Abstract: Electrons, X-rays and neutrons that pass through a thin crystalline sample will be diffracted. Diffraction patterns of crystalline materials contain Bragg reflections (sharp discrete intensity maxima) and diffuse scattering (a weak continuous background). The Bragg reflections contain information about the average crystal structure (the type of atoms and the average atomic positions), whereas the diffuse scattering contains information about the short-range order (deviations from the average crystal structure that are ordered on a local scale). Because the properties of many materials depend on the short-range order, refining short-range order parameters is essential for understanding and optimizing material properties. The refinement of short-range order parameters has previously been applied to the diffuse scattering in single-crystal X-ray and single-crystal neutron diffraction data but not yet to the diffuse scattering in single-crystal electron diffraction data. In this work, we will verify the possibility to refine short-range order parameters from the diffuse scattering in single-crystal electron diffraction data. Electron diffraction allows to acquire data on submicron-sized crystals, which are too small to be investigated with single-crystal X-ray and single-crystal neutron diffraction. In the first part of this work, we will refine short-range order parameters from the one-dimensional diffuse scattering in electron diffraction data acquired on the lithium-ion battery cathode material Li1.2Ni0.13Mn0.54Co0.13O2. The number of stacking faults and the twin percentages will be refined from the diffuse scattering using a Monte Carlo refinement. We will also describe a method to determine the spinel/layered phase ratio from the intensities of the Bragg reflections in electron diffraction data. In the second part of this work, we will refine short-range order parameters from the three-dimensional diffuse scattering in both single-crystal electron and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data acquired on Nb0.84CoSb. The correlations between neighbouring vacancies and the displacements of Sb and Co atoms will be refined from the diffuse scattering using a Monte Carlo refinement and a three-dimensional difference pair distribution function refinement. The effect of different experimental parameters on the spatial resolution of the observed diffuse scattering will also be investigated. Finally, the model of the short-range Nb-vacancy order in Nb0.84CoSb will also be applied to LiNi0.5Sn0.3Co0.2O2.

Abstract: As natural gas prices proved to be very volatile, sustainable alternatives are highly needed. Water-derived H2 was revealed as a promising substitute, allowing to produce a green energy carrier with a minimum of harmful emissions. Direct splitting of earth-abundant seawater provides an eco-friendly route for the production of clean H2, but is hampered by selectivity and stability issues due to the presence of salts.Photocatalytic seawater splitting is particularly promising for this purpose, as it seems less affected by adversary seawater effects and might rely on free and renewable solar power. Unfortunately, the benchmark photocatalyst, TiO2, still suffers from its low solar light activity. It is only actived upon illumination with energetic ultraviolet light (<5% of the sunlight). In order to broaden the activity window to the visible light, the concept of the 'plasmonic rainbow' was explored. Here, TiO2 is modified with various gold-silver composites that possess the unique optical phenomenon of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). This phenomenon enables the absorption of light at very specific wavelengths, depending on the metal type, size, shape and dielectric environment. The light energy might then be converted into hot carriers, strong local electromagnetic fields and/or heat. By combining multiple composites with various sizes and compositions, a broadband absorption could be obtained, resulting in significantly enhanced activity in photocatalytic model reactions under simulated sunlight. The major disadvantage of these plasmonic nanoparticles is their tendency to oxidize and deactivate. To overcome this, polymer shell stabilization strategies were found to be effective to protect the metal cores. Both conductive and non-conductive polymers were studied. For the former, a mix-and-wait strategy generating polyaniline shells of 2-5 nm was used, whille the latter was based on a Layer-by-Layer approach, allowing (sub) nanometer thickness control. For the actual H2 production experiments, the plasmonic loading was optimized in a pure water:methanol scavenger (7:1) mixture and initially the stabilization strategies proofed to be effective for simulated seawater (0.5M NaCl), even after 2 years. However, in real seawater, the activity decreased drastically due to aggregation of the photocatalyst in the presence of multivalent cations. Finally, facile immobilization strategies using 3D printing showed to be able to yield stable, solar active photocatalyst for real seawater splitting.

Abstract: Using state-of-the-art simulation methods, we optimized the performance of nanoscale superconducting scanning probe tips for advanced spatial imaging of magnetic fields. The systematic studies of the tips’ static properties as a function of the tilted magnetic field, geometric parameters, and material parameters were carried out. The sensitivity of different superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) to the magnetic field emanating from the magnetic nanoparticle, where the location of a magnetic nanoparticle is considered below the primary loop's center, was examined as a function of the primary and secondary loop dimensions. The main objective of the research was to characterize and optimize the performance of a nano-sized SQUID-on-tip (SOT) device. Optimal SOT sensitivity was sought, for different loop sizes, arm linewidth, and lead dimensions. Moreover, we revealed that a constriction in the loop arms of the SOT can substantially improve the sensitivity of the device. Finally, the properties of the theta-SOT device were examined in the presence of in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic field components, enabling nanoscale imaging of 3D distributions of the magnetic field. Altogether, the obtained results deliver an engineering solution for the optimum performance of the SOT device in desired conditions.

Abstract: 200 years ago, humanity started the industrial revolution by discovering fossil fuels, which lead to unprecedented technological advancements. However it has become alarmingly clear that the major environmental concerns associated with fossil fuels require a short-term transition from a carbon-based energy economy to a sustainable one based on green electricity. A key step concerning this transition exists in developing electricity-driven alternatives for chemical processes that rely on fossil fuels as a raw material. A technology that is gaining increasing interest to achieve this, is plasma technology. Using plasmas to induce chemical reactions by selectively heating electrons in a gas has already delivered promising results for gas conversion applications like CO2 conversion and N2 fixation, but plasma reactors still require optimization to be considered industrially competitive to existing fossil fuel-based processes and emerging other electricity-based technologies. In this thesis I develop computational models to describe plasma reactors and identify key mechanisms in three different plasma reactors for three different gas conversion applications, i.e. N2 fixation, combined CO2-CH4 conversion and CO2 splitting. I first developed models to describe a new rotating gliding arc (GA) reactor operating in two arc modes, which, as revealed by my model, are characterized by distinct plasma chemistry pathways. Subsequently, my colleague and I study the quenching effect of an effusion nozzle to this rotating GA reactor, reaching the best results to date for N2 fixation into NOx at atmospheric pressure, i.e., NOx concentrations up to 5.9%, at an energy cost down to 2.1 MJ/mol. Afterwards, I investigate the possible improvement of N2 admixtures in plasma-based CO2 and CH4 conversion, as significant amounts of N2 are often found in industrial CO2 waste streams, and gas separations are financially costly. Through combining my models with the experiment from a fellow PhD student, we reveal that moderate amounts of N2 (i.e. around 20%) increase both the electron density and the gas temperature to yield an overall energy cost reduction of 21%. Finally, I model quenching nozzles for plasma-based CO2 conversion in a microwave reactor, to explain the enhancements in CO2 conversion that were demonstrated in experiments. Through computational modelling I reveal that the nozzle introduces fast gas quenching resulting in the suppression of recombination reactions, which have more impact at low flow rates, where recombination is the most limiting factor in the conversion process.

Abstract: Exposure to air pollution, such as particulate matter (PM), causes adverse health effects, particularly to the respiratory tract and cardiovascular system. PM is the collective name for all kinds of particles ranging from small particles and liquid droplets, which contain organic compounds, acids and metals, to soil or dust particles. One distinguishes PM10, PM2.5 and PM0.1, which have aerodynamic particle sizes smaller than 10, 2.5 and 0.1 µm, respectively. It is mainly the latter that is the most harmful, as PM0.1 penetrates deep into the respiratory system and carries relatively more toxic substances than the other PM fractions. Over a 15-year period, PM concentrations in European member states have fallen by about 30%. Nevertheless, the World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines, which became stricter in 2021, are exceeded in most places around the world. Particularly in cities, excessive levels of PM are measured and it is here that PM mitigation should be investigated. For this, the implementation of urban green infrastructure, including trees, shrubs, green roofs and green walls, is being looked at. Plants hinder airflow and remove PM from the air by deposition on their leaves and branches. This process is known as dry deposition. Plants can capture PM very efficiently, due to their complex structure of leaves and branches. Green walls offer significant advantages over other types of urban green infrastructure because they can grow on the huge available wall area and, because they do not hinder air circulation, as we sometimes see with trees. Green walls are believed to have a much greater, untapped potential to reduce PM pollution. However, a literature review showed that we do not know the quantitative impact of green walls and lack the tools and/or general methodology to do so. The objective of this thesis is therefore to develop a method for assessing PM removal by green walls, based on predictive models and based on relevant parameters that are experimentally determined. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a numerical method to simulate airflow in complex environments such as cities. These models can also simulate the vegetation-wind interaction in detail and are interesting tools to assess the effect of green walls on PM concentrations in real environments. It is important to first study the aerodynamic effect of green walls and parameterise it correctly in CFD models. Plants decrease the wind speed and create turbulence through a combination of viscous and form drag, which are determined by the permeability (K) and drag coefficient (Cd), respectively. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted with three commonly found climbers (Hedera helix, Parthenocissus tricuspidata and Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and the variation of leaf area density was investigated for two of them. It was observed that the air resistance depended on plant species, leaf area density and wind speed. The difference between the plant species was assigned to the functional leaf size (FLS), the ratio of the largest circle within the boundaries of the leaf to the total leaf area. FLS is likely associated with other morphological characteristics of plants that, when considered collectively, provide a more comprehensive representation of leaf complexity. The pressure and velocity measurements obtained were used to optimise the permeability and drag coefficient in a CFD model. At wind speeds below 0.6 m s-1, the resistance was mainly determined by viscous drag and a larger leaf size resulted in a higher viscous drag. At wind speeds above 1.5 m s-1, form drag was dominant and the parameterised Cd decreased with increasing wind speed due to the sheltering effect of successive plant elements. The leaf area density had a significant effect on K and Cd and, is therefore an important plant parameters in CFD models. The main conclusion here is that the common practice of using a constant Cd to model the influence of plants on the air flow leads to deviations from reality. Wind tunnels are highly suitable to study the impact of green walls on PM concentration under controlled environmental conditions. For this purpose, a new wind tunnel setup was built and great attention was paid to obtaining a uniform air flow. Thus, based on CFD models, appropriate flow controllers were chosen, consisting of honeycombs and screens with different mesh sizes. New PM generation devices and measuring equipment were installed and set up appropriately. Devices were available for generating and measuring ultrafine dust (<0.1 µm, i.e. PM0.1) and fine dust (<0.3 µm, i.e. PM0.3) consisting of soot particles, and, on the other hand, fine dust with particle sizes smaller than 2.5 (PM2.5) and 10 µm (PM10) consisting of 'Arizona fine test dust'. With the new wind tunnel setup, it was possible to measure the influence of Hedera helix (common ivy), grown in a planter against a climbing aid, on the PM concentration and this was expressed by a collection efficiency, i.e. the difference in concentration in front and behind the plants normalised for the incoming concentration. The collection efficiency of H. helix depended on the particle size of the PM and wind speed. The collection efficiency decreased when the particle size increased from 0.02 to 0.2 µm and increased again for particle sizes above 0.3 µm. The collection efficiency also increased with increasing wind speed, especially for particle sizes > 0.03 µm. On the other hand, relative humidity and the type of PM (soot or dust) did not significantly affect the collection efficiency. The main objective of this study was to obtain an optimised size-resolved deposition model. Dry deposition occurs through several mechanisms, in particular gravity, diffusion, impaction and interception, and the subsequent resuspension of deposited PM back to the environment. The modelling of these mechanisms was described by \citet{Zhang2001} and \citet{Petroff2010}. The data obtained from the wind tunnel experiments allowed validating these deposition models. It was for the first time that deposition of real PM on green walls was studied. The different PM deposition mechanisms were found to be strongly dependent on particle size and wind speed. The models of \citet{Zhang2001} and \citet{Petroff2010} each matched PM concentration measurements for only certain particle sizes. Therefore, a combination of the two models was investigated and the root mean square error was lower by on average 3.5% (PM < 0.03 µm) and 46% (PM > 0.03 µm) compared to the original models at wind speeds greater than 1.5 m s-1. For wind speeds less than 1.5 m s-1, the optimised model did not differ from the original models. The optimised model was able to meet the imposed criteria for air quality models, where a correct model exhibits low deviation from measurements ('normalised mean square error' < 1.5), low bias ('fractional bias' between -0.3 and 0.3) and high R2. In comparison, the R$2$ of the optimised model was 0.57, while that of Zhang et al. (2001) and Petroff et al. (2010) was 0.23 and 0.31, respectively. The optimised model was however characterised by a high scatter, with the fraction of modeled results located within a factor of two of the measurements being lower than 50. A model study with a green façade oriented parallel to the incoming airflow showed that deposition by interception and impaction reduced remarkably, but that the orientation had no effect on deposition by Brownian diffusion. A promising green wall form for PM mitigation is the living wall system (LWS). LWS consist of supporting structures with substrate to grow plants in and can be planted with a variety of plant species. This allows to select plant species with optimal characteristics to achieve PM deposition. These characteristics refer to the macro- and microstructure of the leaves, and research has been conducted mainly on these. On the other hand, the influence of the supporting structure and substrate on PM concentrations has rarely been studied. With the new wind tunnel setup, LWS from different manufacturers were tested for their ability to capture PM. The setups were subjected for three hours to an air flow with a low PM concentration (resuspension phase) and then for three hours to an air flow to which additional PM was added (deposition phase). Some setups were able to decrease the PM concentration during both phases, while others just caused the concentration to increase. Some systems were able to reduce particulate matter concentration during both phases, namely LWS consisting of planters (-2% and -4% for PM0.1 and PM2.5, respectively) and textile cloths (-23% and -5% for PM0.1 and PM2.5, respectively). While other systems actually resulted in an increase in concentration especially LWS existing textile fabrics consisting of geotextiles (+11% for both PM fractions) and with moss as substrate (+2% and +5% for PM0.1 and PM2.5, respectively). This highlights the importance of careful selection of suspension systems to reduce particulate matter concentrations. Further research is therefore needed on the materials used in these systems in relation to their particulate content, as well as on plant development in these systems. In addition to air measurements, measurements were taken of the amount of PM deposited on the leaves and suspension system of LWS. This allowed the difference in PM resuspension and deposition between plant species to be investigated. The amount of deposited particulate matter was determined based on 'saturation isothermal remanent magnetisation' (SIRM), a measure of magnetisable particulate matter. This was possible because the added 'Arizona fine test dust' contained iron oxide. However, no significant difference was observed between the SIRM values measured before the wind tunnel experiment, after resuspension and after deposition. This suggested that the iron oxide content in the Arizona fine test dust was too low to measure a significant difference in the SIRM values on leaves after three hours. The plant species did give rise to different SIRM values ranging between 5 and 260 µ A. In particular, SIRM values above 26 µ A were observed for the plant species that were grouped due to their significantly higher accumulation of PM. 'Specific leaf area' (SLA), specifically the ratio of the one-sided 'fresh' leaf area to its dry mass, was the significant leaf characteristic. SLA correlated with leaf complexity. In particular, plant species with elongated leaves were characterized by low SLA, high FLS and high complexity and showed significantly higher SIRM values. Finally, the optimised size-resolved deposition model was also tested in an urban model to get an idea of the impact of a green wall on PM concentrations in a so-called 'street canyon'. These are narrow streets with high buildings on both sides, making air pollution more persistent. To this end, an ideal scenario was tested in which a green wall was introduced along both sides of the street over a length of about 270 m. The model result showed a decrease in PM2.5 and PM10 of 46 ± 12% and 52 ± 14%. This result is of course for a very optimal scenario where the green wall covers the entire building façades. Since this is not feasible in reality, other ways of promoting contact between green walls and polluted air can be explored. The insights obtained illustrate that the use of climbing plants can be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution to reduce PM concentrations. Moreover, the findings showed that models can be used to investigate the impact of green walls on PM levels. These findings fit within the broader context of designing healthy and sustainable urban environments and developing innovative solutions based on solid scientific knowledge.

Abstract: Air pollution is proclaimed by the World Health Organiaation (WHO) as the biggest environmental threat to human health. Street canyons, or urban roads flanked by a continuous row of high buildings on both sides, are perceived as typical bottleneck areas for air quality due to their lack of natural ventilation. This doctoral thesis aims to integrate expert knowledge on in-canyon flow fields and pollution dispersion in street canyons from the specialized field of (bio)engineering into the field of urban planning and vice versa. In Chapter 1, a Geospatial Information System (GIS) method was developed to detect exposure zones and hotspot street canyons. A critical combination between aspect ratio (AR > 0.65) and traffic volume (TVmax > 300) was detected and subsequently used to detect hotspot street canyons in three major European cities (Antwerp, London and Paris). Chapter 2 focusses on acquiring in-depth knowledge on flow and concentration fields in street canyons by conducting an extensive literature review on over 200 studies and translates this knowledge into nineteen guidelines and eleven spatial tools, comprised in a toolbox for urban planning. Subsequently, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used into a research trough design process (Chapter 4) to illustrate how the design tools can be applied to a specific case study (Belgiëlei, Antwerp). Alternations to traffic lanes (traffic lane reduction and lateral displacement) combined with low boundary walls (LBWs), were found to reduce NO2 levels in the entire pedestrian area up to – 3.6 % and peak pollutions were reduced by -8 %. A maximum NO2 reduction was reached by combining a traffic lane displacement with hedges, adjustments to the tree planting pattern and an increased ground-level permeability, leading to reductions up to – 4.5 % in the pedestrian areas. In conclusion, urban design was found to be a valuable tool to enhance the effect of emission reduction strategies and draw in-canyon concentrations closer to the value of the background concentration. However, the background concentration seemed to dominate the efficiency of the urban design interventions and therefore, additional measures should be taken to reduce background pollution levels. This dissertation aims to contribute to the awareness of air pollution in street canyons, as well as support local governments in taking action by delivering spatial tools and guidelines applicable for urban planning and represents a framework for the dissemination of expert information on air quality in street canyons to the field of urban planning.

Abstract: Grafting organophosphonic acids modification (PAs) on metal oxides has shown to be a flexible technology to tune the surface properties of metal oxides for various applications. Nevertheless, there are still puzzles that need to be addressed, such as the correlations between metal oxides properties (types of surface reactive sites) and the modification (modification degree), the correlations between metal oxides properties and the properties of modified surfaces. Moreover, the currently used liquid-phase method for the grafting has associated impeding effects of solvent on tailoring the modification degrees, and also causes the formation of metal phosphonate side products. The solid-phase method can induce the unwanted changes in crystal phase of supports. Based on these questions, the three titania supports with divergent surface properties were selected as the metal oxides supports investigated, propylphosphonic acid (3PA) modification was carried out under the same synthesis conditions: four different concentrations, two solvents (water or toluene), and one reaction time (4 h) and temperature (90 ). MeOH chemisorption was introduced to probe the surface (un)reactive sites for 3PA modification. On the other hand, MeOH chemisorption and inverse gas chromatography (IGC) were combined to characterize the changes in surface polarity and acidic properties induced by the modification. Next, a solid-phase method, manual grinding, was proposed to graft 3PA on titania, avoiding the impeding effects of solvent on improving modification degree and the formation of the titania phosphonate side products, as well as preserving the crystal phase. The results indicate that methanol chemisorption can qualitatively analyze the surface active sites that are consumed by 3PA modification, its chemisorption capacity shows the consistent trend with the maximum modification degree, hereby revealing the kinds of interactions that are important in controlling surface coverage. Titania supports is found to play an important role in changes in surface polarity and acidic properties by charactering the three modified titania samples at a similar modification degree using the methanol chemisorption coupled with in-situ infrared and thermogravimetric-mass spectrometer, and the IGC. Moreover, IGC provides additional information about the changes in binding modes. Furthermore, grafting 3PA modification on titania was achieved by manual grinding. Compared to the liquid-phase method, the maximum modification degree obtained by the manual grinding is 25 % higher while using 83.3 % or 75.0% lower amounts of expensive 3PA and limiting the formation of titania phosphonate side products. Compared to the reactive milling method, the proposed manual grinding method preserves the crystal phase(s) of titania.

Abstract: Since its discovery 20 years ago, many studies have been performed to gain insight into the functional role of cytoglobin (Cygb). However, Cygb has been proven to be a promiscuous protein. Yet, there is a consensus that Cygb is a cytoprotective protein involved in redox homeostasis. CYGB is a ubiquitously expressed hexacoordinated globin that is highly expressed in melanocytes and is often found to be downregulated during melanocyte-to-melanoma transition. In Chapter III, we investigated the molecular mechanism through which CYGB could be involved in redox regulation. Here, we showed that CYGB contains two redox-sensitive cysteine residues and that the formation of an intramolecular disulfide bridge resulted in the heme group becoming more accessible to external ligands. This supports the hypothesis that Cys38 and Cys83 serve as sensitive redox sensors. In Chapter IV we showed that CYGB mRNA and protein levels were elevated upon exposure to hypoxia. Interestingly, this upregulation was most likely HIF-2α-dependent. We propose that in melanoma, HIF-2α, rather than HIF-1α, positively regulates CYGB under hypoxic conditions in a cell type specific way. In Chapter V, the cytotoxic effect of indirect NTP treatment in two melanoma cell lines with divergent endogenous CYGB expression levels was investigated. We confirmed that NTP endows cytotoxicity that induces cell death through apoptosis and that this was mediated through the production of ROS. Moreover, we showed that CYGB protects melanoma cells from ROS-induced apoptosis by the scavenging of ROS. Interestingly, CYGB expression influenced the expression of NRF2 and HO-1. We identified the lncRNA MEG3 as a possible mechanism through which NRF2 expression and its downstream target HO-1 can be regulated by CYGB. In chapter VI, increased basal ROS levels and higher degree of lipid peroxidation upon RSL3 treatment contributed to the increased sensitivity of CYGB knockdown G361 cells to ferroptosis. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis demonstrates the enrichment of multiple cancer malignancy pathways upon CYGB knockdown, supporting a tumor-suppressive role for CYGB. Remarkably, CYGB expression regulation was identified as a critical determinant of the ferroptosis–pyroptosis therapy response. This suggests that CYGB is involved in the regulation of multiple modes of programmed cell death. FInally, we sought to delineate the RONS that are responsible for plasma-induced ICD. Our results highlight the importance of the short-lived species. Furthermore, we are first to demonstrate that NTP-created vaccine is safely prepared and offers complete protection. Moreover, we provide conclusive evidence that direct application of NTP induces ICD in melanoma.

Abstract: Plasma-based CO2 conversion is worldwide gaining increasing interest. The aim of this work is to find potential pathways to improve the energy efficiency of plasma-based CO2 conversion beyond what is feasible for thermal chemistry. To do so, we use a combination of modeling and experiments to better understand the underlying mechanisms of CO2 conversion, ranging from non-thermal to thermal equilibrium conditions. Zero-dimensional (0D) chemical kinetics modelling, describing the detailed plasma chemistry, is developed to explore the vibrational kinetics of CO2, as the latter is known to play a crucial role in the energy efficient CO2 conversion. The 0D model is successfully validated against pulsed CO2 glow discharge experiments, enabling the reconstruction of the complex dynamics underlying gas heating in a pure CO2 discharge, paving the way towards the study of gas heating in more complex gas mixtures, such as CO2 plasmas with high dissociation degrees. Energy-efficient, plasma-based CO2 conversion can also be obtained upon the addition of a reactive carbon bed in the post-discharge region. The reaction between solid carbon and O2 to form CO allows to both reduce the separation costs and increase the selectivity towards CO, thus, increasing the energy efficiency of the overall conversion process. In this regard, a novel 0D model to infer the mechanism underlying the performance of the carbon bed over time is developed. The model outcome indicates that gas temperature and oxygen complexes formed at the surface of solid carbon play a fundamental and interdependent role. These findings open the way towards further optimization of the coupling between plasma and carbon bed. Experimentally, it has been demonstrated that “warm” plasmas (e.g. microwave or gliding arc plasmas) can yield very high energy efficiency for CO2 conversion, but typically only at reduced pressure. For industrial application, it will be important to realize such good energy efficiency at atmospheric pressure as well. However, recent experiments illustrate that the microwave plasma at atmospheric pressure is too close to thermal conditions to achieve a high energy efficiency. Hence, we use a comprehensive set of advanced diagnostics to characterize the plasma and the reactor performance, focusing on CO2 and CO2/CH4 microwave discharges. The results lead to a deeper understanding of the mechanism of power concentration with increasing pressure, typical of plasmas in most gases, which is of great importance for model validation and understanding of reactor performance.

Abstract: The EPS Antwerp Young Minds (AYM) invited Prof. Nir Navon (Yale University) to hold a colloquium for the physics department. For an audience of students and researchers, Prof. Navon presented recent advances in ultracold quantum matter and research from his own lab. His experimental work paves the way to make toy models used by theorists a reality. We sat down afterwards to discuss ultracold physics, box traps and setting up a lab from scratch.

Abstract: De bijdrage gaat dieper in op de relatie tussen ruimte en gezondheidsongelijkheid, bespreekt gezondheidsongelijkheid vanuit een rechtenperspectief en illustreert een aantal praktijken waarin de aandacht voor ruimte en gezondheidsongelijkheid samenkomen.