Faculty of Science
Overall impression
2013
Introduction
The year 2013 put the spotlight on the Faculty of Science’s top research,
both in the Netherlands and abroad, because of many prestigious awards
including a Spinoza Prize, Gravitation subsidies, an ERC Synergy Grant and
many others. Our Professors have stepped up their efforts to join forces with
related disciplines and further developed a focus on various social challenges
such as sustainable energy, fundamentals of health, future food and understanding complex systems. We believe that is of vital importance to build a bridge
between fundamental research and the challenges the world is facing, because
it enables us to make a valuable contribution to the progress of science while
being a strong knowledge partner for society and the business community.
We therefore view educating students as a great privilege, not only because we
want our students to contribute to top science in the future, but also because we want to teach them the knowledge and skills that will enable them to
make a difference in the world.
I am proud of what our faculty achieved this year and I want to share my pride with you by looking back on the past year by means of the telling examples in this overall impression of 2013!
Professor Gerrit van Meer
Dean of the Faculty of Science
Research areas
The Faculty of Science is committed to the following research themes:
Research theme
Foundations of
Complex Systems
Research theme
Future Food
Research theme
Research theme
Game Research
Integrative
Bioinformatics
Research theme
Research theme
Science for Life
Water, Climate
& Ecosystems
The faculty also makes a significant contribution to the following research
focus areas of the Utrecht University:
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Focus areas
Focus areas
Education for
Learning Societies
Future Deltas
Focus areas
History and Philosophy
of the Sciences and
the Humanities
Focus areas
Neuroscience &
Cognition Utrecht
Research theme
Energy & Resources
Education
Pharmaceutical
Sciences & CPS
Source: Studielink/VSNU, overview of 30 September 2013 compared to 2012
119
141
728
145
2013 2012
142
2013 2012
142
52
105
160
2013 2012
School of
Pharmacy
206
2013 2012
199
79
82
112
2013 2012
Graduate School of
Life Sciences
344
2013 2012
120
368
251
213
233
Chemistry
2013 2012
Graduate School of
Natural Sciences
Mathematics /
Mathematics &
Applications
403
Information
Technology
Intake
1129
Information and
Computing Sciences
Physics and
Astronomy
Master's programmes
1132
Biology
Intake
2013
2012
2013
2012
2013
2012
2013
2012
2013
627
Bachelor's programmes
2012
Source: Bio-BT management data. Overview of September and February, intake
in the academic year 2013/2014 compared to 2012/2013
The 2013 intake of students in Master’s programmes was at the regular level again after
a slight decrease between 2011 and 2012. We noticed an increase for several programmes
of the Graduate School of Natural Sciences. At the Graduate School of Life Sciences
the increase was mainly due to the greater popularity of the programme Molecular and
Cellular Life Sciences.
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Education
State Secretary Dekker finds inspiration for talent policy
at U-Talent Academy
In September 2013, more than 100 students from 5VWO classes started the U-Talent
Academy, the new programme of the Faculty of Science for talented and motivated
VWO students of Junior College Utrecht. U-Talent Academy offers students a wide and
all-encompassing introduction to themes from the science subjects, a thorough orientation on scientific research and attention to personal development study attitude.
On 11 November, State Secretary Dekker visited U-Talent Academy. He talked to the
secondary school students and teachers involved about their experiences. “The entire
education system and all individual students will benefit from talent policy”, Dekker said.
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A thesis that reads like a novel
Education
Best Master’s thesis for Pablo Acuña Luongo
Pablo Acuña Luongo, graduate of the Master’s programme
History and Philosophy of Science, won Utrecht University’s
2013 thesis prize in the category ‘Best Master’s Thesis’. In his
thesis, he combined philosophy of science and physics. “His
thesis is written in a clear and exciting way and reads like a
novel”, said the judges. They also praised him for the wide range,
applicability and accessibility of his work.
Five science Bachelor students make the selection
Christine Verbeke wins Student Research Award
From among more than 120 submissions, the research of
Christine Verbeke, student of Physics and Astronomy at Utrecht
University, was awarded the Student Research Award 2013, a
€1,500 prize for the best Bachelor research in the Netherlands.
According to the jury, Verbeke’s research into future energy
sources is a highly relevant and innovative subject. The jury also
praised her for the clear way she presented her research.
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Valorisation
and outreach
‘Creative industry’ subsidy for Time Capsule and
Mycelium Design
TNO and NWO established the Creative Industry programme
to make scientific knowledge accessible to the creative industry,
to develop new knowledge and to establish connections between
science and practice. In 2013, the Faculty of Science received
two subsidies from the programme, one for the research
programme Time Capsule and one for Mycelium Design.
Time Capsule
By combining different databases, Toine
Pieters, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
looks for connections between the medicinal
benefits of plants that are not obvious at first
glance. Pieters: “All databases use different semantics, which makes it difficult to
compare them. Therefore, we started working with information
scientists to create a semantic thesaurus which can compare the
databases.
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It is a ground-breaking, digital historical research that combines old and new knowledge.” The acquired knowledge can be
linked to current medication and offers advantages to future
medication research.
Mycelium design
The toadstool species Schizophyllum has a network of hyphal threads, which is called the mycelium.
The mycelium found on the Chinese Wall
appears to have different features than those
found in Dutch woods. “We want to find
out which genes are responsible for these
features and what the relevance is in nature”, says Han Wösten, Professor of Biology.
Several designers and architects are also working with the fungus
in the project. Their goal is to make sustainable materials from
the fungus and to incorporate them in contemporary products.
Valorisation
and outreach
Simulating large crowds in 3D
Crowdsourcing with tea bags
How does a large crowd move through a train station or at an
event such as King’s Day? Information scientists of Utrecht University developed new generation software to
accurately simulate crowd movements. The
software programs offers life-like, super-fast
and super-easy 3D simulations of crowds of
up to 80,000 people. The software program’s
principle is derived from Utrechts gaming
research. Utrecht-based company INCONTROL Simulation Solutions uses the software program, for
example, to simulate walking routes for NS/ProRail at large
train stations in the Netherlands that are being renovated.
Together with a team of international scientists, Utrecht ecologists Joost Keuskamp, Bas Dingemans and Margriet Hefting
thought of a way to conduct cheap and easy soil research: the
Tea Bag Index. Tea bags contain plant material. Burying them
in soil for a while is a simple way to measure how long the
decomposition process takes. By comparing decomposition
at various locations across the world, it is easier to predict the
consequences of climate change.
Game ‘Hooked!’ discovers secret to popular songs
What is it that makes you immediately recognise that wellknown song? Why does one song stick in your head and the
other does not? In order to find out more about this, researchers
of Utrecht University, the University of Amsterdam and the
Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision developed Hooked!,
a game with music from the Radio 2 Top 2000. Hooked! can
be downloaded for free and the players’ answers are used as
research data.
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Subsidies
& Grants
Faculty of Science part of prestigious Gravitation programme
With the Gravitation programme, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and research financier NWO invest in long-term and large-scale top research. The
Faculty of Science was closely involved in three of the six awarded proposals, thereby
providing an important contribution to Utrecht University’s strategic themes ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Life Sciences’.
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Subsidies
& Grants
Out of the box cooperation in
catalysis research € 31,9 million
Chemical immunology:
a new discipline € 27,6 million
Reading the past to predict
the future € 28 million
At the Netherlands Center for Multiscale
Catalytic Energy Conversion, researchers
of Utrecht University (coordinator), TU
Eindhoven and Twente University joined
forces to radically change processes with
which fuels and chemical building blocks
are made. The goal is to develop new
catalysis processes and to perfect existing
ones at all relevant scales: from the atomic
level up to the level of the actual reactor
in which the catalysis takes place.
If a person’s immune system does not
function properly, infection and cancer
may develop. If it functions too well,
this may lead to auto-immune diseases,
meaning that the body attacks its own
immune system, such as is the case with
rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Increasing knowledge of how this
works at the molecular level is the way to
successfully tackle diseases. This knowledge will enable researchers to develop
innovative medication. Researchers of
the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Leiden
University, Utrecht University and UMC
St Radboud have therefore developed a
new discipline: chemical immunology. At
the joint Institute for Chemical Immunology (ICI) the immunologists and chemists conduct joint research and develop
a multidisciplinary programme.
The Netherlands Earth System Science
Centre (ESSC) is focused on research
into climate of the past, present and
future to be able to better predict future
climate circumstances on our planet. The
new centre brings together paleoclimatologists, bio-geo scientists and climate
modellers.
Bert Weckhuysen, Professor of Chemistry: “This subsidy from the Ministry
of Education, Culture and Science and
NWO is a huge appreciation and boost
for all researchers involved and will
undoubtedly work like a magnet for
talent, also from abroad.”
Bert Weckhuysen (Chemistry) is the
lead applicant and Alfons van Blaaderen (Physics and Astronomy) the fellow
applicant.
On behalf of the Faculty of Science, climate researchers of the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht
(IMAU), under the supervision of Hans
Oerlemans, Professor of Physics & Astronomy, Utrecht University are involved in
the centre.
“You have to know your enemy to beat
him”, says fellow applicant Albert Heck,
Professor of Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics.
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Personal
awards
NWO-Spinoza
NWO-Vici
Bert Weckhuysen (Chemistry)
Marius Crainic (Mathematics)
NWO-Vidi
Ronald Pierik (Biology)
NWO-Vidi
Maarten Altelaar (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
ERC-Synergy Grant NWO-Vidi
ERC-Synergy Grant
Anna Akhmanova (Biology), (in cooperation with Marileen
Dogterom, Professor of Technical Sciences of AMOLF/TU Delft)
Leonie Bentsink (Biology)
NWO-Vidi
NWO-Veni
NWO-Veni
Umut Gursoy (Physics)
Harold Mac Gillavry (Biology)
Lukas Kapitein (Biology)
Tom Groot Kormelink (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
NWO-Veni
Daniele Sepe (Mathematics)
NWO-Veni
Laura Filion (Physics)
ERC-Advanced Grant
Krijn de Jong (Chemistry)
ERC-Advanced Grant
ERC-Consolidator Grant
ERC-Consolidator Grant
Frank de Groot (Chemistry
UU / Stanford University US)
Jan Broersen (Information and
Computing Sciences)
Casper Hoogenraad (Biology)
Contract cases in 2013
Type of contract
Bilateral consultancy contracts
Total 2012
3
3
23
24
7
6
Consortium agreements
20
5
Non-disclosure agreements
20
9
Material transfer agreements
15
13
6
12
13
13
107
85
Bilateral contracts with a company
Bilateral contracts with a university
Cooperation agreements (including PPC)
Other contract cases
Totals
9
Total 2013
NWO-Vidi en
ERC-Starting Grant
NWO-Veni
Celia Berkers (Chemistry)
Research
Key figures
Scientific publications
PhD theses
2013
2012
1834
1715
146
139
Source: Metis
Research volume 2013 per department; in FTEs and broken down by type of funding¹
Type of
funding
Biology
1
34
Pharmaceutical
Sciences
Physics and
Astronomy
32
29
Chemistry
Mathematics
Information
and Computing
Sciences
Total
35
18
16
164
201
2
65
17
35
50
13
21
3
35
66
10
42
17
14
185
Total 2013
135
115
74
127
48
51
550
Total 2012
134
119
107
107
39
53
559
Source: Metis
1
Government funding(1) is a grant for
Utrecht University from the Ministry of
Education, Culture and Science. Indirect
funding (2) comprises grants from
research financiers NWO - including
STW and FOM - and KNAW for research
programmes as well as personal grants,
such as Veni, Vidi and Vici grants.
Contract funding (3) comprises grants
from all other financiers, such as the EU,
ministries, companies and non-profit
organisations.
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Publications Increasing susceptibility
New insight into the effects of cancer medication
Chemotherapy is an effective way to fight tumours, but it has
severe side-effects and sometimes tumours become insusceptible
to medication. If you want
to develop new and better
medication, it is very important to understand how the
medicinines interact with our
cells. By applying advanced
microscopic techniques, cell
biologists of the Faculty of
Science discovered that certain proteins make the cellular tubes
more susceptible to medication. Anna Akhmanova, Professor of
Cell Biology: “Our results could contribute to finding better
cancer medication.”
The results of the research funded by NWO and the European Commission
were published in the renowned journal PNAS in May 2013.
New instrument detects hundreds of organic
substances over forest
Climate researchers of Utrecht University and the University of
Berkeley (US) have managed to make a detailed measurement
of the uptake and emission
of organic substances. So far
this was only possible for the
most important substances
that are responsible for that
typical forest smell, but now
the researchers were also
able to measure hundreds of
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other substances. This knowledge is vital for a better understanding of the influence of plants on the climate. Rupert Hilzinger,
Utrecht University “Our new tool is important to increase our
understanding of our climate system’s biosphere.”
An article about the research was published in the renowned journal Science.
Ultra-thin graphene electrical wires
Electronics will become faster
and more advanced in the future.
The semi-conductors we use
now will no longer be able to
cope, calling for new materials
with better conductivity. Dr
Ingmar Swart and colleagues of
Utrecht University and Aalto
University (Finland) have successfully established electrical contact with tiny graphene wires through a single chemical connection. Thanks to its unique electrical properties, graphene is a
promising material for use in future computers.
The results were published in 2013 in the renowned scientific journal Nature
Communications.
Too small for Archimedes
Does an object float on top of a fluid, or not? That was the question chemists of Utrecht University and the FOM Foundation
studied in their research of tiny solid particles only a few nanometres in size. Their research is relevant for studies into quantum
dots, which are tiny semi-conductor crystals with quantum
mechanical features. Under UV light they emit light of a varying
Publications
colour, depending on the
size of the particle. Ben
Erné: “On the surface of a
fluid, the particles will arrange themselves in a nice
grid. We can scoop them
up from that fluid phase
and use them in other applications. For the first time
ever we have successfully
created a 3D image of the surface of the liquid.”
The research results were published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
New model for the development of blood cells
Protection against most toxic substance discovered
A research team led by Utrecht University and the Swiss Paul
Scherrer Institute developed a substance that protects nerve
cells against the highly toxic substance botulinetoxine. The protective substance is interesting
for a number of applications.
“This means that an antidote
could possibly be developed
to protect people from the
toxic substance botulinetoxine
as a preventative measure”,
says Casper Hoogenraad,
Professor of Cellular Dynamics at the Faculty of Science. “Our
substance could also be developed further to improve existing
medical and cosmetic applications of botulinetoxine.”
Theoretical biologist Professor Rob de Boer and researchers
of the Netherlands Cancer Institute are developing a barcode
technique to follow cells and their successors. De Boer: “The
barcode has made it possible
for us to follow cells in live
organisms instead of only in
petri dishes.” The codes yield
an incredible amount of complex data. After all codes are
processed, De Boer applies various mathematical models to
translate the complex data into simpler underlying mechanisms.
The Utrecht analyses were published in Science and Nature.
The research results were published in the renowned journal Nature.
In this short movie Utrecht researchers Josta Kevenaar and Casper Hoogenraad explain
their research.
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Dynamic
study
societies
Photo: PiXel commissie
Studievereniging Sticky
Like every year, Utrecht study societies
organised many interesting meetings and
fascinating study trips in 2013. Below are
a few examples of such events.
At the Chemistry and Safety symposium,
Chemistry students talked with companies
about security measures regarding the
handling of chemical substances. Organised by
study society U.S.S. Proton
society Sticky
M.B.V. Mebiose
Utrechtse Biologen Vereniging (UBV)
U.S.S. Proton
Unitas Pharmaceuticorum
TEDx is one of the largest career-oriented activities Mebiose organised for medical
biologists. Renowned scientists and successful
alumni hold short talks about their careers.
The keynote speaker was Anton Pijpers, Dean
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University. Organised by study society
M.B.V. Mebiose
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Study societies of the Faculty
of Science
In Dublin, Europe’s Silicon Valley, students
visited IT giants Microsoft, Google, Riot
Games, SAP and LinkedIn. Organised by study
A-Eskwadraat
Sticky
Incognito
Organisatie
From left to right: Hans Dröge (alumnus of Pharmaceutical Sciences), Dennis Hesseling (alumnus of Mathematics), Diederik Zijderveld (alumnus of Biology), Thekla Teunis Msc
Beatrice Boots (alumna of the Faculty of Geosciences), Missing is ir. Marijke Vos, alumna of Biology of Wageningen University and member of the Senate for GroenLinks.
(alumna of Mathematics, alumna of Language and Culture Studies),
Linking in with top sector policy
Board team of the Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science has had a Social Advisory Committee
since the end of 2012. The six members of the council act as
a sounding board for the Faculty Board in the area of strategic choices in education and research. In 2013 the committee
members could seriously start their work. Important points
of attention this year were the new strategy and the research
focus areas of Utrecht University. “We join the discussion
about priority areas and how the programme of the Faculty
of Science can link up with the top sector policy”, says Hans
Dröge, alumnus of Pharmaceutical Sciences and member of
the Social Advisory Committee. “Interdisciplinary cooperation
in one programme with an external focus on social issues will
I believe lead to new insights, in the interest of science and the
Dutch economy.”
Gerrit van Meer, Dean
Sjef Smeekens,Vice Dean of Research
Gerard Barkema,Vice Dean of Education
Klaas Druijf, Faculty Director
Felix Nolet, student member
Organisational chart of the Faculty of Science
Dean
Faculty Council
Board team
Faculty Director
Biology
Services
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Chemistry
Faculty of Science in FTEs
Physics and Astronomy
Permanent FTEs)
Temporary (FTEs)
Academic staff
264 of who
72 Professors
m/f: 81/19%
564 of who
354 PhD candidates
m/f: 62/38%
total
828
Non-academic
staff
311
m/f: 56/44%
43
m/f: 44/56%
354
Total 2013
575
607
1182
Total 2012
642
733
1375
Reference date: 31-12-2013 in FTEs (excl. teaching assistants/interns/on-call employees/declarants)
Computing Sciences
Mathematics
Graduate School of Natural Sciences / Research institutes
Graduate School of Life Sciences / Research institutes
Undergraduate School of Sciences
School of Pharmacy
The Faculty of Science efficiently uses its funds. The overhead/turnover ratio is not higher than 20% (result
of Utrecht University in Berenschot benchmark 2013). Within this percentage, a shift from general support
to direct support of education and research takes place, if possible.
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This is a publication of the Faculty of Science of Utrecht University.
Editors: Irma Vermeend, Robert Kerst, Irma van Zand
Design: Pieter van Dorp van Vliet
Photograpy: Ivar Pel, Ed van Rijswijk, Arno Kamphuis, Pieter van Dorp van Vliet, Hollandse Hoogte
For more information on the faculty of Science, please visit our website:
http://bit.ly/1xXTM3B