Toegepaste wetenschappen

Speeding up the diagnosis and reaction capacity to infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi) are undoubtedly a rising threat to public health very much linked to the impact of environmental exposures. The multiple paths ofpathogens transmission can lead to the exponential spread of infectious diseases, leading to apandemic. This, together with the increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics, suggests that current canonical treatment methods (antibiotics or vaccination) need reinforcement through reliable frontline diagnostic tools to raise an alert of eventual risk to public health. It will only in this way be possible to keep the health system prepared against future pandemics.

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Increase efficiency of Offshore Renewable Energy sources as a step forward in the energy transition process.

Climate change is one of the main challenges of the current society and the energy transition from Climate change is one of the main challenges of the current society and the energy transition from polluting fossil fuels to clean energy sources is the key to stopping this trend. However, society is a great energy consumer and oceans are the principal energy container of the world. Effective harnessing of Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) sources is thus, the main goal.

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How can we turn the city into a sponge?

We have set an ambitious goal from the City: by 2030 we want to be climate-robust. One of the objectives is to make the underground of Ghent work like a sponge. A rain shower that occurs once every 20 years may not cause damage to buildings, roads or other urban infrastructure in Ghent, now and in the future.

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Urban experimental forest

Management of urban heat islands – role of micro forests in urban settings, education and understanding related to climate change and pollution, urban well-being.

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