News & updates
Latest developments from our institute
Stay informed about new research results, awards, events, and collaborations across our scientific community.
The arrow of time in light
Research in the Interacting Photons group shows that the rules governing how light evolves over time are different from what we might expect. This is not only surprising; its implications could also be significant for the development of energy-efficient information processing systems. The researchers published their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters.
A remarkable run of PhD ceremonies
Giel Keijsers Title: Strong light-matter interactions in coherently driven open-access optical cavities Date: November 4 [caption id="" align="alignright" width="290"] Giel Keijsers after defending his thesis[/caption] How can you influence the…
Kevin Peters receives prestigious physics thesis prize
Kevin Peters is the winner of the Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa physics thesis prize 2025. He carried out his research in the group of Said Rodriguez at AMOLF and successfully defended his PhD at Utrecht University on September 4. His thesis, entitled A Symphony of Noise in Nonlinear Optical Resonators, describes his research which combines photonics, nonlinear dynamics, statistical physics, and related fields.
Said Rodriguez named Outstanding Referee by American Physical Society
On June 19, AMOLF director Huib Bakker congratulated group leader Said Rodriguez on his honorable and well-deserved recognition as an Outstanding Referee. The honor comes from the American Physical Society (APS), which named Said one of its 2025 Outstanding Referees in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the peer review process in physics.
New properties discovered in promising optical materials
Halide perovskites are being studied throughout the world as promising materials for harvesting and controlling light, due to their unique optical and electrical properties. Now, for the first time, researchers have observed optical nonlinearity in a halide perovskite crystal under continuous laser illumination. With the discovery of these properties, published in Nature Photonics, researchers at AMOLF expand the possibilities for studies of atomic structure, electronics, and communication technologies.
Infomatter symposium: taking advantage of information in a system
On Thursday, May 22nd, AMOLF organized the Infomatter Symposium to discuss exciting developments in information processing — ranging from biochemical to mechanical and optical systems. What these systems share is that they do not rely on conventional computers. This is a significant advantage, given that the energy cost of computing is rising much faster than that of energy production.
Said Rodriguez new Professor of Emergence and information in light
We are honored to announce that AMOLF group leader Said Rodriguez has been appointed Professor of ‘Emergence and information in light’ as of 1 April 2025. His Chair by special appointment is embedded in the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science of the University of Utrecht.
AMOLF team breaks the symmetry in a metallic grating
Scientists at AMOLF and the University of Madrid have observed and described unique and spontaneous symmetry breaking in a metallic grating. By covering the grating with oil, they created a non-linear optical response with memory in the system. This resulted in asymmetric diffraction, even though the grating and illumination were symmetrical. Such behavior opens opportunities for better resolution in imaging and sensing methods with gratings. The scientists published their findings in Physical Review Letters on 27 September 2024.