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.

Why curvature matters

Many materials, both living and engineered, are powered from within. Scientists have thoroughly investigated how such ‘active’ materials operate, but so far, mostly in circumstances where the curvature of the ...
QSim2026: International conference on quantum simulation in Amsterdam

From 10-14 August, Amsterdam will host QSim2026, the premier international conference dedicated to the rapidly evolving field of quantum simulation. Bringing together a multidisciplinary community of physicists, ...
Atom-thin materials: handle with care… and cling film

As materials become thinner – now reaching a thickness of single atoms – it has become ever more difficult to create large enough sheets of these materials and transfer them without cracking them into tiny flakes. ...
NWO Take-off grants for Corentin Coulais and Florian Schreck

NWO has recently awarded grants for Take-off feasibility studies to UvA-IoP researchers Corentin Coulais and Florian Schreck. Coulais' project will study the possibilities for using dissipative metamaterials in the ...
Long live ytterbium!

Researchers from the Universities of Amsterdam and New South Wales have answered a question that has been around for decades: whether ions of the metal ytterbium can enter certain long-lived and nearly stable states, ...
Silk-inspired ‘plantymers’ as a biodegradable plastic

What if we could make plastic from plants? A team of researchers from the Netherlands and China introduces ‘plantymers’, plastics that are sustainably produced from plant proteins and that break down naturally in the ...
NWO ENW-XS grants for four UvA Faculty of Science researchers

NWO has awarded grants to 56 projects in the latest round of the Open Competition ENW-XS. Four of these projects are led by researchers from the UvA Faculty of Science: Bettina Baumgartner, Tati Fernández Ibáñez, ...
In memoriam Jørgen E. Hansen

Participants of the 15th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas (ASOS15) informed us of the sad news that Jørgen E. Hansen passed away. Jørgen was ...
When motion prevents order

Pack enough string-like objects together, and they will begin to align with one another. But replace the strings with worms or bacteria living in your gut, and this self-organisation becomes much more difficult. A ...
Noushine Shahidzadeh elected Getty Scholar

The Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the Getty Museum have announced the 2026–2027 cohort of Getty Scholars. The Getty Scholars Program provides a dynamic platform ...