General Description
The ULB, with its 26,000 students and its very cosmopolitan body of staff, is an intrinsically international institution. ULB counts 1300 academics and more than 2300 researchers. The ULB is a multicultural institution which has 13 faculties and a range of schools and institutes and is, at the same time, a comprehensive university providing academic tuition in all disciplines and study cycles. With its three Nobel Prize winners, a Fields medal, a Wolf Prize for physics, two Marie Curie Prizes and 29% of the Francqui prizes awarded, the university is also a major research centre which is recognised by the academic community the world over. Nor does it shirk its social, societal and scientific commitments, which it meets through combining, broad access to higher education with excellent quality research and through its role in furthering economic development in the regions where it is located. Concerning computer science and software development, most of the academics and researchers are attached to the Applied Sciences Faculty (Engineering School) and/or to the Sciences Faculty (Dept of Computer Science). More than 200 persons are directly involved in computer science research and development. But many others are highly skilled in programming for their specific area.
ULB has developed high level expertise in the following fields:
■ Software Engineering
■ Distributed Systems
■ Data Bases Design
■ Web Technologies
■ Security Cryptography Authentication
■ Image Processing
■ Artificial Intelligence
■ Optimization Control and Regulation
■ Knowledge Management
■ Business Intelligence
■ Computer Aided Design
Many softwares have been developed for years, with various applications in logistics, bioinformatics, mechanics of fluids, econometrics, medical devices control, virtual reality, robotics, … among others.
ULB has created in the Brussels-Capital Region three spin-offs directly from its computer science research labs:
■ Decis (1992) developing products and services for planning scheduling and access time control
■ Optimal Design (1998) developing products for the optimization of industrial processes
■ Mentis (2005) that offers solutions in datamining and textmining
Note also that UL B holds 130 families of patents. Among them, about ten have a strong software component, in particular for medical applications.
Developed products
Many companies have asked for ULB partnership. Some are big, others are brand new start-up. On a case by case basis, collaborative research projects can be set up, or specific contracts concluded. In these processes ULB-TTO, the Technology Transfer Office at ULB, plays in significant role. Its team is composed of scientific, economic and legal advisors, aware of the business requirements and of the market needs. At the same time ULB-TTO is permanently close to the university research teams, so that it can guide optimally companies in their research for partnership. By essence, the university offers a very multidisciplinary context that continuously produces innovation. This can be a strong advantage for companies that cannot always afford to invest in prospective research. Lets also consider that the university employs experts that can support innovation efforts on very specific domains. Since the recent years, ULB has strongly developed its ability to get in contact with its economical environment. As mentioned above, this means promoting the economic potential of its research results; and, at the same time, evaluating the market trends and needs. It is clear, in this perspective, that ULB is looking forward to get in contact with innovative companies.
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Research Laboratories
Algorithms Research Group
Algorithms, computational geometry, combinatorial optimization, data structures Potential applications: networking (sensors, wireless, design), CAD,
3D imagery, game theoretic optimization, efficient
memory management systems.
http://www.ulb.ac.be/di/algo
BEAMS–Bio, Electro and Mechanical Systems
Mobile devices design (hardware and software), digital electronics, power electronics Multimedia application, telecommunication
http://beams.ulb.ac.be/ http://beams.ulb.ac.be/ ee/intro.html
BEAMS- Electrical Energy
Power Systems, Electrical Drives, Power Electronic, Renewable Energy (Wind & Photovoltaic) Power System Protection, Security Analysis, Monitoring and Control. Design & control of electrical machines.
http://beams.ulb.ac.be/beams/research.html
CODE-SMG
Operations research, multicriteria decision aid, multi-objective optimization Socio-economic multicriteria assessment, evaluation of suppliers, quantitative decision making
http://code.ulb.ac.be/smg.home.php
CODE/WIT–Laboratory for Web and Information Technology
Digital information management, relational databases, conceptual modelling, spatio-temporal and geographical information systems, data warehousing, scientific databases and provenance, query processing, the Semantic Web and the Web of Linked data.
http://code.ulb.ac.be/wit.home.about.php
CODE/IRIDIA/Artificial intelligence lab
■ Swarm intelligence and metaheuristics
■ Biological networks and business intelligence
■ Datamining, Expert Systems, Software Architecture, Neural Networks
http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.home.php
GOM–Graphs and Mathematical Optimisation
Applications of combinatorial optimisation to graph and network problems. Network design and routing, network pricing, traffic engineering, bio-informatics. Telecommunications, transport and electricity networks. Supply chain management. Bio-informatics applications in genetics, immunology.
http://www.ulb.ac.be//di/gom/
LISA–Laboratory of Image Synthesis and
Analysis Image analysis, pattern recognition, tracking mobile objects Medical imaging, biotechnology, video games, traffic analysis, exhibitions and museums
http://lisa.ulb.ac.be/
MLG –Machine Learning Group
Machine learning, data mining, spatio-temporal forecasting, bioinformatics, biomedical computing. Wireless sensor networks, bioinformatics, power systems, financial timeseries, biomedicine, environmental modeling and forecasting.
http://www.ulb.ac.be/di/mlg
OPERA/WCG–Wireless Communications Group
Develop new signal processing solutions for emerging digital communications systems, aiming especially at the system integration and terminal implementation
http://opera.ulb.ac.be
PART S–Parallel Architectures for Real-Time Systems
Real-time systems, Scheduling, Multi Processor Systems on Chip, 3D Stacked Integrated Circuits Automotive, process control and telecommunications.
http://parts.ulb.ac.be
QUALSEC–Quality and security of information Systems
Cryptology, computer security, real time scheduling, petri nets Banking, electronic transactions, digital signatures, secure communication protocols, electronic voting, realtime
systems, scheduling
http://www.ulb.ac.be/di/qualsec
QuIC–Centre for Quantum Information and Communication
Quantum: physics, computing, communications and cryptography
http://quic.ulb.ac.be
Verification and Formal Methods
Design and development of critical and dependable computer systems (automotive, embedded systems,...)
http://www.ulb.ac.be/di/verif
LIST–Laboratory of Images, signals and telecommunication devices
Signal monitoring and processing, speech processing, clinical applications, electrostimulation
http://list.ulb.ac.be/signaux/index.php/Traitement_des_signaux
BAT ir–Structural and Material Computational Mechanics
Numerical simulations in continuum mechanics, linear and non-linear structures, optimisation, vibroacoustic, vibration based structural health monitoring
http://www.ulb.ac.be/smc/
3BIO–Service de Biosystèmes, Biomodélisation et Bioprocédés
Developpement et l'utilisation d'outils bioinformatiques dans le but de rationaliser et de comprendre la structure, la stabilité, la thermostabilité, la dynamique, les interactions et la fonction des macromolécules biologiques.
http://babylone.ulb.ac.be
BiGre–Genome and Network Bioinformatics
Application of bioinformatics approaches for the analysis of genome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolism. Analysis of regulatory sequences, Classification and analysis of mobile genetic elements, Analysis of molecular interaction networks, Inference of metabolic pathways from genomic and postgenomic data, Critical assesment of protein interactions.
http://www.bigre.ulb.ac.be/
