Klaas-Jan Tielrooij wins FOM Physics Thesis Prize 2011

The FOM Physics Thesis Prize 2011 has been awarded to dr. Klaas-Jan Tielrooij. He receives this prize worth 10,000 euros for his research into the properties of water in the vicinity of ions and molecules.

Klaas-Jan Tielrooij carried out his research at the FOM Institute AMOLF under the guidance of his supervisor professor Huib Bakker. Professor Mischa Bonn was his associate supervisor. Tielrooy translated his research into an impressive list of publications including an article in Science. The assessment committee was of the opinion that the thesis contained very important and highly relevant research that was presented in an outstanding and impressive manner.

During his doctoral research, Tielrooij used two new and advanced spectroscopic laser techniques and further developed these to study the movement of water molecules. The committee was impressed by the superb research questions that Tielrooij posed: "By posing the right questions and performing the right measurements he has achieved considerable progress. One of his most important results is the discovery that water behaves differently in the vicinity of a positively- or negatively-charged ion. By doing this the winner of the FOM Physics Thesis Prize has succeeded with his doctoral research in changing our thinking about the effects of solutions in water."  
 
The committee also praises the accessibility of the thesis and how Tielrooij has vividly explained his research with simple yet clear figures: "The thesis is extremely well structured, the research is presented in an outstanding manner, and the thesis has an excellent and highly accessible Dutch summary." With this the committee considers him to be a worthwhile winner of the second edition of the FOM Physics Thesis Prize.  
 
Tielrooij is currently working at the Institute of Photonics Sciences in Barcelona, Spain. The prize will be awarded to Tielrooij at the annual FOM Physics Conference in Veldhoven on January 17, 2012.

The FOM Foundation awards various prizes to researchers in physics, and the FOM Physics Thesis Prize has been awarded each year since 2010 for the best physics thesis. Criteria for this are: new insights obtained with the research, the originality of the research method, the depth and breadth of scientific understanding demonstrated by the candidate and how the research is presented in the thesis.

Molecular motions of water : the effect of charged and hydrophobic solutes
Klaas-Jan Tielrooij
15-12-2010, University of Amsterdam
Promotors:  Prof. H.J. Bakker and Prof. M. Bonn

Further information
Dr. Klaas-Jan Tielrooij
The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Barcelona
Telephone: +34 935 5340 35, +34 935 5340 35 
Mobile phone: +34 691 361 210, +34 691 361 210

Klaas-Jan Tielrooij