On August 1st Menachem (Nachi) Stern will start as tenure track group leader at AMOLF. He will lead the Learning Machines group, which will be shared between the autonomous matter and information in matter research themes at AMOLF. Stern’s research efforts will focus on the physics of learning in natural and synthetic systems. Such learning machines can adopt desirable properties and functions given real world examples and environments. Leveraging the advances of statistical learning theory in physical machines, physical learning is a promising bridge between computational machine learning and biology, and enables the development of new classes of bio-inspired smart metamaterials that adapt in-situ to users’ needs.
A theoretical physicist by training, Stern did his Ph.D. at The University of Chicago, in the group of Prof. Arvind Murugan. There he investigated mechanical systems like spring networks and self-folding origami as models for novel computation and learning. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Pennsylvania, studying various aspects of physical learning algorithms and their implementations as learning machines.
Dr. Wiebke Albrecht has been appointed professor by special appointment in Electron and Optical Imaging of Nanomaterials at the Faculty of Science of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). The chair was established on behalf of the Foundation for the Advancement of Atomic and Molecular Physics (‘Stichting tot bevordering van de Atoom- en Molecuulfysica’) with the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the VU.
On October 1, AMOLF launches a completely redesigned website. The new website puts AMOLF’s research and people center stage and makes it easier for different audiences to find the information they are looking for.
The EU Pathfinder project Electron Beams Enhancing Analytical Microscopy (EBEAM) that was recently completed has received a highly positive review of the European Innovation Council (EIC). EBEAM brought together eight European research institutions and companies, including AMOLF, that develop new concepts and instruments combining spectroscopic analysis with electron microscopy.
Organoids are instrumental in improving our understanding of processes that are otherwise hidden inside the body. For instance, these small 3D organs can be used to test medicines on tissue grown from a patient’s own cells. AMOLF researchers carry out unique and complex experiments to follow organoids in time. In order to enable other researchers to benefit from their experiences, they now publish their methods in the prestigious journal Nature Protocols.
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