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NWO Zwaartekracht uitreiking
The awarded D-ITP scientists together with Education Minister Jet Bussemaker.

The research will be headed by Erik Verlinde, professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam, in close collaboration with fellow scientists from the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University and Utrecht University. The research will be conducted within the newly formed Delta-Institute for Theoretical Physics (D-ITP).

The main focus will be on big questions about matter at length scales ranging from atoms and molecules to stars and galaxies. These challenging theoretical questions relate to forms of matter, yet to be understood, which have been observed in both laboratories and in the universe. Examples of unanswered questions to be addressed include:

  •  the origin of the invisible 'dark matter';
  • an explanation for superconductivity at high temperature;
  • the development of building blocks for a quantum computer.

‘My co-applicants and I are extremely pleased with this NWO grant for theoretical physics,’ stated Verlinde. ‘Thanks to this grant, we can dedicate ourselves to tackling these unanswered questions about the origin and properties of matter. At the same time, we will create a vibrant research environment for young researchers which will occupy a prominent place internationally.

About the Gravitation Programme

The contribution is part of the NWO’s Gravitation Programme, funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). A total of six research teams from various Dutch universities will receive money for the next ten years in order to jointly set up excellent scientific research programmes. The newly appointed Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker has made 167 million euros available for this purpose.

 The OCW and NWO have given new impetus to cooperation at the highest scientific levels with the introduction of the Gravitation Programme. The establishment of these excellent research groups should lead to a higher public profile for top-quality research in the Netherlands.