SAFIR Research Newsletter - First Issue

Released eight times per year, the newsletter highlights recent research outputs, events, partnerships, and opportunities across SUAD.

New Publications (January to April 2025)

All works listed here are from HAL and include the SAFIR affiliation. For annual reporting, these will be automatically counted. If your publication is missing from this list, please make sure it is registered in HAL with the SAFIR affiliation. It will then appear in the next issue of the newsletter.

Journal Articles

Chakraborty, T. – A Novel Hybrid Approach For Efficiently Forecasting Air Quality Data, IEEE Sensors Letters, https://doi.org/10.1109/LSENS.2024.3519719

Chakraborty, T. – Developing cholera outbreak forecasting through qualitative dynamics: Insights into Malawi case study, Journal of Theoretical Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2025.112097

Chakraborty, T. – Pattern change of precipitation extremes in Svalbard, Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92339-4

Chakraborty, T., Panja, M., Hadid, A. – Skew-probabilistic neural networks for learning from imbalanced data, Pattern Recognition, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patcog.2025.111677

De Masi, G. – Enhancing collaboration in uncertain environment: Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for underwater monitoring, Expert Systems with Applications, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2025.127256

Ferhani, B. – Leadership and business ethics: A conceptual framework for responsible management, Corporate Ownership and Control, https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv22i1art9

Hadid, A. – Bi-LORA: A Vision-Language Approach for Synthetic Image Detection, Expert Systems, https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.13829

Hadid, A. – Generative AI in the context of assistive technologies, Image and Vision Computing, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imavis.2024.105347

Li, L. – Flexible Organic Crystals for Light Delivery in Biological Tissues, CCS Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.024.202404188

Motte-Baumvol, B. – The key role of motorized two-wheelers in boosting the earnings of on-demand delivery workers in Paris, Research in Transportation Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101545

Mutsagondo, S. – The state of records management at the University of Zimbabwe, ESARBICA Journal, https://www.ajol.info/index.php/esarjo/article/view/290256

Mutsagondo, S. – The WhatsApp Records Management Conundrum, Journal of Archival Organization, https://doi.org/10.1080/10875301.2024.2441187

Pavlopoulos, K. – Mid-to late Holocene palaeogeographic evolution of the Kalamas river delta, Quaternary Science Advances, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100264

Svärd, P. – Democratizing Open Data Through AI: The Case of Sweden, Revue électronique suisse de science de l’information, https://doi.org/10.55790/journals/ressi.2025.e1823

Slimani, A. – Sol-gel hydrothermal synthesis of lead-free BT nanoparticles for enhanced dielectric properties, Applied Surface Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2024.161242

Conference Proceedings

Zambuko, F. C. – Dematerialization and heritage enhancement: actors, tools and challenges.

Hadid, A. – Face to Cartoon Incremental Super-Resolution Using Knowledge Distillation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78183-4_7

Hadid, A. – FIDAVL: Fake Image Detection and Attribution Using Vision-Language Model, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78305-0_11

Hadid, A. – Leveraging Vision Language Models for Facial Expression Recognition in Driving Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-80856-2_6

Zambuko, F. C. – Navigating the complexities of shared archival heritage in the Global South.

Zambuko, F. C. – Research and innovation in museum archives: insights from the Heritage Middle East International Exhibition 2024.

Elabid, Z., Sasal, L., Hadid, A. – TG-PhyNN: An Enhanced Physically-Aware Graph Neural Network Framework for Forecasting Spatio-Temporal Data, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-0119-6_4

Bourdeau, T. – L’enseignement du français parlé en contexte hétéroglotte: Le Français En Contact et En Contexte(s) : Perspectives Linguistiques et Didactiques. Observatoire des Pratiques Langagières Actuelles.    

Books

Mutsagondo, S. – Artificial Intelligence in Records and Information Management, IGI Global, 979-8-3693-9795-4, https://www.doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-9795-4

Martial-Braz, N. – Droit européen du numérique. Approche jurisprudentielle, Bruylant, 978-2-8027-7305-4.

Book Chapters

Debailly, R. – Comment les Science and Technology Studies sont-elles devenues interdisciplinaires ? In L’interdisciplinarité, une histoire.

Epstein, A.-S. – Environmental Law and Technology: A Research Roadmap. In A Research Agenda for Environmental Law, Edward Elgar.

Moulherat, C. – Les fils d'or. Un voyage à travers le temps and Une histoire tissée d’or et de soie au Tombeau des Rois à Jérusalem.

Mutsagondo, S. – Unpacking the Delayed Adoption of the Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Electronic Documents and Records Management System in Zimbabwe. In Artificial Intelligence in Records and Information Management, IGI Global, https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-9795-4.ch008

Preprints

Panja, M., Chakraborty, T. – Epidemic-guided deep learning for spatiotemporal forecasting of Tuberculosis outbreak, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2502.10786

Li, L. – Head-to-Tail Packing to Facilitate [2+2] Cycloaddition, https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173770396.67178180/v1

Hadid, A. – PE-CLIP: A Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning of Vision Lang

Tarsissi, L., Sudarshan, S., Nasr, M. – The distribution of minimal fractions on the Stern-Brocot tree

De Masi, G. - Underwater Image Enhancement by Convolutional Spiking Neural Networks, https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.20485

De Masi, G. - snnTrans-DHZ: A Lightweight Spiking Neural Network Architecture for Underwater Image, https://arxiv.org/pdf/2504.11482

Shinde, S., Non-torsion Galois representations for elliptic curves, https://hal.science/hal-04884060/.

Technical and Practitioner-Oriented Articles

Martial-Braz, N. – CNIL, contrôle juridictionnel et gouvernance des données, Communication – Commerce électronique, n°3.

Martial-Braz, N. – Les sanctions se suivent, les manquements restent… au mépris des droits des personnes concernées !, Communication – Commerce électronique, n°2.

Martial-Braz, N. – L’IA : « ni pour, ni contre, bien au contraire ! », Communication – Commerce électronique, n°2.

Martial-Braz, N. – Libertés, libertés chéries en 2025 !, Communication – Commerce électronique, n°1.

Martial-Braz, N. – Que dit l’évolution du numérique de notre monde ?, Communication – Commerce électronique, n°3.

Martial-Braz, N. – Repère : À toute vitesse... pour rester sur place ?, Communication – Commerce électronique, n°4.

Catelan, N. – Intelligences (collectives et économies) artificielles, Lexbase Pénal 79.

Catelan, N. – Confiscation et blanchiment : l’incertaine utilité de la distinction objet/produit, Lexbase Pénal 80.

Catelan, N. – ABS et non-présentation de comptabilité : tout est question de date... ou presque, Gazette du Palais 13.

Catelan, N. – Blanchiment : double défaut de qualification, Gazette du Palais 13, 62–63.

Catelan, N. – CJIP et corruption internationale : ne tirez pas sur l’ambulance !, Gazette du Palais 13, 71–72.

Catelan, N. – Conflits de saisies post-infirmation d’une mainlevée : entre rétroactivité et indisponibilité, Gazette du Palais 13, 72–74.

Catelan, N. – Herméneutique et action civile des associations environnementales, Gazette du Palais 13, 68–69.

Catelan, N. – Saisie pénale, démembrement de la propriété et minorité, Gazette du Palais 13, 75–76.

Catelan, N., Saenko, L. – Responsabilité pénale des personnes morales : retour aux sources, Gazette du Palais, 57–59.

Catelan, N., Thierry, J.-B. – Actualité impertinente du droit pénal de la probité au prisme des réflexions de Fréderic Stasiak, Revue Lamy Droit des affaires 213, 67–70.

Report

Epstein, A.-S. La transformation écologique du droit économique, 2025, 344 p. https://eco-logic.law/publications-2/la-transformation-ecologique-du-droit-economique/

Translation

Spaak, C. V. – Culpabilité, 2025.

Spotlight on Research Excellence: Dr. Giulia De Masi

Each newsletter highlights one publication from the period covered. This issue features a spotlight on the outstanding work of Dr. Giulia De Masi : 

Enhancing Collaboration in Uncertain Environment: Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Underwater Monitoring, Alberto Luvisutto, Antonio Celani, Federico Renda, Cesare Stefanini, and Giulia De Masi, Expert Systems With Applications, Volume 277, 5 June 2025, 127256. Read more: DOI link

Dr. Giulia De Masi is an Associate Professor Department of Sciences and Engineering of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, bringing over 20 years of expertise in AI, machine learning, and computational modeling from both academia and industry, with numerous applications to Ocean Science and Engineering. After earning her PhD in Complex Networks at the University of Rome La Sapienza and the University of L’Aquila in 2007, she led R&D projects at the Ocean Department of Snamprogetti’s Center of Excellence and at the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi. Her passion lies in translating insights from statistical physics and biological swarms into collective intelligence for multi-agents systems and underwater robot teams. Giulia has held visiting researcher positions at ATR Laboratories (Japan), City University London, and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Italy), and she serves as Associate Editor for multiple IEEE journals. She is an established leader in the field, having received international recognition for her contributions—IEEE Honor Member (2024), WIE Propel Laureate by the Oceanic Engineering Society (2022), UAE Ambassador for Women in Data Science, an initiative by Stanford University (2018)—and leads multidisciplinary collaborations that blend collective AI, multi-robot systems, sustainability, and energy-efficient neuromorphic and bio-inspired solutions.

"Smarter Together: How Robots Learn to Collaborate Like Fish to Explore the Sea"

The ocean has always fascinated writers and filmmakers — mysterious, vast, and full of hidden wonders. But when it comes to exploring it with technology, things get tricky. Unlike on land, there’s no GPS underwater. Sunlight fades quickly as you dive deeper, pressure increases, and communication becomes extremely limited. It’s like being in a dark room with only a tiny flashlight, trying to find your way from one door to another — with no map.

Now imagine you’re not alone. You have friends with you, each with their own flashlight. You can talk to each other, share what you see, and coordinate to find the exit together. Much easier, right? That’s the idea behind our research.

In nature, fish and dolphins navigate complex underwater environments by communicating — either visually when close or using sound over long distances. We’re applying the same principles to robotics.

Our project focuses on teams of autonomous underwater robots that learn to cooperate, just like animals in the ocean. How to make Artificial Systems able to learn and develop their own Artificial Intelligence? Each agent learns how to move and explore using Reinforcement Learning — a process similar to how humans learn, from trial and error. Over time, they discover the best strategies for working together, even when conditions change.

In a recent study [1], the use case was to inspect an underwater pipeline — a narrow, linear area— initially unknown. A single robot would struggle to cover it efficiently, but a group of robots, learning and sharing information like a school of fish, can get the job done faster and smarter.

This research is part of a broader vision: drawing inspiration from Nature to develop increasingly Bio-inspired Artificial Intelligence, enabling intelligent robots to explore ocean environments where humans cannot easily venture.

SAFIR Research Events: January–April 2025

Past Events and their Organizers:

Mediation Symposium – Higher education and sustainability in the UAE, Desruelles, S., 23 Jan

Sustainability & ESG: Vision, Strategy & Roadmap, Boubakri, S., 28 Jan

Pandemic Return of Nepali Migrant Workers, Chaveneau, C., 28 Jan

International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Flor, M. & Le Guyon, V., 11 Feb

Mathematics of Machine Learning, ElDakkak, O., 17 Feb

AI Regulations: UAE and EU, Catelan, N., 19 Feb

Crypto-assets Regulation, Pailler, P. & Martial-Braz, N., 20 Feb

AI & Digital Humanities in the Arabian Gulf, Fresquet, X., 21 Feb

Records Management & Sustainability, Mutsagondo, S., 24 Feb

Internal seminar: AI Tools for Research, Chaveneau, C., 26 Feb

Climate Law and Adaptation, Epstein, A.-S., 2 Apr

Threads of Heritage Exhibition, Moulherat, C., 9 Apr

French and SUAD Archeological Mission in UAQ, Syvilay, D. & Moulherat, C., 7 Apr

Meteorites and Spectroscopy, Syvilay, D., 14 Apr

Natural Risk: Crossing Knowledge and Disciplines, Desruelles, S. & Kremer, D., 23–24 Apr

Upcoming Events and their Organizers:

Email and Digital Message Preservation, Critelli, M., 28 Apr

Family Business and Wealth Management, Boubakri, S., 29 Apr

Internal seminar: Workshop on Zotero for beginners (English session), Chaveneau, C. & Motte-Baumvol, B., 5 May

Internal seminar: Workshop on Zotero for beginners (French session), Chaveneau, C. & Motte-Baumvol, B., 6 May

Internal seminar: Academic Writing Workshop in the Humanities (1st session), Motte-Baumvol, B., 16 May

Internal seminar: Academic Writing Workshop in the Humanities (2nd & 3rd sessions), Motte-Baumvol, B., To be confirmed

Blue Economy Conference, Garcia, B., 22 May

Calls for Projects and Grants

Internal Research Excellence Grant (IREG): Up to AED 300,000 per project. Submission deadline: 7 April 2025.

PhD and Postdoc Grants: Submit by 5 May 2025 (included) – 1 position per project. Submission form

Sabbatical and Teaching Hour Reduction: Requests for 2025/2026 due by 30 April 2025. Apply here

Essay Competition – EU–UAE Relations: Open to BA and MA students. Deadline: mid-May 2025. More info

Participation in International Conferences

Motte-Baumvol, B. – TRB Annual Meeting, Washington DC, US, January

Pavlopoulos, K. – Rivers and Wetlands of Attica, CAMU Canellopoulos Museum, Athens and Attica region, January

Rodier, Y. – Les mazarinades et l'international, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland, March

Kordoni, A. – 21st Century Learning Conference, 21CLHK, Hong Kong, China, February

Li, L. – 33rd Annual Meeting of the German Crystallographic Society, Hanover, Germany, March

Husseini, R. – 8th Equal Opportunities Conference (EO2025), Ahlia University with Brunel University London, Manama, Bahrain, February

Mutsagondo, S. – 4th UNILISA Conference, University of South Africa, Pretoria, April

Spaak, C. – Social Aspects of Integral Humanism, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, India, February

Germoni, K. – Les études françaises et francophones : brouiller les frontières disciplinaires, EFLU, Hyderabad, India, March

Pavlopoulos, K. – Study of tectonic and karst in Salma Plateau, Sultan Qaboos University, Eastern Oman, March

Mutsagondo, S. – DLIS Conference on Knowledge Management and Advanced Technologies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, April

Christopoulos, S. – E-MRS Spring Meeting, European Materials Research Society, Strasbourg, France, March

Husseini, R. – International Conference on Business Intelligence for Technology Innovation, ICBITI, Dubai, UAE, April

Bouthiba, F.-Z. – Les langues dans le monde numérique, Université Al-Albayt, Amman, Jordan, April

Harbi, I. – Converging Realities and Realms of Possibility, CALICO, San Diego, USA, May

Kabata, V. – Archival Science Colloquium, Marburg School of Archives, Marburg, Germany, May

Ruszinko, M. – 13th Hungarian-Japanese Symposium on Discrete Mathematics, Tokyo Institute of Science, Japan, May

Masuku, M. – 9th International Conference on Medical and Health Informatics, Chung Shan Medical University, Kyoto, Japan, May

Masuku, M. – International Association for Media and History, University of Cape Town, South Africa, June

Younes, G. – 9th IFAC Symposium on System Structure and Control (SSSC), CentraleSupélec, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, June

Motte-Baumvol, B. – Rencontres Francophones Transport Mobilité (RFTM), Université Littoral Côte d'Opale, Dunkerque, France, June

Kordoni, A. – International Conference on Education Sciences, Distance Education and Educational Technology, Research Fora, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June

Chaveneau, C – 6th Congress of Middle East and Muslim World Studies, University of Strasbourg, France, June

Chaveneau, C. - 22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference. Decentering migration studies, Paris-Aubervilliers, July

Bourdeau, T. – Congrès Mondial FIPF Besançon, AFEF, Besançon, France, July

Chakraborty, T. – ITISE, Universidad de Granada, Gran Canaria, Spain, July