News
Within a relatively short time span three leading scientific journals published papers on solar cell research carried out at AMOLF in the Light Management in New Photovoltaic Materials (LMPV) research program. The first author of these three papers is former AMOLF PhD student Claire van Lare. She demonstrates new scattering patterns for efficient light management in ultrathin solar cells. Van Lare graduated in October 2014 on a PhD thesis “Light-trapping in thin-film solar cells using dielectric and metallic nanostructures”.
As of August 1st, Wim Noorduin has been appointed as AMOLF group leader. Noorduin is the second group leader hired in the Designer Matter group, a recently started line of research at AMOLF. His Self-Organizing Matter group focuses on the dynamic interplay between chemical reactions and crystallization phenomena to control the emergence of complexity in the solid state. In particular, the group aims to develop physical-chemical schemes to rationally self-organize microscale devices and functional molecules.
Researchers from the Mechanical Metamaterials group have demonstrated how a rubber beam subjected to less pressure bends faster.This behaviour defies our expectations and appears to undermine the centuries-old bending laws. The beam is made from a metamaterial, which gives it the name metabeam. Metamaterials have special properties that do not occur in nature. By providing the metabeam with a carefully chosen pattern of small holes, the researchers managed to cause the strange behaviour. They published their work, a collaboration with Leiden Insitute of Physics and Harvard University, on 21 July online in Physical Review Letters.
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) awarded a Veni grant to Corentin Coulais for his proposal on Aperiodic Mechanical Metamaterials. Coulais is postdoc in the group Mechanical Metamaterials. In total, 161 researchers receive a Veni grant with a maximum of 250.000 euro.
Huib Bakker has been appointed as interim director of AMOLF as of September 1st 2015. Bakker knows AMOLF well; he carried out his doctorate research at AMOLF and since 2003 he leads the molecular biophysics department. He has a background in physics and combines this with a strong multidisciplinary focus, oftentimes working with companies. Bakker is professor at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and he is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy (KNAW). At AMOLF he succeeds Vinod Subramaniam, who will take on the position of Rector Magnificus at VU University Amsterdam on September 1st.
From June 22nd until June 24th the new research field of Designer Matter organized a workshop at AMOLF bringing together exciting work in the physics, engineering and design communities.
The solar energy research network SOLARDAM has received its first research grant.The 1 M€ grant from the Amsterdam Academic Alliance (AAA) enables collaborative research between AMOLF, UvA, VU, and ECN on the development of novel methods to convert sunlight to electricity and fuel.
Reflection of light off glass surfaces is a problem occurring in everyday life, and hinders the performance of solar panels, smart phone and tablet displays. Researchers from FOM institute AMOLF have found a new and simple method to eliminate this reflection, by printing a silica nanopatterned antireflection coating onto the device.
On the 1st of June, the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), NWO Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) and Unilever will start a strategic joint research programme into understanding hybrid soft materials. The three parties agreed to commit to the new five year agreement on May 12, 2015. FOM and NWO-ALW will invest 400,000 euros per year in the programme. Unilever will invest the same amount. The goal of the collaboration is fundamental research and industrial valorisation, organised in each of the partners’ locations (Vlaardingen, Amsterdam (AMOLF, UvA) and Wageningen).
AMOLF group leader Huib Bakker has been elected as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Today, the Academy announced the election of 16 new members from various disciplines. The election was based upon nominations from peers. On Monday, September 28th 2015 the new Academy members will be officially installed in the Amsterdam Trippenhuis building of the KNAW.
The research field of nanophotonics, the science and application of light at the nanoscale, has seen a rapid growth in the last years, with AMOLF researchers among the pioneers. In a recent article in Science, AMOLF group leaders Femius Koenderink and Albert Polman together with Andrea Alù, visiting professor from the University of Texas, review scientific highlights, applications and a future perspective of light at the nanoscale.
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has named Andrea Alù as the recipient of this year’s Alan T. Waterman Award. Professor Alù (University of Texas in Austin) is currently KNAW visiting professor at AMOLF’s Center for Nanophotonics.