15 July 2016
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded a Veni grant to theoretical physicists Juan Pedraza and Enej IIlievski, both researchers at the University of Amsterdam.
Dr Enej IIlievski (UvA) has been awarded a NWO Veni grant for his proposal When Statistical Mechanics Goes Wrong. Although most materials follow the thermodynamic laws and allow heat transfer between objects, certain materials do not. Enej Ilievski will try to explain this unusual behaviour. Understanding deviations from thermal equilibrium of these materials may provide insight into the formation of our universe.
Dr Juan Pedraza (UvA) has been awarded a NWO Veni grant for his proposal Quantum Dynamics from Black Hole Physics. Exotic materials produced in modern particle accelerators have great potential for technological applications but are poorly understood at the theoretical level. Juan Pedraza will develop novel methods to characterize them, by studying an analogue problem in gravitational physics.
The grants – amounting to 250,000 euros for each research project – will give promising young researchers the opportunity to further develop their ideas over a period of three years.
A total of 1056 researchers submitted a proposal to the NWO, of which 158 were successful. Together with the Vidi and Vici grants, the Veni grants form part of the NWO's Innovational Research Incentives Scheme.