Government invests 167 million in top-level Dutch research
Six research teams of top scientists from various Dutch universities will receive funding to set up excellent scientific research programmes over the next ten years. Two of the six are physics programmes: Frontiers of Nanoscience (35.9 million euros) and Matter at all Scales (18.3 million euros). The Dutch Minister for Education, Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker, is making 167 million euros available for this. "This funding will boost research that is among the best in the world or has the potential to be so," says to Bussemaker. "Open, independent research is extremely important for forcing breakthroughs in the major challenges society faces."
Gravitation
The government's contribution is part of the Gravitation programme, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) advises on the selection of the teams of scientists. Scientists from a number of universities are collaborating in the consortia to set up excellent scientific research programmes.
The Gravitation programme is the successor to the Dieptestrategie onderzoekscholen (Depth strategy for research centres), for which the last grants were awarded in 1998. By launching the Gravitation programme, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and NWO are giving a new impetus to collaboration at the highest scientific level. The excellent consortia must lead to the creation of a distinct profile for top-level university research and in doing this will also contribute to the Dutch top sectors and to the 'grand challenges' within the EU's Eighth Framework Programme. A second call for proposals for Gravitation will take place in 2013.
The teams granted funding
NWO received 42 proposals within the Gravitation programme. NWO's Governing Board appointed an international committee to make the selection. The committee's members were top researchers with a broad knowledge of scientific developments and experience of large scientific consortia. NWO advised the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to fund six consortia. The Ministry accepted this recommendation and decided to award funding to the following six consortia:
Frontiers of Nanoscience (NanoFront)
Main Applicant: Prof. C. Dekker
Co-applicants: Prof. C.W.J. Beenakker, Prof. L.P. Kouwenhoven, Prof. J.W.M. Frenken, Prof. M.A.G.J. Orrit, Prof. H.W. Zandbergen
Official Secretary: Delft University of Technology
Budget allocated: 35.9 million euros
Imagine you could image, control, and build matter at the ultimate scale, atom-by-atom! This
is now possible thanks to nanotechnology and the outcome is nanodevices with revolutionary properties. We will explore the most promising frontiers of nanoscience: 1. Using nanodevices to explore and exploit quantum mechanics so that this can be applied in quantum computers; 2. Investigating and building with the components of living cells to understand life and to fight diseases; 3. Developing new nanotechnology tools and devices for real-time live imaging of the nano-world.
Delta Institute for Theoretical Physics: Matter at all Scales
Main Applicant: Prof. E.P. Verlinde
Co-applicants: Prof. G. ’t Hooft, Prof. J.J. Zaanen, Prof. C.W.J. Beenakker, Prof. H.T.C. Stoof, Prof. J. de Boer
Secretary: University of Amsterdam
Budget allocated: 18.3 million euros
Theoretical physics uses mathematics as a unifying language to describe the origin and structure of matter at length scales from atoms and molecules to stars and galaxies. However, new states of matter have been discovered that do not fit into the familiar 20th century theoretical framework. Examples are invisible 'dark matter', superconductors at high temperatures, and building blocks for a quantum computer. The Delta Institute for Theoretical Physics brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to investigate these new states of matter.