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With novel calculations TU/e researchers reveal new properties of supercooled liquids that could be used in efficient optical materials and recyclable plastics. When cooled to their freezing point, most liquids become solids or crystallize. In other words, the molecules arrange themselves in a perfectly ordered fashion, which physicists call a crystal.

A team of European astronomers, together with Indian and Japanese colleagues, has for the first time found strong evidence of ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves, which probably come from pairs of supermassive black holes at the centre of merging galaxies. It is the result of more than 25 years of observations with the most sensitive radio telescopes in Europe and India, including the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT).

The Dutch Research Council for Scientific Research (NWO), has awarded Vidi funding to four UT research projects. These are studies led by Arnd Hartmanns, Linn Leppert, Jelmer Renema and Roland van Rijswijk-Deij. With this contribution of 800,000 euros, they can develop an innovative line of research and set up a research group in the coming five years.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded eight TU Delft researchers from the Science (ENW) and Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES) domains, a Vidi grant of up to 800,000 euro. This will enable the laureates to develop an innovative line of research over the next five years and further expand their own research group.

The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 188 promising researchers from the full breadth of science, fifteen of whom are from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, with a Veni funding. This will allow the laureates to further develop their own research ideas over the next three years.

A team of European astronomers, along with Indian and Japanese colleagues, has reported evidence that strongly suggests the detection of ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves. Such waves, which have not previously been observed, probably originate from pairs of supermassive black holes at the centre of merging galaxies.

By zooming in to near-atomic level using electron microscopy, Tzviya Zeev-Ben-Mordehai and her team were able to identify the proteins that form the molecular machinery that drives sperm motility. More than twenty of these proteins were not yet recognised as part of the sperm motor apparatus, all of which are promising candidates for future research on infertility.

New paper in the prestigious journal Science outlines a new catalyst that can purify exhaust gases at room temperature. Although passenger vehicle catalytic converters have been mandatory for over 30 years, there is still plenty of room for improvement. For instance, they only work correctly when the engine is sufficiently hot, which is not always the case, especially with hybrid vehicles.

Scientists from the Radboud University have developed synthetic molecules that resemble real organic molecules. A collaboration of researchers, led by Alex Khajetoorians and Daniel Wegner, can now simulate the behaviour of real molecules by using artificial molecules. In this way, they can tweak properties of molecules in ways that are normally difficult or unrealistic, and they can understand much better how molecules change.

New theoretical research by Michael Wondrak, Walter van Suijlekom and Heino Falcke of Radboud University has shown that Stephen Hawking was right about black holes, although not completely. Due to Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as crucial as has been believed.

How optical microscopes allow detailed investigations of nanoparticles for biosensing It sounds like trying to scan a record with a hammer: light is actually too "coarse" to image small particles on the nanometer scale. However, in their project "SuperCol"- funded by the European scientists want to achieve just that: investigate nanoparticles with light.

Researchers from the University of Twente proved that germanene, a two-dimensional material made of germanium atoms, behaves as a topological insulator. It is the first 2D topological insulator that consists of a single element. It also has the unique ability to switch between 'on' and 'off' states, comparable to transistors.

An international research team led by Bert Weckhuysen  (Utrecht University) and Sara Bals (University of Antwerp) has shown that a promising catalyst for clearing CO2 becomes significantly more active and selective if its pretreatment is modified. The scientists visualized the mechanism underlying this concept with unparalleled precision.

Last Friday, the renewed Electron Microscopy Centre (EMC) of Utrecht University was officially opened. Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, and Isabel Arends , Dean of the Faculty of Science , did so with the symbolic push of a button. The centre, which houses electron microscopes that are among the most advanced in the world , brings together a wide variety of scientific disciplines, both in life sciences and material sciences.

Telescopes in space and on Earth have observed the brightest gamma-ray burst ever. The data from this rare event could contribute to a better understanding of the colossal explosions that cause gamma-ray bursts. Hundreds of astronomers took part in the study, including Andrew Levan and his Radboud University group.

A team of researchers from the University of Twente has made a breakthrough in ultraefficient on-chip supercontinuum generation. The findings, published in the journal Advanced Photonics Research , represent a major step forward in the field of integrated photonics and enable applications in portable medical imaging devices, chemical sensing and LiDAR.

Experimental and theoretical physicists at Utrecht University have observed an unexpected phenomenon in mixtures of colloidal particles: the Brazil nut effect. The discovery is important for knowledge about matter, including colloids, polymers, liquid crystals and surfactants. But developers of paints and inks, and completely different disciplines, such as geology, will also benefit from understanding this phenomenon.

Using green light and a double-layered cell, PhD researcher Riccardo Ollearo has come up with a photodiode that has sensitivity that many can only dream of. Solar panels with multiple stacked cells are currently breaking records. Remarkably, a team of researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and TNO at Holst Centre have now managed to make photodiodes - based on a similar technology - with a photoelectron yield of more than 200 percent.

Majorana particles are one of several promising candidates for stable quantum bits, the building blocks of quantum computers. Researchers and engineers from QuTech and Eindhoven University of Technology have created Majorana particles and measured their properties with great control. These Majoranas are so-called -poor man's Majoranas-, based on two quantum dots in a nanowire, which could be scaled up to a larger chain of quantum dots with more resilient Majorana behavior.

Researchers and engineers from QuTech and Eindhoven University of Technology have created Majorana particles and measured their properties with great control. These Majoranas are so-called 'poor man's Majoranas' based on two quantum dots in a nanowire, which could be scaled up to a larger chain of quantum dots with more resilient Majorana behavior.