Research news - May / June 2024
Portraits | EUR Implanteus & SFR Tersys |
| Open Science | Doctoral Schools |
| Development and intellectual property | Research projects |
| Partnership chairs | Scientific and technical culture |
Headlines - Avignon University inaugurates the GeEAUde partnership chair on 31 May 2024
On 31 May 2024, Avignon University, in partnership with the Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (INRAE) and IFP Énergies nouvelles (IFPEN), launched the GeEAUde partnership chair: "Dynamics of groundwater resources and interactions with associated ecosystems".
The overall aim of GeEAUde is to develop, test and promote holistic tools and approaches for characterising and modelling groundwater resources, and to propose sustainable management strategies adapted to the Mediterranean context in the context of global change. The research work will focus in particular on groundwater recharge and availability, and will benefit from the expertise of numerous socio-economic, private and public, national and international partners, as well as regional players involved in water-related issues.
The GeEAUde Chair, the only one of its kind in France, has a twofold ambition: to bring together researchers, political decision-makers, managers, industrialists and water users, and to set up top-class operational research to develop decision-making tools to ensure sustainable and equitable management of groundwater resources.
At the inauguration, a number of speakers emphasised the importance of this initiative. Carole De Souza, director of the Institut Agrosciences, Environnement et Santé, opened the session, followed by speeches from Gaëlle Mesgouez, vice-president of the Avignon Université research committee, Mohamed Naaim, head of the aquatic sciences department at INRAE, and Olga Vizika-Kavvadias, scientific director of IFPEN.
Konstantinos Chalikakis, holder of the GeEAUde chair and deputy director of UMR EMMAH, presented the general framework, objectives and scientific programme, accompanied by André Chanzy, INRAE research director and director of UMR EMMAH, Anne-Laure Cognard-Plancq, senior lecturer at UMR EMMAH, and André Fourno, IFPEN R&D engineer.
A round-table discussion on the regional and local issues surrounding groundwater resources brought together a number of stakeholders, including Christian Mounier, Vice-Chairman of the Vaucluse Department, Julia Brechet, Director of the Syndicat Rhône Ventoux, Laurent Rhodet, Director of the Syndicat Mixte du Bassin des Sorgues, Eric Lahaye, Regional Director of Veolia, Alexandre Duzan, Group Lead Expert in Water Resources at SUEZ, and Jérôme Gelly, Director General of Technical Services at Grand Avignon. The round table was moderated by Andrée Brunetti, journalist with l'Écho du Mardi.
Georges Linarès, President of Avignon Université, concluded the event by thanking all those involved in making this project possible.
The portraits
June 2024
Laure Casanova Enault is a lecturer in geography at UMR ESPACE. Her research focuses on land and property ownership Who are the owners and what are their properties, what are the impacts of their management methods (selection of properties, whether or not they are put up for sale, type of transformation, etc.) on urban production and on the future of the areas.
To do this, it is analysing the tax data associated with the land register, with two main objectives: to reveal the changes taking place in the regions as a result of the dynamics of the land and property markets, and to identify the capacity of public players to intervene to regulate these changes.
May 2024
Aurélie Deganello is a doctoral student in information and communication science at the Centre Norbert Elias. Her thesis, which is part of a project funded by ADEME, is about the study of a socio-scientific controversy on the impact of onshore wind turbines on cattle farms.
The aim of her research is to study the controversy surrounding the link between animal health and electrical infrastructure, by looking at the way in which the various players understand and make sense of the situation, and at the way in which the controversy is told.
EUR Implanteus & SFR Tersys
A look back at the 3ᵉ edition of the Tersys Implanteus Summer School (TISS).
The 3ᵉ edition of the Tersys Implanteus Summer School (TISS) went off successfully, bringing together 120 participants over the three-day event.
On 18 and 19 June, the INRAE site on the Domaine de St Paul, in the Cœur de Centre building in Avignon, was the venue for this year's event, which focused on the theme of One Health.
On 20 June, participants had the opportunity to discover how dogs are trained to detect plant diseases at the INRAE site in Montpellier.
The aim of this event was to share research on One Health through various approaches: soil environment, health nutrition, food safety and bees. Participants were able to attend plenary lectures given by national and international experts, as well as oral presentations and posters by researchers, post-doctoral students, local doctoral students and M2 IMAS master's students.
>> Read more
Open Science
First conference-debate on open science at Avignon University, with Marin Dacos, Zoé Ancion and Françoise Rousseau-Hans
On 6 June 2024, Avignon University hosted a conference-debate on open science at universities.
Discussions focused on the progress made by French research establishments in terms of open science, the influence of research funding agencies on these practices, negotiations with scientific publishers, and the resources available to universities to achieve their objectives.
Marin Dacosthe national coordinator for open science at the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and founder and former director of OpenEdition, opened the session by presenting the state of open science in French institutions. Zoé AncionThe role of research funding agencies in improving open science practices was explained. Françoise Rousseau-HansThe head of the research and scientific information support department at the CEA and co-coordinator of the Couperin consortium, discussed the challenges of negotiating with scientific publishers to find ideal models for agreements.
The event concluded with a round table discussion on the practical ways in which science can be opened up on a day-to-day basis. The round table was chaired by Thierry Clavelthe Avignon University's open science officer, and involved Jacky BarbeDirector of the University Library, Emilie Volpiadministrator of CIHAM's information systems and FR Agorantic, as well as Simon Marcellinphysicist and open science referent for the EMMAH laboratory.
>> Presentation materials are available on this page
The video recordings will be available shortly on this same page.
Doctoral Schools
A look back at Avignon Université's third doctorate ceremony
On 24 May 2024, Avignon Université held its third doctorate ceremony on the Hannah Arendt campus. This ceremony was an opportunity for the doctors who defended their thesis in 2022 and 2023 to bring their academic career to a close in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Around thirty PhD students from the classes of 2022 and 2023 attended this federative event. The event provided an opportunity to showcase the diversity and excellence of the research carried out by doctoral students in Avignon Université's research laboratories.
The doctors, accompanied by their families, thesis supervisors and laboratory directors were delighted to be able to take part in the ceremony, which ended with a convivial cocktail party in the university gardens.
Thesis defence
- [PhD defence] 26/07/2024 - Emma Caullireau: "Induction or restriction of bacterial virulence: the role of time and the environment in the outcome of plant-pathogen interaction" (UPR 407 - PV - Plant pathology)
- [Defence of thesis] 15/07/2024 - Sahand KHODAPARAS TALATAPEH : " Orchestration et optimisation du cache dans les réseaux IoT " (UPR 4128 - LIA - Laboratoire d'Informatique d'Avignon)
- [PhD defence] 03/07/2024 - Marine Soulié: "Design, synthesis and characterisation of chemical tools for the study of membrane proteins" (UPRI - Synthesis and Bio-organic Colloidal Systems Laboratory (S2CB))
Development and intellectual property
Renewal of the framework research collaboration agreement for the Chem2staB LabCom
The framework research collaboration agreement for the Chem2staB LabCom has been renewed for the period from 1ᵉʳ July 2024 to 1ᵉʳ July 2030. In addition, this agreement includes the recruitment of a mission CDI who will actively participate in the research work defined in the LabCom roadmap.
Created in 2015, the Chem2staB LabCom brings together teams of chemists from Avignon University (UPRI / ERIT S2CB - Synthesis and Bio-organic Colloidal Systems) and biochemists from Eurofins CALIXAR.
The main objective of Chem2staB is to develop new molecules capable of extracting, stabilising and crystallising therapeutic targets and antigens (in particular membrane proteins) without altering their structure. This research is of major importance in the field of reagents for proteomics, particularly for the validation of membrane-type pharmaceutical targets, an emerging field with crucial implications for human and animal health.
Since its creation, Chem2staB has enabled Eurofins CALIXAR to market around ten proprietary compounds, which are also routinely deployed in the company's customer projects, and to publish 11 articles in international peer-reviewed journals.
Research projects
Save the date: Final conference of the LIFE VineAdapt project on 29 and 30 April 2025 in Freyburg, Germany (Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region).
Over the last few years, the eight partners in the Life VineAdapt project, from France, Austria, Hungary and Germany, have achieved some interesting results in terms of adapting viticulture to climate change.
The final conference will take place in Freyburg, Germany, on 29 and 30 April 2025.. On the 29th, the members of the project will be presenting the results, together with their recommendations and guidelines for climate-adapted, biodiversity-friendly viticulture. On the 30th, participants will be able to visit the biodiversity vineyards in the Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region.
The Life VineAdapt project is a European project, coordinated on the French side by two lecturers from the Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE - Avignon University): Armin Bischoff, Professor in plant ecology and plant-arthropod interactions and Olivier Blight, Senior Lecturer in entomology and plant-arthropod interactions. The aim of the project is to test and use plant biodiversity (grassing) to increase the resilience of wine production in the face of climate change.
>> Keep up to date with Life VineAdapt
Annual day of the UMT IQUAR, Unité Mixte Technologique "Innovating to improve the post-harvest quality of fresh fruit and vegetables" - 4 June 2024
The UMT IQUAR, which brings together CTIFL, Avignon University, INRAE, CIRAD and the University of Montpellier, held its annual seminar on 4 June 2024 at CIRAD in Montpellier.
The aim of the UMT is to work together to develop innovative techniques and itineraries to improve the quality of fruit and vegetables and reduce post-harvest losses. In view of current expectations, the discussions focused mainly on finding solutions for controlling fruit and vegetable diseases.
For further information: florence.charles@univ-avignon.fr and sebastien.lurol@ctifl.fr
Call for explor'ae ideas (inrae)
INRAE launched its EXPLORATION call for ideas in April. It is open for the duration of the EXPLOR'AE programme.
This is a call for applications with two selection phases. The first phase has already been completed, with the second coming in October. The maximum amount available is €150,000. The scientific description must not exceed three pages.
The "EXPLORATION" pillar of the EXPLOR'AE programme aims to get off the beaten track, to explore "new" ideas at the frontier of knowledge.
We're talking about ideas that are new, with an element of risk. These ideas must be creative, original and capable of producing "breakthrough" results.
They will not necessarily be supported by preliminary results. In theory, these ideas have little chance of being financed by other funding programmes.
For the first year of the programme, it is estimated that around fifty EXPLORATION ideas will be supported.
>> Click here for more information
If you are interested in this call, please inform the Projects, Partnerships and International Development Department of the DARI at the following address: aap-recherche@univ-avignon.fr
Do you have any questions about the EXPLORATION pillar of the EXPLOR'AE programme?
The EXPLOR'AE programme committee is organising three " EXPLOR'AE Cafés "to respond, Tuesdays 3 September, 10 September and 24 September 2024, from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm.
>> Register here
Partnership chairs
GIF Chair - Geodata Real Estate
"Proximity or opportunity? Analysis of the determinants of rental investments by individuals".
Note from the GIF #3 Chair
Written by Laure Casanova Enault and Antoine Peris (Avignon University), this new study looks at the liquidity of property investment in a context of financialisation.
GIF Chair Conference: UGoveRN | 13-14 May 2024
On 13 and 14 May, the GIF research team welcomed colleagues from the universities of Amsterdam and Groningen, members of the UGoveRN network, to discuss the interactions between property markets and urban planning.
Scientific and Technical Culture
Festival Off Avignon 2024 | Theatre and science, a new creation "Binôme" to discover
Working in pairs, the researcher becomes the object of study for a playwright who writes a play freely inspired by their encounter. The result is sensitive, often funny, and offers us an unusual look at science and the people who make it happen. The company les sens des mots has been developing this collection of shows since 2010, and there are now 59 pairs.
- Monday 8th July - 5 pm: A prophecy [Interval arithmetic] by Samuel Gallet based on his encounter with Nathalie Revol (Inria/Maison des Mathématiques et de l'Informatique)
- Tuesday 9th July - 5pm: Replay: Irrépressible [Public Health/Addictology] by Kevin Keiss based on his meeting with Perinne Roux (Inserm, SEESTIM Aix Marseille Université)
- Wednesday 10 July - 5pm: La mélancolie du colibri [Safety of electrochemical reactions] by Gérald Dumont based on his meeting with Caroline Gaya (INERIS)
- Friday 12 July - 5pm: Resumption: Ultimes Cérémonies [Fluid biomechanics] by Catherine Zambon based on her meeting with Anne-Virginie Salsac (UTC-CNRS)
From 8 to 12 July at 5pm at the Cour minérale d'Avignon Université, Campus Hannah Arendt, 74 rue Louis Pasteur, Avignon
Fête de la science 2024
The Fête de la Science will take place from 4 to 14 October 2024 on the theme "Ocean of Knowledge".
The science village on the Place de l'Horloge in Avignon will be held on Saturday 5 October 2024.
A host of stands and workshops await you.
The full programme for the Fête de la Science in Vaucluse will be announced in September.
The Research and Innovation Support Department (DARI)
The Research and Innovation Support Department (DARI) supports the research activities of its laboratories.
It participates in the implementation and operational management of the University's scientific policy and supports research players in their relations with the various partners in the socio-economic world.
Mis à jour le 11 July 2024