Five Rubicon grants for physics
This week, NWO awarded five Rubicon grants to physicists who want to take a look over the fence. With the Rubicon grants, NWO gives Dutch researchers who have recently obtained a doctorate the opportunity to gain research experience abroad.
Dr. S.C.S. Lai (Leiden University) will study individual nanoparticles at the University of Warwick (UK), theoretical biophysicist Dr. J.W. van de Meent (Leiden University) will develop statistical software to observe proteins and molecules at Columbia University (US), Dr. M. Poot (Delft University of Technology) is going to Yale University (US) where he will work on optics in motion, and V. Saggiamo is coming from the German Christian Albrechts University in Kiel to the University of Groningen to research the recognition of protein surfaces by nanoparticles.
Rubicon grant for FOM from researcher Ewold Verhagen
FOM researcher Dr. Ewold Verhagen (AMOLF) has also received a Rubicon grant. He will use it to carry out research into light and motion at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. A light particle which falls onto an object gives that object a minute push. The researchers will use the light force to cause microscopic glass rings and gratings to vibrate. They also want to use this light force to cool these vibrating objects until quantum mechanical fluctuations become visible. Earlier this year, Ewold Verhagen won the FOM Physics Thesis Award 2010 en de FOM Valorisation Chapter Prize.
The complete list of proposals honoured (31) and further information about Rubicon can be found at: http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOP_8C5DDP