The Institute
eli | Louvain-la-Neuve
About the Institute
The Earth and Life Institute (ELI) is a research institute from UCLouvain that gathers more than 450 scientists, covering a wide range of disciplines in the Earth and life sciences.
The aim of their research is to study and understand, at different scales, the fundamental physical, chemical and biological processes that govern the functioning of our planet, in order to develop sustainable solutions to some of the major challenges faced by our societies.
The Earth and Life Institute is organized in 5 departments: agronomy, environmental sciences, Earth and climate, ecology and biodiversity, applied microbiology. The institute hosts different research platforms allowing to share its research infrastructure.
Thanks to its size and shared logistical resources, the institute promotes interdisciplinarity and stimulates interaction between scientists with complementary expertise.
The research in ELI follows three main research directions
Understanding the processes ruling the dynamics of the Earth and Life systems at spatial scales coming from population up to the global cycles and time scales from sub-daily to millions of years.
To identify drivers of changes through a quantitative monitoring of indicators and the application of a hierarchy of models.
To innovate in technical management and regulation of both natural and production systems, including renewable resources development and agricultural policy.
Structure of the Institute
The Earth and Life Institute is part of UCLouvain. It is incorporated into the Science and Technology Sector (SST).
The Institute is divided into five poles:
- ELI-A: Agronomy
- ELI-C: Earth and Climate
- ELI-E: Environmental Sciences
- ELI-M: Applied Microbiology
- ELI-V: Ecology and Biodiversity
The Institute hosts four platforms:
- MOCA: Mineral & Organic Chemical Analysis
- SEFY: Plant Cultivation Facilities
- PALS: Agro-Louvain Services Platform
- COSMIOS: COllectionS of Micro-OrganimS
The Institute is linked to two faculties:
- AGRO: Faculty of bioscience engineering
- SC: Faculty of Science
Decisionals organs
Board of the Earth and Life Institute
Council of the Earth and Life Institute