Prof. Sophie Hermans (PI – Spokesperson) 
Prof. Sophie Hermans is an Inorganic Chemist who obtained her first degree (‘Licence en Chimie’) at UCLouvain in Belgium, followed by a DEA (‘Diplôme d’études Approfondies’) at Ecole Polytechnique (Paris, France) for the lecture courses and UCLouvain for the research. She then carried out a PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK) under the supervision of Prof. Brian F. G. Johnson, with a Marie Curie TMR fellowship, working on mixed-metal clusters synthesis, then pursued postdoctoral studies in Cambridge (as JRF, Newnham College) with Prof. Sir John M. Thomas to immobilize the mixed-metal clusters in MCM-41 for heterogeneous catalytic applications. After moving back to UCLouvain with a FNRS ‘Chargée de recherches’ post, she started working on carbon-supported catalysts for sugar transformations and chemical functionalization of (nano)carbon surfaces. She obtained the FNRS ‘Chercheur Qualifié’ and Assistant Professor positions in 2005. She started her independent career in 2010, and since then was promoted to ‘Professeur Extraordinaire’ and FNRS Research Director in 2020, then ‘Professeur Ordinaire’ in 2023. Her research interests are still connected to inorganic molecular chemistry, carbon-based catalysts for biomass valorization, surface functionalization and nanostructured materials preparation.
Key Topics: (Nano-)Carbon ● Supported catalysts ● Functionalization ● Nanomaterials ● Biomass ●
ORCID : 0000-0003-4715-7964
Institutional website: https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/imcn/most/research.html
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sophie_Hermans
URL Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.be/citations?user=_inQ2UQAAAAJ
She now leads a team of ~7 PhD students, 3 post-docs and 4 Master students or interns, whose research projects are all devoted to Inorganic Chemistry. The team also belongs to the MOST division of the IMCN Institute at UCLouvain. Our laboratories comprise modern facilities for chemical synthesis in the field of metal coordination compounds and surface functionalization of solid supports.
Prof. Sophie Demoustier-Champagne (co-PI) 
Prof. Sophie Demoustier-Champagne is a Polymer Scientist who obtained her first degree (‘Licence en Chimie’) at UNamur in Belgium. She then carried out a PhD at UCLouvain under the supervision of Prof. Jacques Devaux, with a FNRS fellowship, working on the synthesis and characterization of polysilanes and pursued a research stay at the University of Florida (USA) with Prof. John Reynolds on conducting polymers. Back to UCLouvain, she successively obtained a F.R.S-FNRS Postdoctoral position, then started her independent career thanks to a F.R.S-FNRS Research Associate and further a Senior Research Associate position. In 2013, she got a full Professor position at the Louvain School of Engineering and carried out her research activities in the Bio- and Soft Matter division of the Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences at UCLouvain. She is particularly interested in studying the impact of the confinement of (bio)-macromolecules and/or functional materials in nanochannels on their structure, function and properties. Her main research activities are centered on the development of synthesis processes, based on the nano-templating method coupled with several material synthesis or assembly methods, for producing a large range of macromolecular, metallic, and hybrid functional nano-objects presenting well-defined geometry and dimensions. Another part of her research activities is dedicated to the developmement of methods for immobilizing biomacromolecules (e.g. enzymes) on flat or nanostructured surfaces and/or within porous polymers.
Key Topics: Polymer Science ● Nanomaterials ● Biomaterials ● Confinement ● (Bio-)functionalisation
ORCID : 0000-0003-3045-6060
Institutional website: https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/imcn/bsma
URL Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=NZijuDkAAAAJ
She now supervises a team of ~6 PhD students, 1 post-doc and 4 Master students. BSMA laboratories comprise a wide range of techniques for the synthesis, processing and characterization of materials at different scales.
Prof. Olivier Riant (co-PI) 
Prof. Olivier Riant was born on the 10th of august 1964 in Boulogne Billancourt, France. In 1987, he received his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the "Ecole Normale Supérieur de la rue d'Ulm". In june 1988, he obtained the title of "Professeur agrégé".He then started his doctoral studies in organic chemistry under the supervision of Professeur H.B. Kagan at the "Université de Paris-Sud". During that time, he studied the asymmetric catalysis of the Diels-Alder reaction, and the asymmetric induction leading to chiral ferrocenyl complexes. He obtained his PhD in 1992. In that same year, he joined the group of Dr. Susan E. Gibson at Imperial College, UK as a postdoctoral fellow. After two years, he went back to France where he was selected to the position of "chargé de recherche CNRS" under the direction of Professor Jean Claude-Fiaud at the "Laboratoires des Réactions Organiques Sélectives". In 1998, he won the CNRS Bronze Medal Award.
He joined the departement of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry at the "Université Catholique de Louvain" in January of 2000, where he is currently a “Professor Ordinaire” of Chemistry. The group of Olivier Riant belongs to the research division MOST of the IMCN Institute. The group of Prof. Riant has been involved in the development of homogeneous transition metal catalytic methods, including asymmetric catalysis and photo-redox catalysis, but is also involved in the field of nanostructured materials for catalysis, as well as chemical biology and medicinal chemistry involving transition metal catalysis.
Key Topics: Homogeneous transition metal catalysis ● asymmetric synthesis ● chemical biology ● medicinal chemistry ● supported catalysts.
ORCID : 0000-0003-4852-6469
Institutional website: https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/imcn/most/research.html
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Olivier-Riant
URL Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.be/citations?user=D0crTXIAAAAJ&hl=fr
He now leads a team of ~6 PhD students, 2 post-docs and 2 Master students or interns. The team also belongs to the MOST division of the IMCN Institute at UCLouvain. Our laboratories comprise modern facilities for organic and organometallic chemical synthesis, catalytic reactions and photo-catalytic reactions.