Institute of Physics

Physics research and education at our institute covers a wide range of topics - both experimental and theoretical, and ranging from fundamental to more applied.

KHMW Young Talent Awards for Daria Trotsenko and Amber Visser

Daria Trotsenko and Amber Visser have won the 2025 KHMW Young Talent Awards for physics. The two former IoP students won the awards for their master thesis work on precision computations in quantum chromodynamics and ...
TeV solar gamma ray research reveals the Sun’s hidden magnetic fields

UvA physicist Dr. Shin'ichiro Ando is a member of a research team that has published a new study, TeV Solar Gamma Rays as a Probe for the Solar Internetwork Magnetic Fields, which introduces a new way to explore the ...
A perfect shape for varying circumstances

Optimal packing problems have inspired mathematicians for centuries. Biophysicists now add a layer to the question: how do chloroplasts arrange themselves optimally within cells, when the meaning of “optimal” changes ...
Begüm Demirkurt receives Dick Stufkens Prize 2025

The Dick Stufkens Prize 2025 for best PhD thesis of the Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC) has been awarded to Dr Begüm Demirkurt for her thesis “Mechanical Contact Imaging using Fluorescence ...
Eric Laenen elected Foreign Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, India

Eric Laenen, professor in theoretical particle physics at the University of Amsterdam and director of the UvA Institute of Physics, has been elected as a Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).
From bananas to bacteria: A day of discovery at Amsterdam Science Park

On Saturday, 4 October, the annual Science Day took place at Amsterdam Science Park, welcoming science enthusiasts of all ages to explore how our world works — from the smallest atom to the largest stars. And from ...
Four cum laude PhD defenses at IoP

The month of September saw an extraordinary occurrence at the UvA-Institute of Physics: within a week, no less than four PhD students received the cum laude distinction after defending their PhD theses. IoP ...
Erik van Heumen receives NWO OTP grant

Erik van Heumen (UvA), Jom Luiten and Peter Mutsaers (TU/e) have been awarded funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) as part of the Open Technology Programme. The grant will support the project ...
Optimizing porous thin films for sunlight-powered hydrogen production

Producing hydrogen directly from water using sunlight could drastically increase the energy efficiency of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source. In a new research project of the UvA Molecular and Materials Design ...
Metamaterials 2025 resounding success

The conference Metamaterials 2025, hosted in Amsterdam last week and organized by the Institute of Physics together with AMOLF and TU Eindhoven, was a resounding success. The meeting brought some 400 scientists from ...