27 February 2018
NWO will ask candidates for an 'embedding guarantee' from the start of the new application rounds for Veni and Vidi funding. In other words, researchers can only submit applications for Veni and Vidi funding with the support of the institution where they intend to conduct their research. This measure stems from earlier measures announced by NWO and the agreements NWO has made with the Association of Universities in the Netherlands, the VSNU, all aimed at reducing the number of applications. It is expected to lead to fewer applications and be more consistent with the research institutions’ personnel policy. Veni and Vidi are part of the NWO Talent Scheme: individual funding for talented researchers.
23 February 2018
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 35 scientists 1.5 million euros each to conduct research in the coming five years. Vici is one of the largest grants for individuals in the Netherlands and targets advanced researchers. The funding enables the scientists to set up their own innovative line of research and put together their own research group.
The VWData kickstarter programme is made up of several research teams that will focus on a joint issue: how can we use Big Data in a way that is legally, ethically and socially acceptable? The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is involved in both the realization and the implementation of this programme, which it is rolling out on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Three initiatives - The Dutch Blockchain Coalition, B-Hive and the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) - signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will allow them to leverage their significant collaboration potential for mutual benefit around the topic of distributed ledger technology, otherwise known as blockchain, and allows them to recognize each other’s contribution towards this collaboration. The MoU confirms the mutual interest in collaboration and defines the general guidelines of collaboration among the three organisations. NWO is part of the Dutch Blockchain Coalition.
16 February 2018
Researchers at Utrecht University and Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands, have for the first time made a picture of an important on-switch of our immune system. Their novel technical approach already led to the discovery of not one, but two ways in which the immune system can be activated. This kind of new insights are important for designing better therapies against infections or cancer, according to team leaders Piet Gros and Thom Sharp. Their findings are published on February 16, 2018 in the journal Science.
14 February 2018
Quantum technology makes a great leap forward. While scientists can control a few qubits with great reliability, it doesn’t yet look like a real computer. Useful quantum chips require programmability: the ability to perform an arbitrary set of operations. Scientists from QuTech in Delft have now realised a programmable two-qubit quantum processor in silicon successfully implementing two quantum algorithms. They have published their work in the magazine Nature.
This year's Physics@Veldhoven conference, which took place at the Koningshof Conference Centre on 23 and 24 January, brought together over 2000 physicists eager to discuss the current state of affairs in physics. The participants also had plenty of opportunities to network, both within and beyond their own areas of specialisation. That is precisely the strength of Physics@Veldhoven, since this annual conference covers the entire range of physics: from dark matter to solar fuels and from string theory to research on living cells. Once again the conference was an exhilarating and inspiring event for researchers. The theme of the Physics@Veldhoven 2018 was Breaking Brains.
12 February 2018
NWO has awarded Prof. E.H. Brück (Delft University of Technology) a grant for an industrial partnership programme (IPP). The IPP involves the development of materials for an efficient conversion of magnetic energy at room temperature.
6 February 2018
In the first round of NWO’s new START-UP programme, grants worth almost €6 million were awarded to eleven projects. START-UP is intended for recently appointed professors, associate professors, and assistant professors in physics and chemistry.
Together with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), its Brazilian sister organization, NWO has awarded grants to six joint projects in the Biobased Economy programme. NWO is making €1.7 million available to fund the Dutch part of this research project.
