Do you change your underwear every day? The chances are that you do. Did you know that this is actually unnecessary? Less laundry but more targeted, that’s the message from Ghent University researcher Chris Callewaert.
A particularly valuable discovery has turned our knowledge of Stonehenge upside down. On the most researched site in the world, a research group including a few Ghent University students has found traces that are much older than anything that has been excavated so far. We know that there are still secrets to be uncovered from bio-engineer Philippe De Smedt, among other things thanks to soil scans.
Urban companies are struggling to deal with their plastic waste. The PlastiCity project, which spans four countries, is looking for practical solutions to send their recycling percentage sky high. Ghent University engineer Gianni Vyncke is involved. “The aim is to recycle plastic into sustainable products for the city.”
All students from Ghent University Global Campus (GUGC) in Incheon, South Korea come to the so-called Home Campus in Ghent for one semester during their study programme. Solha Kang and Eunhey Choi both just finished their exams and are about to return home. We managed to catch up with them right before they hopped on the plane to discuss what they thought of their stay in Belgium.
As the climate changes we must increasingly account for heavy rainfall and the flooding this causes. Having said that, there is already lots of data available to predict future flooding and potential damage. Yet our approach is not always aligned with this data.
Vertical farming is booming, and above all in an urban context, since this method requires less space in order to grow sufficient food for a large number of people. Vertical farming is an agricultural concept where crops are grown in a tall greenhouse, in vertically stacked layers. The plants are not planted in earth; instead, they are cultivated in nutrient-enriched water. Artificial light is needed to ensure that the plants receive enough light in order to grow. But which sort of light gives the best result? This is the focus of one of the studies by a team of bio-engineers from Ghent University.
A large quantity of water, energy, and nutrition is lost during the processing of vegetables and potatoes. Too much water. At a time when we’re trying to minimise waste, and water is a scarce resource, we need to be smarter about how we manage these losses. The VEG-i-TEC research centre is therefore reviewing the processing method from start to finish.
A new development in agricultural robotics has the potential to make the sector more sustainable and profitable. Researchers at Ghent University have developed technology that enables agricultural robots to make site specific adjustments in real time, from soil analysis to soil cultivation, sowing, fertilising and the spraying of pesticides.
Remarkably, work that started as an occasional side project has resulted this year in a change to European law. Thanks to Liesbeth Jacxsens and Mieke Uyttendaele, more food can now be donated to those in need.
How to use waste water, CO2 and plastics as a source of energy or a raw material? This is one of the key questions that keeps professor Korneel Rabaey occupied on a daily basis. A question to which he is now seeing an answer emerge, thanks to the new research platform CAPTURE, which he helped to conceive. The opening of a physical research centre will accelerate progress in this area considerably, which has been his goal for years.
What if we had one jab instead of two? Or what if we first vaccinated the active population, and only then those less mobile? Such questions cross everyone’s mind from time to time. At Ghent University, biostatisticians actually make models to see what these questions mean.
For many years, bumblebee doctor Dave Goulson has been working to save the bumblebee from extinction. Pioneering work, which earned him an honorary doctorate from Ghent University and the praise of his promoter, Professor Guy Smagghe: “The interest in bees and bumblebees has grown internationally and that is partly thanks to him”.
