Videos

Katleen Wils is a geologist researching earthquakes, yet you'll mostly see her on a boat bobbing in lakes. "What on earth do lakes have to do with earthquakes?", we hear you thinking. "Thanks to lakes, we can look back in time, up to thousands of years ago," Katleen explains. And at the bottom of lakes, this is how she finds traces of ancient earthquakes. What we can learn from this for the future, she tells you in this video.

Dogs and humans have a lot in common, at least when it comes to cancer. That means that successful new treatments tested in dogs could be applied to humans. That's why Nayra Valle uses dogs with spontaneous cancer to develop and test a new technique for image-guided surgery. This could help surgeons better remove cancer tumors when operating on patients.

Do you drink juice in the morning or enjoy a glass of wine to relax after a busy day? Did you know that in order to preserve its flavor and prevent bacterial growth, your favorite beverage has to go through several stages of processing? One is the filtration process, a very expensive production stage. To ensure you can enjoy your favorite drink at a low(er) price, Rishav Phukan is developing next-generation membranes, which will help the industry cut costs and produce in a more eco-friendly way.

What if highways became walking and cycling corridors with live music, food trucks, street artists, and beautiful green spaces? What if your train car was transformed into a gym or a comfortable working space to use during your commute? Hannah Hook (UGent) wants to re-evaluate travel, focusing on human well-being.

Every year, the Belgian police have the equivalent of some 3,600 officers absent due to sick leave. "That's as if there wasn't an officer in Antwerp and Ghent for a year," explains criminologist Celien De Stercke (UGent). Why is it that absence rates in the police have been higher than in other sectors for years? By looking at the sick absences from 2019, De Stercke got a better understanding of which groups within the police are especially absent for long periods and what factors play a role.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. One out of 4 people dies from it. To improve treatment options for patients suffering from heart disease, mechanical engineer Mathias Peirlinck develops digital twins of patient hearts. Digital what? Watch Mathias (and his digital twin) explain it in this video.

What does a duck have to do with your electricity consumption? Researcher Ellen Beckstedde (Vlerick Business School - KU Leuven) explains it to you in detail in this video. 

Picture two senior auditors: one is very meticulous in his work and always follows the rules. The other likes making shortcuts, by not closely following the rules. Which of these two will a junior auditor then imitate? And how does this affect his or her work quality? That's what Viola Darmawan (Vlerick Business School) is investigating. Find out more in the video. 

"The greenhouse gases we pump into the air throw a thick blanket over the entire planet. By putting these to good use, my work aims to help remove this blanket of carbon dioxide, leading to a cooler future for all of us." Watch Divyansh Khurana (Imec - KU Leuven) explains how he wants to achieve this.

Lasers are not just toys to entertain cats. They can be found in many applications, such as scanners in supermarkets or for facial recognition on your latest smartphone. But there are even more fascinating innovations ahead of us ... if we can build even better lasers. That's what Iakov Goldberg (KU Leuven - Imec) is hoping to achieve. Can you believe that some of these novel perovskite lasers are assembled very similar to how you prepare your breakfast sandwich? 🥪 

In us, humans, curiosity is a driving force for learning. But did you know that AI can also benefit from curiosity, that is, 'artificial curiosity'? Computer scientist Louis Bagot (Imec - UAntwerp) explains how this works and why it is a good idea to tell AI & robots to experiment and have fun. 

Plants capture CO2 and, through photosynthesis, convert it into green leaves. Over the past 30 years, the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere has thus led to a widespread increase in the number of green leaves around the world. But recently, there has been a shift: the increase in the number of green leaves is slowing down even though CO2 levels are still rising. Vaidehi Narsingh (Imec - UAntwerp) explains why she is determined to find out what is happening.