University of Luxembourg

🎉 Big news on Luxembourg's National Day!

Our own Prof. Massimiliano Esposito has won an ERC Advanced Grant, one of the most competitive research awards in Europe. Only 319 researchers were funded this year out of 3,329 who applied.

His question is simple to ask and very hard to answer: where does life come from? Using physics and chemistry, he wants to understand how lifeless matter can organise itself into something living, and build the theory that explains how it happens.

There's a nice touch in the name. His project is called EOS, and in Greek mythology Eos is the goddess of the dawn, a fitting echo for research into the dawn of life itself.

Huge congratulations from all of us at the University of Luxembourg! 👏

European Research Council

The hidden power of randomness in quantum systems

Pablo Martinez-Azcona, recipient of the Excellent Thesis Award 2025, explores how randomness shapes the behaviour of quantum systems.

His thesis shows that random fluctuations do not simply disrupt quantum dynamics. Depending on the situation, they can stabilise or destabilise a system and influence how information spreads within it.

Using a qubit as an example, his research also examines what happens when a quantum system is affected by randomness while losing energy to its surroundings. It identifies distinct long-term behaviours, including a newly observed regime in which the system is driven into its lossy state.

His work also uses randomness to better understand the butterfly effect in the quantum world by analysing correlations between energy levels in complex quantum systems.

Overall, the thesis highlights that randomness is not always detrimental in quantum systems, but can also be used to reshape quantum evolution.

👏 Congratulations on this achievement!

Thesis title: Randomness in Dissipative and Chaotic Quantum Dynamics
Supervisor: Aurelia Chenu

Can the microbes in a river act as early indicators of ecosystem health? 🦠💧

A new pilot project in Luxembourg is testing exactly that. As part of TREC (TRaversing European Coastlines), an initiative of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), researchers sampled water, soils and a wastewater treatment plant along the Moselle, at Schengen and Grevenmacher, to see how river microbiomes respond to human-driven pressures.

Using metagenomics and environmental DNA, the teams will map microbial diversity, antimicrobial resistance, and pollutants including pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, PFAS and pesticides.

Together, the Rhine and the Moselle rivers span France, Luxembourg and Germany, forming a cross-border natural laboratory for measuring our impact on water quality. The work is led by EMBL alongside regional partners, including the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg.

As EMBL's Jan Korbel puts it, microorganisms are "highly sensitive to environmental change," responsive enough to flag the state of an ecosystem before other signals appear.

Read the full story 👇
https://www.uni.lu/lcsb-en/news/tracing-environmental-change-through-river-microbiomes-in-luxembourg/

Can AI be trusted with decisions about your money, your health, or your rights? 🤔

The University of Luxembourg's SnT, with Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology - LIST and the Luxembourg AI Factory, has released a free, open-source tool to test whether AI is trustworthy and compliant.

Made in Luxembourg. Built for Europe. 🇱🇺🇪🇺

👉 https://www.uni.lu/snt-en/news/new-open-source-tool-accelerates-testing-for-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/

Energy is part of our everyday lives, often in ways we do not immediately notice.

It is there when we switch on the lights in the morning.
When we heat our homes.
When we charge our phones.
When we choose how to travel.
When businesses plan their future.
When families look at their monthly bills.

As Luxembourg moves towards a greener energy future, the transition is no longer an abstract idea. It is becoming part of the way we live, work, move and make decisions.

But this transition also comes with important questions.

Can we reduce emissions while keeping energy affordable?
How can industry remain competitive?
What role will hydrogen, renewables and smart energy systems play in practice?
And how can households and businesses adapt to a more flexible and efficient energy system?

In 4 days, the next UniverCITY Talks will bring together voices from research and industry for an open discussion on the green transition in Luxembourg.

Join us on Tuesday 16 June for an interactive conversation with:

🔴 Prof Bradley Paul Ladewig
🔴 Dr Laura Andolfi
🔴 Patrick Witte

Moderated by Lisa Burke.

Register now:
https://www.uni.lu/en/events/univercity-talks-green-transition/

🤝 Today the University of Luxembourg had the pleasure of welcoming H.R.H. Prince Louis, representing the Fondation Henri - Maria Teresa, to our campus.

The heart of the visit was how we support students with learning disabilities, looking at the question from both sides: the everyday student experience and the research that makes better support possible.

Our teams shared the many ways works to make higher education accessible to every mind 💡, from the Inclusion Office and JAMWORKS, a digital assistant tool for students with disabilities, to research on dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism and neurodiversity, and the future Belval Centre for Mental Health.

Thank you to the Fondation Henri-Maria Teresa for supporting the funding of JAMWORKS, a tool that will make our students’ lives easier, and thank you also for exploring how we can work together in the future. 🌱

🩺 Excellent Thesis Award 2025

Bridging mechanics and biology for personalised pressure ulcer prevention

Pressure ulcers affect around 1 in 5 patients in Europe, making prevention a major healthcare challenge.

Dr Thomas Lavigne, recipient of the Excellent Thesis Award 2025 at the University of Luxembourg, studies what happens to the skin when it remains under pressure for too long.

Think of your skin like a soft sponge filled with tiny blood vessels. When pressure is applied, the tissue is compressed and blood cannot deliver enough oxygen. If this continues, the skin begins to break down. When the pressure is released, blood suddenly rushes back into the area.

For years, researchers studied these effects separately. His work brings them together in a single digital model, combining mechanical forces and blood flow, and testing them with real patient data.

This approach helps identify which areas of the skin are most at risk, opening the way to more personalised and effective prevention strategies.

👏 Congratulations on this achievement!

Thesis title: Biomechanical Response of Human Skin: A Hierarchical Porous Media Framework
Supervisor: Stéphane Bordas

Monday 8 June 2026. A new has started today at the University of Luxembourg.

Dear students, the time is now for you to show how talented you are. It’s your time to shine! ☀️

We will keep repeating it over and over: no exams define you. You define them.

💪 You are capable of more than you can imagine and YOU will show it again during this new exam season.

As we’ve been doing during the study days and traditionally over the past years, we will cheer you on every step of the way.

💌 Keep sending us your amazing DMs. Your nice words boost us to boost you even more. Let’s keep the kindness flowing both ways.

💃 Start your day with some exercises/dancing to make the energy flow in your whole body.
🚿 Have a quick shower.
☕️ Don’t miss out on a good balanced breakfast to have the fuel for the day.
💧 Fill your bottle of water to be hydrated during the day.
🧘‍♂️ Balance your study with moments of relaxation. Walk in nature, listen to your favorite music, or simply breathe deeply.

Exams don’t define you. They’re just milestones on your incredible journey towards who you want to become.
Embrace the challenge, for you are prepared, strong, and capable.
🫶 You’ve got this, and we’ve got you!

Sending you plenty of smiles, love, hugs, warmth, motivation, high-vibes, and positive vibes!!!

Boost you friends with your own motivation messages. Together, let’s make this exam season as smooth as possible for everyone.

Take Care,
Your fav Social Media Manager ☀️
P.S. Smile and remember how awesome you are!
12.06 it’s lunchtime! Bon appétit 😋

🎓✈️ One was flying to Tokyo. One had just arrived from the other side of the world. Same room, opposite directions.

That’s us on a normal day.

Tonight we celebrated 62 students at our International Awards Ceremony 🌍 some heading out for a semester abroad, some who crossed borders to come study with us.

A few things that make this place what it is:
🌐 57% of our students come from abroad
🗺️ students + professors from 150 countries
🤝 100+ partner universities worldwide
📚 every Bachelor student spends a semester abroad

This year’s awardees are off to Kyoto, Hong Kong, Singapore, Montréal, Perth and Tokyo 🇯🇵🇨🇦🇸🇬🇦🇺 and 12 of our top students are headed to summer school at Sophia University this July.

And to everyone stuck in exam season right now 👇
Every student on that stage sat exactly where you are not long ago. Tired. Not sure it would add up. It does. Keep going. Your turn is closer than it feels. 💪

Congrats to our 2026 awardees 🎉

📍 If you could study anywhere in the world, where would you go? Tell us below 👇