News & updates
Latest developments from our institute
Stay informed about new research results, awards, events, and collaborations across our scientific community.
‘Autonomy’ takes center stage at symposium
On June 11, researchers gathered at the Autonomous Matter Symposium to discuss the concept of autonomy from different perspectives. Professor Jay Groves (UC Berkeley) argued that autonomy may not begin with decision-making, but with amplification. Professor Elisabetta Chicca (University of Groningen) offered a complementary perspective from the field of neuromorphic engineering.
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…
Soft robotics spreading its wings
A unique opportunity presented itself to researchers in AMOLF’s Soft Robotic Matter group. Two university engineering faculties and a research unit in South Africa asked them to organize a Soft Robotics summer school. From 26 January to 2 February, PhD student Katrien van Riet and her South African students progressed from an introduction to the topic to a final prototype presentation.
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.
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…
September and October doctorate celebrations
Katharina Till – Cotranslational Folding and Assembly at the Single-Molecule Level – September 18Katharina Till after defending her thesisDuring her doctoral research in the Biophysics group of Sander…
Soft robots that remember
Alberto Comoretto and his colleagues in the Soft Robotic Matter group at AMOLF have created soft robots that can remember past events – without using computers or electronics. Instead, their memory is built into the robot’s flexible body. The researchers published their paper in the Cell press journal Device, and the robot was even featured on the cover of this journal.
Promising Hybrid Heart prototype
AMOLF group leader Bas Overvelde and his collaborators working on the Holland Hybrid Heart project have developed a new concept for a total artificial heart with several significant advantages. This so-called LIMO Heart prototype has a fluidic transmission mechanism that enables a relatively small and efficient device. The researchers published their results in Science Advances on July 2nd.