The ceremony for the Honorary Citizens of the City of Liège was held on 14 August at the Town Hall, traditionally at the opening of the 15 August celebrations in Outremeuse. “The aim is to honour those who work or have worked, through their personal actions, exemplary careers, achievements or performances, for the development and/or renown of Liège,” explains the City.
Coraline Radermecker, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Fund for Scientific Research-FNRS at the at the Laboratory of Immunophysiology of the GIGA at ULiège, received the prestigious Baillet Latour Biomedical Award, worth €1 million, on 30 April 2025.
This prize, awarded annually since 2022, recognises promising biomedical research and aims to support the career of a talented young Belgian researcher for five years.
With this 2025 prize, the Baillet Latour Fund is supporting Coraline Radermecker's work in the field of respiratory physiology, and in particular the role of pulmonary neutrophils.
These three academics are being honoured for their role in the Einstein Telescope project.
The City of Liège highlights their “decisive action in this major European scientific programme that is the Einstein Telescope, the future underground observatory for gravitational waves. This telescope is an exceptional opportunity for Liège, both because the project could revolutionise our knowledge of the universe and because of the significant economic benefits it is likely to generate.”
Professors Christophe Collette and Frédéric Nguyen are involved in the E-TEST programme, which is preparing for the installation of the Einstein Telescope in Europe. As part of this programme, Christophe Collette and his team have developed a cryogenically cooled suspended mirror, a prototype that is unique in the world and essential for the quality of gravitational wave detections by the future Einstein Telescope. For his part, Frédéric Nguyen has conducted exploration and characterisation campaigns of the subsoil in the Three Borders area to determine the ideal location for the telescope, which will be buried several hundred metres below the surface.
Coordinated by ULiège, the E-TEST programme brought together 11 Euregional partners with €8.11 million in funding from the European ERDF (Interreg V-A Euregio Meuse-Rhine).
The prototype suspended mirror will be installed in the CSL's new clean room once the extension work on the Liège Space Centre (CRISTAL project – Cryogenic and Inertial Stability Lab) has been completed.
Europe is expected to announce its decision on the location of the Einstein Telescope in 2026.
E-TEST Prototype of a mirror suspended at cryogenic temperature
This prize and grant are awarded to them for their work in popularising science with a view to improving the dissemination of knowledge.
PhD student Marine Banse is interested in sound communication in fish and its role in species evolution.
ULiège honored Melchior Wathelet for his European career and strong ties with the University, by awarding him the Alumni en Lumière medal.
