Two FOM researchers selected for The Young Academy
The Young Academy has added two FOM scientists to its membership: Dr. Femius Koenderink and Dr. Mirjam Leunissen. They both work as a group leader at the FOM Institute AMOLF. The group of in total 10 new members will be inducted on 16 March 2012 during an official ceremony held in the Trippenhuis Building of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Young Academy is an independant and innovative group of top young scientists and scholars. It selects its members based on scientific excellence, interdisciplinary approach and a broad interest in science and science communication.
Dr. Femius Koenderink (Experimental physics, AMOLF)
Femius Koenderink (born in 1976) is a talented and creative scientist who is fascinated by light. He is currently studying the transmission of light beams at nano-scale. Koenderink has built up an active and successful research group and his work has received worldwide recognition. He has also shown himself eager to introduce children to the art and science of light. For example, he was one of the initiators of the Light Atelier, a laboratory for children (from 3 to 7 years of age) focusing on light and colour. Koenderink received a Veni grant in 2006 and a Vici grant in 2009.
Dr. Mirjam Leunissen (Physics/physical chemistry, AMOLF)
Mirjam Leunissen (born in 1979) had already chipped away at various key dogmas of physics as a PhD student. Since then, she has studied how synthetic DNA can serve as a 'smart' adhesive for creating new nanomaterials. Her new research group at AMOLF studies multiple weak bonds in soft matter, for example as a model for receptor recognition between human cells. It is a topic that touches on many scientific disciplines, and her habit of collaborating with people in diverse research environments emphasises the interdisciplinary nature of her research. In addition, she frequently gives lectures and writes articles targeting lay persons, students, pupils, and teachers. Leunissen has earlier also received a Rubicon grant and won the FOM Minerva Prize 2010.