News & updates
Latest developments from our institute
Stay informed about new research results, awards, events, and collaborations across our scientific community.
AMOLF kicking off 2026 with six PhD defenses
Left to right: Kasper Spoelstra, Luca Gross, Jeroen de Boer, Nika van Nielen, Sergio Picella, Evelijn Akerboom.Kasper Spoelstra (cum laude) Title: Shedding light on dynamic…
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) appoints Albert Polman to the Board
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has elected Albert Polman, group leader at AMOLF and professor at the University of Amsterdam, as member of the board as of September 1. In the board, Albert will represent the Domain Natural Sciences and Technology as the successor of Ton van der Steen, whose term ends on that date.
New focus on physical learning as Nachi Stern receives NWO grant
AMOLF group leader Nachi Stern has received an NWO ENW-M1 grant to support his research project on how physical systems can learn. His research could help develop new types of energy efficient hardware for artificial intelligence. The Dutch Research Council (NWO) uses the ENW-M1 grant to fund high quality fundamental research driven by curiosity and important scientific questions.
Vici grant for Ewold Verhagen
On February 26th, NWO announced that AMOLF group leader Ewold Verhagen receives a Vici grant to carry out the project Programmable nonlinear optomechanical metamaterials. The budget available for this research project is 1.5 M€. NWO considers the Vici grant as an incentive for adventurous, talented, and groundbreaking researchers.
Marie Curie Grant for understanding fungal decision making
In the last year, AMOLF postdoc Achille Joliot uncovered many fascinating details about mycorrhizal fungi. Now, he is able to take his research further as recipient of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. Using the grant, Achille is eager to answer an ecologically important question: how are these fungi able to make sophisticated decisions without a central nervous system. This work will be carried out in the Physics of Behavior group led by Tom Shimizu.
Oral presentation prize for Nienke Reitsma
Nienke Reitsma not only has great scientific ideas; she also presents them very well! At the Soft Robotics for Healthcare Network (SoRoH) conference, Nienke received the ‘Best Oral Presentation Prize’ for a talk highlighting her contribution to the Holland Hybrid Heart project.
Proof of Concept grant for Wim Noorduin and Marc Serra Garcia
The European Research Council (ERC) announced that AMOLF group leaders Wim Noorduin and Marc Serra Garcia have received an ERC Proof of Concept grant. Together with collaborators they will enable applications that address important societal challenges: the need for single-handed molecules for drug development and a simpler way to monitor damage in wind turbine blades.
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…