Spinoza Prize 2011 for Erik Verlinde and Heino Falcke
FOM workgroup leader Prof. Erik Verlinde and Heino Falcke have just won the NWO Spinoza Prize 2011. They have received 2.5 million euros to freely devote to research of their choice. The prize is the highest award in Dutch science.
Prof. Erik Verlinde (1962), FOM workgroup leader and professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam, investigates the building blocks of the universe. He is an internationally celebrated expert on the string theory, a theory that unifies gravity and quantum mechanics. The referees describe Verlinde as creative, ingenious and ambitious.
Leading light
Verlinde has four major breakthroughs to his name. As a young PhD student he achieved world fame with his Verlinde formula that is now widely used by mathematicians and physicists. Together with his twin brother Herman, and Edward Witten and Robbert Dijkgraaf, Verlinde formulated the Witten-Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde equations. These are used by string theoreticians in their calculations. In 2000, Verlinde developed the Cardy-Verlinde formula and recently he was in the spotlight with his theory to explain gravity. Verlinde proposes that gravity is not a fundamental force but rather an amalgamation of other forces . If Verlinde’s gravitational theory is correct, then that will have huge consequences for how we think about the universe and its evolution.
The New York Times interviewed him as a new phenomenon among the theoreticians of the natural laws of the universe. According to ScienceGuide, Verlinde was so daring and original in his thinking about physics that he hopes to improve the ideas of Newton. Verlinde was ranked seventh in the ScienceGuide Top 10 of 2010, as one of the three young professors who are already considered to be leading lights in their field. In 2010, he also received an ERC Advanced Grant and together with a team of colleagues, he submitted a successful research proposal in the FOM-Projectruimte. And to top it all, he has now received the highest award in Dutch science.
String theory could demonstrate its value as evidence
At FOM, Verlinde is programme leader of the FOM programme 'A string theoretic approach to cosmology and quantum matter', which started in 2010. In this programme, the researchers focus on various unresolved scientific questions related to cosmic background radiation and unexplained states of matters, to which only the string theory can give a conclusive answer. At the time Verlinde made this comment: "With this award there is a real chance that the next major breakthrough, with which string theory will definitely prove its value, will happen in the Netherlands."
Career
Erik Verlinde studied physics at the University of Utrecht. He did his PhD in the Utrecht group of Bernard de Wit and Nobel Prize winner Gerard ‘t Hooft. After gaining his PhD in 1988 Verlinde spent several years in Princeton, the top institute in his field. In 1993, Verlinde accepted a tenured position at CERN and in 1996 Utrecht University appointed him as professor of Physics. In 1999, he was also awarded a professorship at Princeton University. Since 2003, Verlinde has been professor of Physics at the University of Amsterdam.
Heino Falcke
Astroparticle physicist prof.dr. Heino Falcke (1966) is professor of Radio Astronomy and Astroparticle physics at Radboud University Nijmegen. He performs groundbreaking research into one of the most mysterious phenomena of the universe, black holes. Heino Falcke works at the boundaries of his discipline and therefore at the limits of the universe. Falcke is a versatile researcher. He is a leading theoretician and carries out experimental research in the fields of astroparticle physics and astrophysics, a unique combination. In addition to this he develops research instruments.
In 2004, his group managed to make measurements close to the edge of a supermassive black hole in the centre of our galaxy. Four years previously he had already predicted that this would be possible. Over the next few years he hopes to use the same measurement technique to image the edges of the black hole
Astroparticle physics
Falcke is one of the driving forces behind LOFAR, a revolutionary radio telescope that is made up of hundreds of small antennae that together considerably expand their measurement range. Falcke is also playing a key role in the development of SKA (Square Kilometre Array), a square kilometre of telescopes planned for construction in the southern hemisphere. The radio astronomer studies the radiation emitted by planets, stars and galaxies that the radio telescopes receive. This technology reveals the architecture of objects in the universe.
Spinoza
The NWO Spinoza Prize is the highest award in Dutch science. NWO awards the Spinoza Prize to Dutch researchers who belong to the absolute world top of science. The scientists receive the prestigious prize for their outstanding, groundbreaking and inspiring research. The laureates are internationally renowned scientists and know how to inspire young researchers.
Further information about the Spinoza Prize:
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