention for risk allocation and management with the public (awartinding) authorities. 2. Liberty of will and freedom to contract Over the past decennia, the Belgian and European legislators have increasingly regulated certain aspects of business contracts to avoid distortion in the market or to protect certain contract parties. In this respect the following issues are under attention of BuCo: - Which future for liberty of will and freedom to contract? - Evaluation of the Directive on consumer rights and economic impact. - Evolution of certain principles of consumer protection as general principle? - Efficiency and impact of mandatory law provisions on the business context; - Freedom to contract from an anti-discrimination law perspective. 3. Business practices regarding certain clauses or contracts This research pole regroups all research in respect of: - business practices around common clauses - most common business contracts (sales of movable goods, manufacturing contracts, outsourcing, service provision contracts, intermediation...) - securities documentation ((bank) guarantees, sureties, pledge agreements, clearing & settlement agreements, ...) 4. Specific issues related to doing business and family law Concluding business contracts requires specific attention for matters of family law. Business operated by family enterprises also give rise to specific issues. The members of BuCo dedicated to this research pole examine these particularities. 5. Corporate contracts Corporate contracts such as share purchase agreements, assets purchase agreements, agreements in respect of reorganization operations (merger, transfer of business divisions, due diligence (precontractuele phase), joint venture agreements vs. common subsidiaries, contracts in the framework of IPO's, are governed by the principles of common law, but due to the involvement of companies, specific questions of company law are also involved. The members of BuCo dedicated to this research pole examine these particularities. 6. Business contracts in a specific regulated environment In a regulated environment, business contracts often contain specific clauses that are a translation of the specific regulated environment or that take into account the fact that the concerned business activity is subject to regulation by a public authority. For certain sectors, specific types of contracts are commonly used or are imposed by regulation. One can think of e.g. the following sectors: - Banking & Insurance (sepa, credit facilities or loan agreements facilities, financial products, insuance agreements) - Public services (public procurement, concessions, subsidy agreements, policy agreements, PPP, PFI, DBFM; ...) - Essential facilities sector (electricity sector, gas sector, telecom sector ...) - Transport sector (Aviation,...) In these regulated contexts questions arise regarding e.g. the impact of the far-reaching regulation on the freedom to contract, the efficiency of intervention of public authorities in the common interest and more generally the efficiency of regulation in these sectors (law and economics approach)." "Institute of Private International Law" "Geert Van Calster" "Research topics of this unit are:• Private International Law• International commercial law• Right of the World Trade Organization• International and European environmental law• European economic law." "Materials Physics" "Koen VANDEWAL" "The Materials Physics (IMOMAF) research group focuses on developing innovative solutions to successfully bridge the gap between fundamental research and industrially compatible materials systems and processes. This is done in a wide range of fields, from nano and quantum physics to electronics, advanced sensing, and healthcare materials. Cooperation with industrial partners plays a crucial role in the IMOMAF research group.The research group includes various subgroups with specific and complementary expertise, which work closely together and operate within the spearhead domains of Hasselt University's Institute for Materials Research (IMO). Moreover, the IMOMAF research group is affiliated with the IMEC associated laboratory ""IMOMEC"". The main activities are focused on:Wide bandgap materialsQuantum technologiesOrganic opto-electronicsNano-scaled materialsEnergy materials & interfacesHealthcare materials & sensingAnalytical & microscopical servicesThe research group regularly acts as a partner in various European, Flemish, national and international research programmes and networks and has a long tradition of joint research and service provision with industry and research centres.Detailed information about the activities of the IMOMAF research group can be found on the imo-imomec website as well as on the EnergyVille website. The expertise groups within IMOMAF are:Wide Band Gap Materials (WBGM): Prof. dr. Ken Haenen and dr. Paulius Pobedinskas.WBGM group encompasses a wide range of wide band gap semiconductors topics, mostly focusing on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, but also other materials such as h-BN, ZnO, and AlN. For this, the group has access to seven different CVD reactors and three physical vapor deposition machines. The CVD reactors are used in order to grow n- and p-type diamond films from single crystal to polycrystalline, including low temperature (300 ⁰C) and large area (30 x 30 cm2) deposition. In addition, diamond films with novel color centers based on Eu, Ge, etc. are broadly investigated. The research topics include but are not limited to the influence of substrate orientation on growth and dopant incorporation mechanism, their thermionic emission and electronic transport properties, fabrication and characterization of diamond‑based high‑power electronics, diamond membranes, and the formation of heterostructures of BN/diamond, and diamond/AlGaN/GaN.Quantum Photonics (QPhot): Prof. dr. Milos Nesladek.The Quantum Photonics group deals with optical and photoelectric techniques for measurements of quantum degrees of freedom, and using the developed platforms in the quantum technology field. The key specialisation of the group is photo-electric spectroscopy and using the photo-electric techniques for coherent quantum state readout. The group has developed photocurrent detected magnetic resonance (PDMR) technique applied to NV electron spin state measurements and realised electrical readout of single NV qubit at room temperatures.Another focus of the group are luminescent nanoparticles specifically, fluorescent nanodiamond (FND) with NV colour centres, that have important perspective for nanoscale imaging for biology and medicine. By functionalizing the fluorescent nanodiamond with biomolecules, intracellular sensors for detection and imaging of biochemical processes, ongoing in the cellular machinery, are being developed. Organic Opto-Electronics (OOE): Prof. dr. ir. Koen Vandewal.Research activities of this interdisciplinary group aim to understand fundamental opto-electronic processes in organic and hybrid organic-inorganic semiconductors for novel opto-electronic devices. More specific scopes of the group are:The study of fundamental structure-property relations (electro-optical properties, morphology, …) of novel organic based and hybrid organic-inorganic semiconducting materials using advanced electro-optical characterization techniques, guiding the synthesis of new materials with improved performance.The preparation and characterization of next generation (printable) photonic prototype devices (solar cells, LEDs, transistors, (bio)-sensors, photo-detectors, …) based on low-cost emerging semiconducting materials. These activities benefit from collaboration with the EMAP research group.The study of fundamental photon-to-photon, photon-to-electron and electron-to-photon energy conversion mechanisms in novel material systems incorporated in novel device concepts.The studied organic and hybrid semiconductor materials include polymers, small molecules, and metal halide perovskites designed by the MATCHEM research group.Nano Structure Physics (NSP): Prof. dr. Hans-Gerd Boyen.The Nanostructure Physics group is focusing its research on fundamental topics in nanoscience and nanotechnology with a strong emphasis towards new materials and applications. The main goal of our work is to improve the current understanding of all physical and chemical properties of advanced nano-scaled materials (nanoparticles, nanowires, ultrathin films, muli-layers) including their electronic & atomic (molecular) structure, charge transport, optical and thermodynamic properties, chemical reactivity, etc. Current activities concentrate on thin film photovoltaics with special emphasis on perovskite-based solar cells thereby establishing, beside material-related bulk properties, the impact of surface and interface-related phenomena on the performance of such devices, all studied exploiting a variety of electron spectroscopic techniques.Energy Materials and Interfaces (EMINT): Prof. dr. Frank Uwe Renner.Energy materials, their functioning, operation, and their degradation are in the core of reaching a sustainable society. The EMINT group aims to gain mechanistic insight into related reactions of materials and interfaces. Research focuses on electrochemical interfaces, in particular related to active materials and electrodes of Li-Ion Batteries (LIB) or solar cells, but also on electrodeposition and wet corrosion including alloying and dealloying processes.Chemical and electrochemical reactions naturally take place on the molecular or atomic scale. High-resolution techniques are therefore ultimately important to gain deeper understanding. Next to common laboratory-based techniques and surface science approaches, also more advanced structural and spectroscopic methods such as Atom Probe Tomography (APT) or Hard X-ray Photoelectron-Spectroscopy (HAXPES) are employed. The group furthermore utilizes Synchrotron Light for example for in-situ X-ray diffraction at electrochemical interfaces.Nanobiophysics & Soft Matter Interfaces (NSI): Prof. dr. Anitha Ethirajan.The NSI group focuses on the fundamental and applied aspects of various Soft Matter interfaces with special emphasis on nanomedicine and biosensors.The research activities include development and characterization of various functional structures with interesting properties aimed towards biosensors and nanomedicine (bioimaging, drug delivery, contrast agents and theranostics). The group addresses fundamental and applied research questions employing concepts in biophysical chemistry and engineering.The group has expertise on the development of functionalized nanoparticles that are sensitive to single or multiple stimuli (exogenous such as light, temperature and endogenous triggers such as pH, enzymes, ROS, GSH etc.,). Responsive nanocarriers designed to sense the local environment offer an elegant route to sense the complex biological microenvironments and allow for detection and targeted therapy at the same time.The research interests include also the study of structure-property relations of soft matter mixtures in confined geometry in the nanoscale with emphasis on the interfaces between the blend materials (e.g. active layer of a solar cell or polymer-drug/active ingredient).The interdisciplinary group has expertise in bottom-up (self-assembly, colloidal techniques) and top-down approaches, various surface engineering routes, molecularly imprinted polymers, electronic read-out techniques for sensing, and employs state-of-the art characterization tools to address the above-mentioned fields.Within the nanomedicine research domain, the following topics are addressed:Nanoparticles/nanocapsules based therapies in the field of cancer, central nervous system, tissue engineering and regenerative medicineHybrid nanoparticles containing lipid structuresNano-bio interfaces focusing on nanoparticle-cell interactionsTheranostics agents based on nanoparticlesConjugated polymer-based nanoparticles for bioimagingContrast agents for multi imaging modalities and therapy (microbubbles)Within the biosensors research domain, the following topics are addressed:Molecularly imprinted poymers (MIP) based sensors for the detection of target molecules relevant to food, health, and environmental safetyIntracellular sensorsAnalytical & Microscopical Services (AMS): Prof. dr. Jan D'Haen and Prof. dr. Ward De CeuninckThe AMS expertise group is active in the field of analytical and microscopical analyses (including reliability aspects) upon materials systems as well as upon a wide variety of microelectronic components. The group is specialized in the development of high resolution in-situ measurement techniques. In the first place, the group acts as a supporting unit to other imo-imomec groups and also to EnergyVille. Regular activities involve analytical & electrical characterization of experimental materials systems and/or experimental sensor devices. Internal projects have a clear focus on the development of electronic interfaces to biosensors and the development of reliability equipment for solar cells and modules. Besides the internal activities, the AMS group also participates with other research partners in a wide variety of research programs on a national & international level (in e.g. the framework of EnergyVille). Together with MATCHEM the group also acts as a major service centre towards industry by putting its specific knowledge and its state-of-the-art equipment at disposal of industry. From laser optics to biomedical devices, from raw materials to solar panels or high-speed processors, the imo-imomec services can help industrial development of new processes and materials, transfer those processes to production, qualify new production tools, solve production problems, and much more." "Centre for Methodology of Law" "Bernard Tilleman" " Research in different areas of the economic private law and also in the methology of comparative law research." "Applied Mechanics" "The department of Mechanical Engineering (MECH) consist of three research groups : The Acoustics & Vibration Research Group central goal is to conduct fundamental and applied research in the broad field of Acoustics & Vibration, with special emphasis on Experimental and Operational Modal Analysis, Frequency-Domain Maximum Likelihood Identification of Multivariable Systems, Damage Assessment and Sound Quality. Enjoy the visit, and feel free to contact us if you need further information. The Robotics & MultiBody Mechanics Research Group central goal is to conduct fundamental and applied research in the broad field of robotics and multibody mechanics. The groups' special emphasis is the development of complex mechatronic systems such as lightweight actuation systems with adaptable compliance. These compliant actuators are implemented in different robots like the bipeds Lucy and Veronica to study energy efficient locomotion, in the robotic manipulator Softarm to study safe HRI and in the step rehabilitation robot Altacro and ankle foot orthosis IPPAM and APM foot for compatablity with a human wearer. Coginitive HRI is studied with the intelligent robot Probo. In the field of multibody mechanics the group developed a new algorithm for real time simulation of complex mechanical systems. The research of the research group Fluid dynamics focuses on 1) CFD; 2) Windenergy; 3) Experimental research at the level of turbulence; 4) Wind engineering. Emphasis is on CFD, in which the department has already 30 years of experience and benefits from a worldwide recognition. Throughout the years the department has been involved in various international projects (e.g. EU, ESA, bilateral projects) and national projects (e.g. FWO, IWONL, GBOU). The department disposes of a professional CFD code, which was developed jointly with FOI (Sweden) for ESA/ESTEC (ESA contract 89-95,96-98). ESA/ESTEC uses the code in support of their projects. The expertise and know-how of the team has led to the creation of a spin-off company, NUMECA Int. N.V. (1992). Currently NUMECA employs around 40 engineers and has an office in Phoenix (US). For its experimental research, the department disposes of 2 subsonic windtunnels and, along with the classical measuring equipment, advanced non-intrusive measurement techniques such as LDA and PIV. The department has many international contacts, partly due to its involvement in various networks, such as different EU thematic networks (FLOWnet, MACSInet, QNET-CFD) and as member of the Belgian Pilot Center of the ERCOFTAC (European Research Community on Flow, Turbulence and Combustion) network. The group is also part of a recently submitted Network of Excellence 'e-FLOW'." "Faculty of Law and Criminology, Brussels Campus" "Department of Interdisciplinary Study of Law, Private Law and Business Law" "Gerd Verschelden" "The department Metajuridica, Private and Corporate Law brings together research topics such as Accounting and legal history, Civil Law, Economic Law, Tax and Private international law, litigation and arbitration." "Faculty Education Services Engineering and Architecture" "Hennie De Schepper" "The faculty service educational support is the contact point for the quality assurance of the education, the student administration, the route counseling and the student counseling." "Laboratory of Cellular Transport Systems" "Peter Vangheluwe" "Research of the LabCTS team is focused on the molecular structure and function, the cell biological and (patho)physiological role of several members of the P-type ATPase family of transporters. These molecular machines generate vital ion or lipid transmembrane gradients across various biological membranes, driving many basic physiological processes. More specifically, our research concentrates on two classes of P-type ATPases.One class concerns the intracellular Ca2+ transporters SERCA and SPCA (P2-type ATPases), which contribute to crucial processes such as contraction, secretion, but also to vital decisions like cell growth, differentiation, multiplication and death.  Deranged P-type mediated active Ca2+ transport is associated with the genodermatoses known as diseases of Darier and Hailey-Hailey, but also with heart failure and cancer.Expertise in the field of Ca2+ transport ATPases is further valorized in the study of a novel, ubiquitous class of P-type ATPases, named P5-type. With an unknown substrate specificity they represent one of the last blind spots on the P-type ATPase map.  Here we focus in particular on ATP13A2, a lysosomal member associated with a Parkinsonism type of neuropathology known as Kufor-Rakeb syndrome."