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InterACTS is the official newsletter of Advanced Chemical Technologies for Sustainability (ACTS). Are you interested in receiving interACTS or do you want to give suggestions? Please send an email to interacts@nwo.nl.

6 February 2012

Call for proposals Technology Area Biomass

31 January 2012

Thirty-one top researchers receive 1.5 million euro grants

Thirty-one leading scientists will each receive 1.5 million euros to carry out research over the next five years. They have been awarded a Vici grant from NWO's Innovational Research Incentives Scheme. Vici is one of the largest individual scientific grants in the Netherlands.
13 December 2011

Young scientific talent gains foreign experience thanks to NWO

Twenty-eight starting researchers will carry out research abroad thanks to the Rubicon programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific research (NWO). With Rubicon, NWO gives researchers who have recently gained their PhD the opportunity to gain research experience at international top institutes.
13 September 2011

Top Sectors benefit from open scientific research

NWO will award the funding for scientific research within the Top Sectors on a competitive basis by means of independent evaluation and on the basis of scientific quality. NWO's contribution is focused on fundamental research. During the allocation, the expected societal impact and the participation of industry will also play a role. NWO will continue to direct its efforts towards the entire spectrum of academic endeavour. That is apparent from the industry letter 'To the Top' that the Dutch cabinet presented on 13 September.
9 September 2011

NWO Spinoza laureates use prize for education

Heino Falcke, Patti Valkenburg and Erik Verlinde, the NWO Spinoza laureates of 2011 have announced how they will each each use their prize of 2.5 million euros. Enthusing young people for science is a top priority for the researchers. The NWO Spinoza Prize is the highest Dutch award in science.
8 September 2011

Fourteen full proposals for TA-COAST

In the first round is M€ 6.75, financed by ACTS and by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and M€ 2.25 is to be funded by cash and in-kind contributions from private partners (industry, research institutes, SMEs).
5 July 2011

NWO offers scientific talent foreign experience

NWO has awarded 28 young, promising researchers funding from the Rubicon programme. Through Rubicon, NWO aims to offer Dutch scientists who have recently obtained their PhD the chance to gain research experience in other countries and equally to attract talent from abroad to the Netherlands. The programme is therefore a vehicle that allows NWO to stimulate the international mobility of scientific talent.
6 June 2011

NWO-Spinoza Prize for Heino Falcke, Patti Valkenburg and Erik Verlinde

Astronomer Heino Falcke, communication scientist Patti Valkenburg and theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde receive the NWO Spinoza Prize 2011, the highest Dutch award in science. This has just been announced by NWO. Each of the laureates receives 2.5 million euros to spend on research of their choice.
7 April 2011

Successfull sustainable hydrogen symposium

Under the motto ‘let yourself be inspired by Dutch research into hydrogen and fuel cells’ more than seventy people, including a large number of participants from the Sustainable Hydrogen programme, gathered on 24 March 2011 in Eindhoven for an in-depth discussion of the latest developments within the programme research.
5 April 2011

NWO offers international experience to young scientific talent

NWO has awarded 29 young, promising researchers funding from the Rubicon programme. Through Rubicon, NWO aims to offer Dutch scientists who have recently obtained their PhD the chance to gain research experience in other countries and equally to attract talent from abroad to the Netherlands The programme is therefore a vehicle that allows NWO to stimulate the international mobility of scientific talent.
2 March 2011

NWO invests 12 million in large research facilities

NWO) has awarded 32 grants in the programme Investment Subsidies NWO Medium for purchasing equipment and setting up data collections. These research facilities make unique research possible. The total investment is 12.2 million euros.
1 March 2011

Hans de Groene new Director General NWO

The Governing Board of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has appointed J.H. (Hans) de Groene as Director General of NWO with effect from 1 May 2011. He will succeed Dr Cees de Visser, who will retire in May.
10 February 2011

NWO supports project for open access books

NWO is making a one-off investment of 360,000 euros in the Dutch successor to the OAPEN project, Open Access Publishing in European Networks. The funding of this project falls within NWO's open access policy.
1 February 2011

Millions of euros in grants for 32 top researchers

Thirty-two innovative scientists will each receive 1.5 million euros to carry out research over the next five years. They have been awarded Vici grants under NWO's Innovational Research Incentives Scheme and with this funding round NWO is investing about 48 million euros in top talent. Vici is one of the largest individual grants in the Netherlands.
20 January 2011

Research highlights at TransACTS

At TransACTS, the meeting of the ACTS programmes at January 12 & 13, 2011, all the current ACTS programmes presented a research highlight. Below you will find a summary of each presentation.
21 December 2010

70 million for innovative science

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded a Vidi grant to 88 researchers. Each scientist will receive a maximum of 800,000 euro to develop his or her own line of research and to build up a research group. Altogether NWO will divide more than 70 million euro among the laureates.
15 December 2010

NWO offers young scientific talent foreign experience

NWO has awarded grants under the Rubicon programme to 31 promising young researchers. Through Rubicon, NWO aims to offer Dutch scientists who have recently obtained their PhD the chance to gain research experience in other countries.
18 November 2010

Trained bacteria convert bio-wastes into plastic

Researcher Jean-Paul Meijnen has ‘trained’ bacteria to convert all the main sugars in vegetable, fruit and garden waste efficiently into high-quality environmentally friendly products such as bioplastics.
2 November 2010

Over 40 million for young researchers

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) recently awarded 161 young postdoctoral researchers a Veni grant. Each researcher will receive 250,000 euro. This grant will allow these young talents to perform research for a period of three years.
18 October 2010

Workshop on development of Technology Areas for Sustainable Chemistry

30 September 2010

Han de Winde new chair ACTS Executive Board

Vanaf 1 oktober 2010 is prof. dr. Han de Winde de nieuwe voorzitter van de Executive Board van ACTS, het publiekprivate samenwerkingsorgaan op het gebied van duurzame chemie en katalyse.
23 September 2010

ACTS and Regiegroep Chemie

23 September 2010

Bart Jacob wins Gorter Award

20 September 2010

One step closer to green catalysis

Mirror image catalysis in water with water is effective and produces no waste. Researchers have now succeeded in imitating this marvelous trick of nature. NWO researchers Gerard Roelfes and Ben Feringa made a hybrid catalyst of metal complexes and DNA. This catalyst allows the selective formation of a single mirror image molecule in a chemical reaction with water in water.
13 August 2010

Impuls research cooperation Hong Kong and The Netherlands

On 12 August 2010 the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong and NWO signed an agreement to establish a joint research scheme.
10 August 2010

Eight million for top PhDs

Ten research schools will each receive 800,000 euro for talented young researchers. The schools can use the grants to set up an excellent education and research programme for the development of young scientific talent. This grant, the Graduate Programme of the Netherlands Organisation for scientific Research (NWO), is contributing to a stronger development of Dutch PhD students.
6 July 2010

NWO sends young researchers abroad

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 31 young, highly-promising scientists a grant from the Rubicon programme. Dutch scientists who have recently gained a PhD can use Rubicon to gain research experience abroad. Foreign researchers can use this grant to do research in the Netherlands.
23 June 2010

Themes and talent for the future

More opportunities for scientific talent and a greater role for scientific research in society. These are two important priorities in the new strategy of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). NWO will therefore invest in talent and societally-inspired themes and it will place greater emphasis on knowledge utilisation.
7 April 2010

NWO sends young researchers into the big wide world

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded Rubicon grants to 33 young and promising researchers. Dutch researchers who have recently gained a doctorate can use the grant to gain research experience abroad. Foreign researchers can use it to undertake research in the Netherlands.
4 March 2010

Crude oil no longer needed for plastics

Each year the world produces about 130 million kilo of ethene, the most important raw material for plastics. This gigantic industry is currently dependent on crude oil. And that is running out. Dutch researcher Tymen Tiemersma might have found a solution for this problem. With his new reactor we can produce ethene from natural gas and, therefore, in the future from biogas as well.
11 February 2010

Marianne de Visser joins NWO Governing Board

Prof. Marianne de Visser will join the Governing Board of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) on 1 February 2010. De Visser is a neurologist at the Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam and professor of neuromuscular diseases at the University of Amsterdam. She succeeds retiring member Charles Buys.
2 February 2010

31 top Dutch researchers receive a Vici grant

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 31 innovative scientists a Vici grant. This grant is worth a maximum of 1,500,000 euro per person and with this is one of the largest individual grants in the Netherlands. Researchers can use the grant to build up their own research group over a period of five years.
11 January 2010

Boost for bio-based economy: 120 million research programme BE-Basic

17 December 2009

Super yeast is a first-class penicillin factory

Dutch researchers have rebuilt the yeast Hansenula polymorpha to become a first-class penicillin factory. Penicillin is still one of the most commonly used antibiotics in the world. However, the medicine is produced by a fungus, which makes large-scale production far from easy. Using the yeast instead will allow a far easier and more sustainable production of penicillin in the future.
16 December 2009

Cees Veerman joins NWO Governing Board

Prof. C.P. Veerman has been appointed a member of the Governing Board of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The professor and former government minister has been appointed with effect from 1 November 2009.
15 December 2009

NWO sends young scientific talent out into the big, wide world

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded grants from the Rubicon programme to 35 young and promising scientists. The grant enables Dutch researchers who have recently gained their PhDs to gain research experience in other countries, and foreign researchers to gain research experience in the Netherlands.
11 November 2009

A top researcher on your bookshelves with EXPERIMENT NL 2

Following the major success of the first part of EXPERIMENT NL, EXPERIMENT NL 2 is now in the shops. The fourth NWO book for the general public, Experiment NL 2, describes the most remarkable, brilliant, amusing and exciting research projects over the past year, in easily accessible language. Read how we can help shy people, why some sportsmen and women shave themselves, and how a baby chimpanzee grows up without being attended to.
8 October 2009

Protection facilitates construction of molecules

Sulfate groups are crucial building blocks for many molecules but are difficult to handle. Dutch researcher Martijn Huibers has discovered how sulfate groups can be protected during the construction of a molecule. Thanks to his method new molecules, which could be used for the production of medicines, can now be constructed far more easily.
2 October 2009

Sustainable gas can be obtained from waste

According to Dutch researcher Guus van Rossum energy can be obtained from biomass more quickly and efficiently than is currently the case. He has developed a new method for the low-temperature extraction of hydrogen from biomass, such as forestry and agricultural waste. Up until now only fuel gas could be extracted. The hydrogen produced by Van Rossum can be used in far more ways.
15 September 2009

Oxygen exchangers increase propene yield

Dutch researcher Jurriaan Beckers has shown that the yield of propene can be increased by adding cerium oxide during the production process. Propene is an important raw material for the chemical industry and its uses include the production of medical equipment. However, it is difficult to produce.
12 August 2009

Seven million for Graduate Programme

The Dutch Minister of Education, Science and Culture, Mr Ronald Plasterk, has announced which nine research schools are to participate in the first Graduate Programme. The subsidy is intended for the creation of an excellent educational and research environment for highly talented young researchers.
22 July 2009

Top-class ethnic minority graduates to receive doctoral grants

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded grants under the Mosaic programme to twenty young, talented ethnic minority graduates. The budding researchers can use the grant to conduct doctoral research over a four-year period. The certificates will be presented at a ceremony in October.
7 July 2009

NWO sends young researchers into the big wide world

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded a Rubicon grant to 34 young, highly promising scientists.
30 March 2007

Research on grey mould offers possible breakthrough in tomato cultivation

Tomato growers are likely to soon be able to cultivate new tomato varieties without having to use pesticides against grey mould (Botrytis cinerea). This is the conclusion of the STW-sponsored thesis by Richard Finkers from Wageningen University.
29 May 2006

11 million euros for chemistry research

NWO Division for the Chemical Sciences (NWO-CW) has awarded a TOP grant to seven research groups. The groups work across the full spectrum of (bio)chemical and chemical engineering research. Each research group receives EUR 675,000 to strengthen and extend its line of research. In addition to this NWO-CW has awarded an ECHO project grant of EUR 225,000 to 29 researchers for high-quality, science-driven research.
29 May 2006

Joint European strategy for Industrial Biotechnology

Sixteen research organisations from twelve European countries have joined forces in the area of industrial biotechnology. The recent award made by the European Union to the network ERA Industrial Biotechnology (ERA-IB), is an essential contribution to improving Europe's competitive position. ERA-IB was launched in Brussels on 30 and 31 May 2006.
15 March 2006

Launch NWO strategy on May 22nd

14 February 2006

Clay for cleaner production of solvent

Dutch researcher Ferry Winter has developed a heterogeneous catalyst for the production of the industrially important solvent methyl isobutyl ketone. With the new catalyst the production process is more environmentally-friendly. The catalyst consists of hydrotalcite, a naturally-occurring clay.
14 February 2006

First Dutch success in European chemistry network

Two Dutch chemists have received a research subsidy from ERA-Chemistry. ERA-Chemistry is a network of scientific organisations from 10 European countries and its first priority was to grant research proposals. The Research Council for the Chemical Sciences (CW) of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) represents the Netherlands in the network.
11 November 2005

Natural chemistry finds its way to market

Faster reaction rates, a substantially higher yield and a cleaner production process than is currently possible in the chemical industry. That is the result of a new sustainable chemical process that researchers from Universiteit van Amsterdam and Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen have developed with support from NWO ACTS (Advanced Chemical Technologies for Sustainability).