Casimir Research School Delft – Leiden
Report 2014
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Casimir Research School Delft-Leiden Report 2014 Content Casimir in 2014
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1. Introducing the Casimir Research School
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2. Our Casimir community in 2014
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3. Recruitment
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4. Education
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5. Awards and events
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4. Highlights of 2014
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Outlook to 2015
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Appendix - Casimir theses 2014
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Casimir in 2014
The year 2014 marked the 10th anniversary of the Casimir Research School. We have celebrated this second lustrum on 10 July with a festive event on the beach near The Hague. There, artist and Delft alumnus Theo Janssen showed us his so-called ‘Strandbeesten’, impressive wind-powered structures of plastic tubes that can walk over sand. Looking back over these past ten years at what has been achieved, we are happy to see that the Casimir Research School has become an stablished name, has doubled its size in terms of the numbers of PhD students enrolled, and has served as point of catalysis for many successful large collaborative research grants, including the Smartmix program NIMIC and the NWO-Zwaartekracht program “Frontiers of Nanoscience.” The growth in the number of PhD students is partly coming from the implementation of the NWO-Zwaartekracht programs, and this implementation is also visible in the hiring of excellent new scientific staff members, which are also briefly presented below.
Prof. dr. Jan M. van Ruitenbeek Prof. dr. Nynke H. Dekker
April 2015
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1. Introducing the Casimir Research School 1.1.
Casimir connects
Casimir Research School - Leiden University and Delft University of Technology’s joint research school in interdisciplinary physics, brings together 228 PhD students, 109 postdocs and 91 senior researchers. Casimir, established in 2004, is named after Professor Hendrik B.G. Casimir (1909-2000), whose involvement in fundamental as well as applied physics left many traces in the Dutch scientific landscape.
Our research program - with a strong focus on nanosciences - is developed by groups at the Delft Kavli Institute of Nanoscience and at the Leiden Institute of Physics. Research within Casimir falls with the following six research themes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Molecular Biophysics Physics of Nanostructures Quantum Matter and Functional Materials Quantum Information and quantum optics Universe physics: theory and instrumentation Dynamic Complex Systems
Each of the themes interacts in a different way with neighbouring disciplines and mixes applied research with fundamental research. The Casimir Research School aims at integrating the full scope of research activities, from basic research in theoretical and experimental physics, through applied physics and industrial research. We have the ambition of achieving breakthroughs in our understanding of nature, in pushing the frontiers of experimental techniques, in opening new application perspectives, and in breaking down barriers for improved products and processes in industry. The crossfertilization of the approaches and people working in the different ‘flavours’ of research is seen as being essential for achieving breakthroughs. The Casimir Research School facilitates optimal interaction between the three approaches, often mixing them on the research-group level. In terms of our current scientific publications, the school’s scientific output mixes highprofile fundamental results (in journals such as Physical Review Letters), results of a widely attractive nature (Nature, Science) and patents. Research collaborations are forged equally with leading universities worldwide, as well as with institutes of technology and industrial partners. Research and training are inseparable activities at the school. This means that staff members teach all courses in the MSc and PhD programs and that all education is research-oriented, incorporating the latest research insights. Each PhD student performs an independent research project as full member of one or more research groups, with Casimir providing additional cross-links between groups and to outside stakeholders such as potential employers or industrial research groups. Casimir has been a driving force in further strengthening of the ties between research and education programs in Leiden and Delft. We also operate in a European network, connecting the research schools of Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble, France), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), the Donostia International Physics Center (Spain) and Ludwig Maximillian Universität (München, Germany).
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1.2.
Organization
In 2014, the Casimir organization consisted of the following persons: Scientific director Prof. dr. J.M. van Ruitenbeek Co-director Prof. dr. N.H. Dekker Casimir Board Dr. C. Danelon Prof. dr. E.R. Eliel Prof. dr. J. Zaanen Prof. dr. ir. H.S.J. van der Zant (chairman)
Casimir Education Committee Dr. C. Danelon Dr. M. van Exter (until September) Dr. M.J.A. de Dood (as of September) Dr. A.F. Otte Prof. dr. H. Schiessel (chairman)
Coordinators Casimir pre-PhD MSc-track Christophe Danelon (Delft) Hara Papathanassiou (Leiden) Casimir office Marije Boonstra (coordinator) Charlotte Laurense-Griffioen (management assistant) Casimir PhD platform Jetty van Ginkel (until August), Orkide Ordu (as of August) (Bionanoscience, Delft) Elena Beletkaia (Biophysics, Leiden) Vincent van Mourik (until August), Julia Cramer (as of August) (Quantum Transport, Delft) Jelmer Renema (until August), Gesa Welker (as of August) (Quantum Matter and Optics, Leiden) Bob van Waarde (Quantum Matter and Optics, Leiden) Mickael Perrin (Mol. Electronics & Devices, Delft) Scientific Advisory Council Prof. Malcolm R. Beasley, Professor of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering and former Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, USA Prof. Jonathan Howard, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology & Genetics and Professor of Biophysics, Dresden University of Technology, Germany Prof. Jörg Peter Kotthaus, Professor of Physics and former Director of the Center for Nanoscience, München, Germany Prof. Peter B. Littlewood, Professor of Physics and Associate Laboratory Director for Physical Sciences and Engineering at Argonne National Laboratory, Professor of Physics in the James Franck Institute at the University of Chicago, USA Prof. dr. Albert Polman, Professor of photovoltaics at the University of Amsterdam, scientific group leader and director of the FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Prof. Zheng-Yu Weng, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Tsing-Hua University, Beijing, China
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2. Our Casimir community in 2014
2.1. Growing population Our Casimir population is continuously growing. This table shows the number of staff member (senior researchers), postdocs and PhD students that were registered in our research school on December 31st, 2014. It also shows the number of PhD theses that were completed in 2014. Staff1
Postdocs
PhD students
Theses
Leiden: Delft:
40 51
39 70
92 136
17 22
Total:
91
109
228
39
2.2. Successful PhD defenses In total, 39 PhD students published their dissertations in 2014. It is the second-highest number of Casimir theses defended since the start of our school in 2004. Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Theses completed 23 28 22 17 25 31 23 39 41 39
Average time to thesis approval (years) 4.54 4.26 4.49 4.02 4.20 4.15 4.50 4.14 4.47
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Number of Casimir staff members (not fte) including part-time appointments and retired staff members still active in our research community
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In the Netherlands, PhD students usually receive a four-year contract to conduct their PhD research. In 2014, over 75% of the Casimir theses were accepted within five years after the PhD student had started his or her research project, as is shown in this figure:
Time to thesis
Number of theses
Theses published in 2014 (total = 39) 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Submitted in years from start contract
The Casimir p-profile in the figure below is showing the cumulative numbers of theses completed as a function of the time-to-thesis for all completed PhD theses within the Casimir Research School (starting dates since 2001). The median of the distribution - 50% of all dissertations completed within the Casimir Research School - falls within four years and two months.
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2.3. Career perspectives Casimir keeps track of the former PhD students’ first jobs. The pie chart diagram below provides an overview of the initial career steps, based on information provided by those who received their PhD degree in 2014. Although in March 2015 some of the young researchers were still in the phase of applying for a job, most of them had found one within a few months after - or even before - their defense had taken place.
Career PhD�alumni 2014 unknown 5%
applying 15%
own company 3% finance 3%
postdoc/academia 51%
education 5% consultancy 8% high-end industry 10%
Figure 2. Pie chart showing the sectors in which the 39 PhD students that succesfully defended their theses in 2014 found a new job.
2.4. New Casimir members PhD cohort 2014 PhD Students Cohort 2014 Leiden/Delft and Male/Female 2014
Total Male
Nationality
Female
Dutch
Europe (non-Dutch)
World (non-Europe)
Delft
34
26
8
9
14
11
Leiden
16
12
4
6
4
6
Total
50
38
12
15
18
17
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Several senior researchers have joined Casimir in 2014, including:
Greg Bokinsky In February 2014, Greg Bokinsky started at the Bionanoscience department in Delft. His research concerns ‘bottom up synthetic biology’; his lab is focused on how bacteria work, and on how these bacteria can be made (even more) useful.
Luca Giomi With a background in the fields of theoretical soft condensed matter, biophysics and applied mathematics, Luca Giomi´s research at the Leiden Institute of Physics will focus on biophysics theory.
Liedewij Laan Liedewij Laan started at the Bionanoscience department in Delft in October 2014. She is fascinated by how interactions between biomolecules give rise to living matter. Using a variety of experimental approaches ranging from physics to evolutionary biology, and by combining experiments with modeling approaches, Liedewij tries to achieve a deeper understanding of, amongst others, the organization of cells. Simon Gröblacher Simon Gröblacher started his lab at the QN department in Delft in November 2014. Simon aims to probe quantum physics on a meso- and macroscopic level using mechanical oscillators coupled to an optical cavity field through radiation pressure. This is a relatively new research field, typically referred to as optomechanics, and it has showed some promising results towards the goal of coherent quantum control of macroscopic degrees of freedom over the last few years. Milan Allan In December 2014, Milan Allan started Leiden. Milan’s research is focused on “exploring and understanding new quantum states of electronic matter on the atomic scale.” He therefore “will develop novel spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (SI-STM) tools to directly visualize the relevant quantum mechanical degrees of freedom.”
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3. Recruitment Strategy In October 2013, we launched the second edition of our ‘Join in our footsteps’ recruitment campaign. The aim was on the one hand to receive as many as possible applications from talented prospective PhD students, and on the other to draw attention for our MSc-track. Procedure Like the first edition, this campaign was focused on the PhD call. Based on the experience of last year, the campaign was mostly web-based: the campaign was mentioned on our own websites, and advertised on AcademicTransfer.nl, on Twitter and LinkedIn. The posters were e-mailed to other universities (professors and study associations) within our network. Prospective PhD candidates contacted the Casimir office after visiting the website. Applicants could upload their documents in a registration form on the Casimir website. Upon receiving the application, an automatic confirmation e-mail was sent to the applicant. The Casimir office regularly checked the incoming applications to ensure that all necessary documents were received. After the deadline, the Casimir director reviewed all applications (round 1). After the first selection, a number of applications that met the Casimir standards were forwarded to several of our PI’s (round 2); other candidates were informed by the Casimir office that their application was turned down. In the weeks that followed, the Casimir office checked on a regular basis whether the PI’s were interested in the candidates. Some of the PI’s asked the Casimir office to invite a candidate for an interview ( round 3). The procedure for the MSc call was mainly done through the existing channels: the application offices of Delft and Leiden University answered the questions of prospective students and took care of the registration of new students. This year however we also included a contact form on our webpage. This form was used nine times to contact the Casimir office directly with questions regarding the application procedure. Questions were answered within two days and/or the students were redirected to the Leiden and Delft application offices.
Outcome
PhD call Our full job description was shown 973 times on the Academic Transfer website, 31 of these readers landed on our website. From November through January 10 th (deadline) 41 applications were received, of which over one third was received in the last ten days before the deadline. The majority of the responses to our 2014 PhD call came from people who searched for positions on the internet, although a dozen or so indicated that they had received our announcement through a supervisor or a friend. For the first review round (round 1), 41 application files were assessed. This resulted in: 11 applications forwarded to Casimir staff members (27% of round 1) 5 candidates interviewed over the phone/through Skype (4) or during an actual visit (1) (12% of round 1, 45% of round 2) 1 candidate hired after 2014 campaign: two accepted another position before they could be invited for a second interview, two others were declined
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Origin candidates PhD call Although our website is frequently visited from various places in Oceania, Africa and America, the applications received only came from Asia (78%) and Europe (22%). A little over 50% of the application files that were forwarded to the staff came from students that at the time of application were staying in Asia (China, Armenia, India, Turkey). The five candidates that were interviewed, four were in Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Poland), one was in India at the time of the interview. Conclusion In the ‘Join in our footsteps’ round of 2013-2014 we had expected to receive a larger number of applications. Nevertheless, we were able to select a number of good candidates, and it led to one actual appointment. Since the start of the Casimir database -in which the applications are received- in September 2012, over 200 applicants took the effort to upload their data. Especially since the second half of 2013, the number of applications received has increased, as is shown in the table in the below. 2012 sep-dec 19
janmarch 25
aprjune 13
2013 july-sep 19
oct-dec 34
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janmarch 56
2014 apr-jun 23
julsep 23
octdec 24
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4. Education 4.1. Training of students Training of young researchers
The Casimir Research School organizes workshops and offers special courses on a graduate and an advanced graduate level. Casimir PhD students are required to acquire 15 credits in thematic graduate education during their PhD. Casimir uses the following formats for its educational activities: Graduate courses throughout the year Casimir Summer Schools A biennial Casimir Science Day A biennial Spring School for PhD students and post-docs only The Casimir course schedule is available on our website. 2 Each PhD student has her/his own educational plan, detailing the workshops and courses one should attend. The PhD supervisors coach the students in drawing up and updating this plan, and monitor progress in an informal and formal way. Fully in the spirit of Hendrik Casimir, the research school aims to provide PhD students with more than just training for a specific subfield of physics. Personal development courses are part of the educational programme, too. The participating universities and the funding agencies FOM and NWO offer these courses. A full list of courses can be found on the Casimir website. They cover topics such as presentation skills, scientific integrity, time management and business orientation.
Casimir pre-PhD track for MSc students
For students interested in a research career beyond the MSc phase, Casimir has established a special pre-PhD track within the existing MSc programmes Physics (in Leiden) and Applied Physics (in Delft). This Master’s track focuses on educating students, especially for PhD positions at the two institutions or elsewhere and is designed to respond to the increasing mobility of students after completing their BSc. The track leads to a particular set of courses and research experiences in more than one department. A selection takes place for entrance into this track.
4.2. Casimir courses 2014 Casimir course - Theoretical Biophysics (February-May)
Description: This course provides a theorist's perspective on biophysics. There is an explosion of data from extremely sophisticated experiments (e.g. single molecules experiments) that, in order to be interpreted, require a theoretical understanding on the basis of statistical mechanics. Instead of trying to provide a broad overview over the molecular biology of the whole cell, the lectures are focused on the molecules that are involved in the so-called central dogma: information flows from DNA via RNA to proteins. The common structure of these molecules is that they are polymers. More specifically: polymer physics, DNA (from basepairs to larger scales), RNA and protein folding, DNA-protein complexes, protein-target search, kinetic proofreading for transcription, chromatin were discussed. Number of participants: 14 participants received the Casimir certificate. Lecturer: Prof. dr. Helmut Schiessel
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http://casimir.researchschool.nl/phd-course-scheme-138.html
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Casimir course - Nanochemistry for Physicists (March) Description:Nanoscience forms a fascinating research area in which physics, surface science and chemistry join forces to create new functionalities based on nanometer-sized elements. In almost all its subfields, ranging from molecular electronics to photo-excitation of quantum dots, chemical concepts and techniques play a key role. However, many PhD students and postdoctoral fellows who perform research in nanoscience have a pure physics background. In general, these researchers have received very little or no education in chemistry during their BSc and Msc studies. The resulting lack of knowledge of chemistry often prevents a thorough understanding of the relation between the physical and the chemical aspects in their research work, even in simple cases. Additionally, several concepts in physics and chemistry have different nomenclature. We have personally experienced that the existence of such jargons may seriously hinder communication between chemists and physicist. Hence even such an apparently trivial matter can be in the way of high level research collaborations in nanoscience. Course aims:The winterschool “Nanochemistry for Physicists” aims to bridge the knowledge and jargon gap between chemistry and physics. The school will consist of four different tutorials that will be given by esteemed chemists. All of them are strongly involved in collaborations with physicists and are hence familiar with the knowledge and terminology gap discussed above. In addition, four topical lectures will be given on the exciting interface between chemistry and physics. The lecturers will be asked to reach out to the participants by making use of their physics knowledge already present, so that the learning process will be efficient. We will stimulate the participants, in turn, to freely ask questions and discuss matters that they do not understand. In the months prior to the workshop, we will give participants the chance to add burning questions to a list that will be given to the lecturers on time for them to prepare. In this way, an interactive and fruitful winterschool is strived for. Every lecture series will conclude with an interactive exercise and discussion session. A secondary aim of the workshop is to further build out the already lively nanoscience community in the Netherlands and Europe. For this reason, a poster session is also included, so that each participant can present his/her work. Number of participants: 28 participants received the Casimir certificate. Course coordinators: Prof. dr. ir. H.S.J. van der Zant and dr. Sense Jan van der Molen
Casimir Course - Quantum Information Processing (February - July)
Description: Quantum Information Processing aims at harnessing quantum physics to conceive and build devices that could dramatically exceed the capabilities of today's "classical" computation and communication systems. In this course, the basic concepts of this rapidly developing field are introduced. Topics include: Quantum states (pure, mixed), Quantum gates and circuits, Quantum algorithms, Quantum measurement, Decoherence, Quantum error correction, Quantum communication and cryptography, Implementations and experiments. Course objectives:
To understand the operation, potential, and limitations of the main theoretical results (algorithms, error correction, communication)
To be able to use the formalism of quantum information (unitary matrices, Hermitian matrices, state vectors, density matrices, etc)
To obtain an overview of the experimental state of the art, and an appreciation of future prospects. Lecturers: Dr. Leo di Carlo and Prof. dr. Ronald Hanson
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Casimir Summer School San Sebastian, Spain: Frontiers of Condensed Matter: Nanosciences and Energy (September) The San Sebastián Summer School aims at offering Master and PhD students a training programme in the area of Condensed Matter Physics. It is organized jointly by the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC, Spain), the Ecole Doctorale de Physique de Grenoble (France), the Casimir Research School Delft-Leiden (Netherlands), and the Ecole Doctorale de Physique et d`Astrophysique (PHAST), Lyon (France), in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe (Germany). Lecturers and topics of the Summer School
L. Di Carlo (TU Delft) Quantum Information L. Yeyati (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) Superconducting point-contacts J. Meyer (U. Grenoble) Topological Phases Y. Nazarov (TU Delft) Quantum Transport F. Pistolesi (U. Bordeaux) Nanomechanics J. Zaanen (U. Leiden) Strongly-correlated Systems
Seminars speakers: J. Aizpurua (CFM, San Sebastian), S. Bergeret (CFM, San Sebastian), P. Brouwer (Freie Universität Berlin), F. Hekking (U. Grenoble), T. Klapwijk (TU Delft), L. Kouwenhoven (TU Delft), T. Meunier (U. Grenoble), I. Pascual (Nanogune), J. Van Ruitenbeek (U. Leiden), V. Vitelli (U. Leiden)
This how one of the participants experienced the San Sebastián summer school:
"There it is: The Casimir Summer School that everyone has been dreaming about. What better place to do Science than a palace, on top of a hill in the beautiful Donostia, which opened her doors to us, a bunch of physicists, for two full weeks of sun, see and science. The program is mouthwatering, but first we get the opportunity to discover the city, a city nobody really knew before. The statue of Jesus watches over you, while lying on the beach, enjoying the weather and the magnificent view of the bay. Day one is a touristy day, with only the opening ceremony, which made everyone even more enthusiastic about getting started. Day two: You wake up early, in the calm residence located near the Seminario Antiguo, full of energy. A little breakfast and a small walk down the hill and off you go! A handful of interesting lectures that really stand up to the title of the Summer school: Frontiers of Condensed Matter. The themes are diverse, from Topological Mechanics to High Tc Superconductivity through Black Holes and Quantum Transport. Experimental and theoretical physicists are intertwined, discussing their research, picking up new ideas and enlightening others with theirs. The harmony present is rare, the perfect balance between the beauty of Nature and the beauty of equations and experiments. During the day, a glimpse of what is still challenging us is taught on the blackboard by excellent professors. At night, some pinchos and calimochos are awaiting you in Old Town, after a quick dive into the sea. There you get to merge into the Spanish, or in this case, Basque way of living. Nice food, laughter, friendly people and a relaxed atmosphere to fully revive for the next day. This adventure goes on for ten more days, perfectly coordinated, in which the atmosphere only got better and better. How can it go otherwise with such nice people in such a nice environment? A Summer school to remember, a fairy tale that motivates you even more to explore, learn and experiment."
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Casimir PhD Course “Advanced Microscopy” (November-December)
Subject area: This new Casimir course is aimed at providing our PhD students with a solid background on the principles of optical and electron microscopy techniques and their applications to study biological processes from the single‐molecule to the cellular level. Description: During seven course days (including lab tours) the following topics were discussed: Fluorescence, microscopy, correlation spectroscopy, application FRET Superresolution fluorescence microscopy Live cell/animal fluorescence/bioluminescence imaging SEM, TEM, AFM Cryo‐TEM, Electron tomography, correlative light and electron microscopy Number of participants: 24 participants received the Casimir certificate. Lecturers: Michel Orrit, Bernd Rieger, Christophe Danelon, Andreas Engel, Roman Koning
Casimir PhD Course “Electronics for Physicists” (November-December) Subject area: The course is a must-have for PhD students and post-docs interested in experimental physics. Number of participants: 40 participants received the Casimir certificate. Description: We study electronics with a strong focus on practical applications. After reviewing the basics of passive and active components and their practical limitations, we focus on circuit simulation, systematic troubleshooting and opamp circuits. Signals, noise and interference problems (and solutions!) are also an important topic. We finish with an overview of microwaves and various measurement techniques, and a day on advanced use of electronic measurement equipment. Several case studies from the physics lab are used throughout the course to make the theory come alive. Lecturers: Dr. V. Zwiller and R. Schouten.
Casimir Course “Hot Topics in Quantum NanoScience” and “Hot Topics in Bionanscience” (year-round)
Description: Speakers from all over the world are asked to present pedagogical introductions to their field with an emphasis on basic concepts. Besides such an introductory lecture open for everybody, the participants of this course will have an additional discussion with the speaker discussing a recent paper and the holy grails of the field. Preparation: The tutorial, as a one-hour lecture, is open for everyone to attend. A second hour is reserved as a discussion hour between the registered class of PhD students and postdocs with the lecturer. The course teachers act as moderators. Apart from attending the public lecture, private discussion and reading the research paper, each session is concluded by writing a one-page essay within one week on the subject and preferentially in the context of the participant’s own research. Sessions of 2014:
4 December 2014, Uwe Sauer 'Coordination of microbial metabolism' Host: Greg Bokinsky 7 November 2014, Seth Lloyd 'Quantum machine learning algorithms' Host: Leo DiCarlo 10 October 2014, Charles Kane 'The Time Reversal Invariant Fractional Josephson Effect' Host: Leo Kouwenhoven 13 June 2014, Eric Betzig 'Super-resolution microscopy: the good, the bad, and the ugly' Host: Hans Tanke 4 April 2014, Hongkun Park 'Quantum Optoplasmonics and Diamond Based Sensing' Host: Leo Kouwenhoven 25 March 2014, Karl van Bibber 'Ultrasensitive Searches for the Axion' Host: Ana Achúcarro
Number of participants per session: 20 Coordinators: Leo Kouwenhoven (QN) and Hans Tanke (BN) 16
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5. Awards and events Casimir PhD positions For a limited number of students within the Casimir Pre-PhD track, a PhD position is guaranteed. This so-called prize-PhD position is funded through the NanoFront program. Students of the Casimir pre-PhD program can apply for these positions by writing a research proposal. In 2014, Misha Klein, Tom van der Reep and Henk Snijders were awarded with a Casimir PhD position. On November 4th, these students were interviewed by the review committee that consisted of Jan Zaanen (chairman), Andreas Engel and Leo DiCarlo. The committee was impressed by the quality of the proposals and the way in which Henk, Misha and Tom were able to defend their ideas. Subsequently, the committee decided to award each one with a Casimir PhD position. In August 2014, Henk and Tom obtained their MSc degree at Leiden University; Misha followed the Casimir Pre-PhD track at Delft University of Technology. In the coming four years, Henk will work on Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics with rare earth ions. He chose professor Dirk Bouwmeester to be his promotor. Under the guidance of Martin Depken, Misha will be busy with the physical modeling of the CRISPR/Cas adaptive immune system. And under the supervision of Tjerk Oosterkamp, Tom will be studying what he described in his proposal ‘Smoothly breaking unitarity - studying spontaneous collapse using two entangled, tuneable, coherent amplifiers’.
Henk Snijders
Misha Klein
Tom van der Reep
Hendrik Casimir prize
Each year, the Casimir Research School awards the Hendrik Casimir Prize to the best MSc students. The prize is based on the revenues from a donation made by the late Josina Casimir-Jonker, widow of Hendrik Casimir. This year’s award winners were Anne Meeussen, Jorinde van de Vis, and Sander Konijnenberg. All three are excellent MSc students that have been selected because of their exceptional results, in experimental physics as well as in theoretical physics. During the Christmas lunch at the Leiden Institute of Physics, Casimir director Jan van Ruitenbeek awarded the prize, a sum of € 750.-, to Anne, Jorinde and Sander.
Anne Meeussen
Jorinde van de Vis
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Sander Konijnenberg
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Casimir Spring School in Arnemuiden ‘Sun, Sailing, and Science’ From May 6 through May 8, 120 of our PhD students and postdocs attended the Casimir Spring School 'Sun, Sailing and Science' in Arnemuiden. The keynote speakers for this edition of our biennial organised school were Dr. Harald Janovjak from IST Austria, Austria (session 1: Biophysics / soft condensed matter), prof. Amir Yacoby from Harvard University, USA (session 2: Solid State Physics), and prof. Kurt Busch from Humboldt Universität Berlin, Germany (session 3: Quantum Optics). Click here for the program booklet. The PhD students and postdocs also actively participated in the Spring School, either by presenting a poster during the poster session on Tuesday night or by giving a presentation during one of the lecture sessions. The poster prize was won by Thomas Ruytenberg for his poster on cavity QED with quantum dots in microcavities. The prize for best presentation was awarded to Corentin Coulais for his talk entitled "Snap-through buckling of meta-beams." Apart from having fun together during the various social activities, the PhD students and postdocs that were present in Arnemuiden experienced the Casimir Spring School as a great opportunity to share their research with people from various backgrounds (click here for a selection of the photos). The Spring School was organised by PhD students Jetty van Ginkel, Elena Beletkaia, Orkide Ordu, Vincent Mourik, Jelmer Renema, Mickael Perrin, Bob van Waarde and the Casimir Office.
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Casimir on the beach - celebrating 10 years Casimir Research School As soon as the 105 Casimir PhD students, postdocs and staff entered the beach near The Hague, the drizzly morning turned into a wonderful sunny day. On Tuesday July 15th, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Casimir Research School at the Zuiderstrand in The Hague. Life at the beach was the theme of our research school’s tenth anniversary celebration. In the presence of three of Hendrik Casimir’s daughters and their partners, over 100 Casimir students and staff members took part in the festive activities. At noon, the program started with a lecture by prof. dr. Marileen Dogterom, in which she explained more about her current research. At the end of the lecture, she gave all participants the task to together give an answer to the central question of her presentation: 'Can we create an artificial cell?'. With a few instructions by Marileen, the group did very well in solving the problem, as this video shows. After lunch, artist (and Applied Physics alumnus from Delft University) Theo Jansen entered the stage. Theo gave us insight in his "Strandbeesten", strandbeasts, the wind-powered creatures he creates out of simple yellow plastic tubes. His very amusing talk was followed by a presentation on the beach, where Theo impressed us with a demonstration of two of his creatures. In the afternoon, the group went for a walk in the Westduinpark, where two park rangers explained us more about the plants and wildlife in this dune area. The program was concluded with two pre-dinner speeches, one by Casimir director Jan van Ruitenbeek and the other by one of Hendrik Casimir's daughters, Gerda Casimir. On behalf of the Casimir family Gerda congratulated us all and handed Jan van Ruitenbeek a cheque, a lustrum grant donated by the family to the Casimir Fund. Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner in the evening sun, before the buses brought us back again to Leiden or Delft. For an impression of the day, please check our Facebookpage here.
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JAN
6. Highlights of 2014
ERC Synergy grant for Marileen Dogterom (Kavli/BN) NWO-Vici grant for John van Noort (Leiden Institute for Physics)
10th anniversary of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience in Delft Tjerk Oosterkamp (Leiden Institute for Physics) appointed member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences Leo Kouwenhoven (Kavli/QN) appointed honorary member of KIVI (Royal Dutch Institute of Engineers)
NWO-ECHO grant for Martina Huber (Leiden Institute for Physics) NWO-Vidi grants for Akira Endo (Kavli/QN) and Gary Steele (Kavli/QN) Leo Kouwenhoven (Kavli/QN) accepted as foreign member in the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
Dirk Bouwmeester (Leiden Institute for Physics) awarded with NWO Spinoza Prize 2014
NWO-Veni grant for Atilla Geresdi (Kavli/QN) 10th anniversary of the Casimir Research School
Kavli Delft Publication Prize awarded PhD student Diego Ristè (Kavli/QN) and his fellow researchers for their article: 'Deterministic entanglement of superconducting qubits by parity measurement and feedback'
Casimir PhD positions 2014 awarded to Henk Snijders, Misha Klein, and Tom van der Reep Ana Achúcarro (Leiden Institute for Physics) awarded with ‘Vrije FOM-programma’ 2014 The Dutch government awardes National Icon status to the Delft research into Quantum Technology (QuTech)
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JUN
Cees Dekker (Kavli/BN) and Leo Kouwenhoven (Kavli/QN) awarded ‘ Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw.’ NWO-Rubicon grant for Louk Rademaker (Leiden Institute for Physics) PhD student Vinzenz Koning winner of the Young Speakers Contest at Fysica 2014
JUL
APR
Hendrik Casimir prize for Jorinde van de Vis, Anne Meeussen, and Sander Konijnenberg
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Outlook to 2015
Scientific and technological developments take their own courses and cannot be planned long in advance. The organizational structures around them need to adjust to accommodate and stimulate such developments. The Bionanoscience department in Delft is moving more towards molecular biology and has already initiated a Bachelor and Master teaching program together with the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. We will need to gauge continuously whether it is effective to maintain the wide scope within Casimir, such that all PhD students feel at home and find the environment and teaching program that fills their needs. For the moment the conclusion is that it works for all, but there are points where adjustments are needed. In parallel, the research efforts in the Quantum Nanoscience department in Delft focused on quantum computation and quantum information are being grouped into a center called QuTech, which is attracting a lot of dedicated funding. The integration of QuTech within the organization of Casimir is one of the items that need to be resolved in establishing it as an entity apart from the Departments. In many ways the future for Casimir looks bright, but we have identified several goals for further improvement. International recruitment of talented MSc and PhD students remains high on our list, and we are going to experiment with open lab days and symposia for the target groups, in order to increase our visibility. As another item on our list we would like to strengthen collaboration with selected research schools around Europe. Finally, strengthening integration and collaboration between the Leiden and Delft teaching and research groups will benefit all of Casimir. Towards this goal, in March, 150 of our staff, postdocs and PhD students will travel to Courchevel for the first edition of the NanoFront Winter Retreat.
Prof. dr. Jan M. van Ruitenbeek, Scientific Director April 2015
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Appendix - Casimir theses 2014 The PhD theses published in 2014 by Casimir PhD students are listed below. Upon request, Casimir provides the PhD students with an ISBN number for their theses; these theses together form the “Casimir PhD Series�. The six PhD students that did not make use of this arrangement are not mentioned in the list below. Malladi, S.: In-situ TEM Studies: Heat-treatment and Corrosion Promotor: Prof. dr. H.W. Zandbergen February 2nd, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-1
Dalhuisen, J.W.: The Robinson Congruence in Electrodynamics and General Relativity Promotor: Prof. dr. D. Bouwmeester March 25th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-2
De Visser, P.: Quasiparticle dynamics in aluminium superconducting microwave resonators Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. T.M. Klapwijk March 11th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-3
Hortensius, R.: Electrodynamic response of mesoscopic objects: carbon nanotubes and superconducting nanowires Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. T.M. Klapwijk April 26th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-4
Venderbos, J.W.F.: Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall effects in Lattice Magnets Promotores: Prof. dr. ir. J.W.M. Hilgenkamp, Prof. dr. J. van den Brink March 25th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-5
Kako Joibari, F.: Interplay of current and spin in nanostructures Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. G.E.W. Bauer April 7th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-6
Gupta, A.: Unravelling the Mechanism of Multicopper Oxidases: From Ensemble to Single Molecule Promotores: Prof. dr. G.W. Canters, Prof. dr. T.J. Aartsma April 29th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-7
Bogazzi, C.: Searching for cosmic neutrinos with ANTARES Promotor: Prof. dr. M. de Jong May 5th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-8
Witek, B.: Quantum dot spin engineering for quantum optics Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.P. Kouwenhoven April 25th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-9
Bulgarini, G.: Nanowire-based Quantum Photonics Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.P. Kouwenhoven May 12th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-10
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Yorulmaz, C.: Beyond photon pairs Promotor: Prof. dr. E.R. Eliel June 10th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-11
Kamran, M.: Photosynthetic Light Reactions at the Gold Interface Promotor: Prof. dr. T.J. Aartsma May 7th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-12
Hoogeboom-Vlijm, R.: Assembling a single-molecule view on nucleosome dynamics Promotor: Prof. dr. C. Dekker June 6th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-13
Chen, Y.-T.: Spin Caloritronic Phenomena Driven by Spin-orbit Coupling Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. G.E.W. Bauer June 2nd, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-14
Hol, F.: Bacterial Societies: Cooperation, Colonization, and Competition in Micro-Scale Ecosystems Promotor: Prof. dr. C. Dekker June 20th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-15
Goykhman, M.: Strings and AdS/CFT at finite density Promotor: Prof. dr. J. Zaanen June 24th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-16
Barkelid, M.: Photocurrent in Carbon Nanotubes Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.P. Kouwenhoven July 2nd, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-17
Schneider, B.: Suspended carbon nanotubes coupled to superconducting circuits Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. T.M. Klapwijk July 3rd, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-18
Van Leest, T.: Optical trapping and manipulation of bacteria with photonic crystal devices Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.J. van Vliet September 8th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-19
Meng, H.: Structural Changes in Single Chromatin Fibers Induced by Tension and Torsion Promotor: Prof. dr. Th. Schmidt October 9th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-20
Heeres, E.: Manipulating carbon nanotubes - Towards the application as novel field emission sources Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. T.H. Oosterkamp October 2nd, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-21
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Van Weperen, I.: Quantum transport in InSb nanowires - Investigating building blocks for Majorana devices Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.P. Kouwenhoven October 6th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-22
Ristè, D.: Feedback control of superconducting quantum circuits Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.P. Kouwenhoven October 16th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-23
Ortiz, P.: Effects of Heavy Fields on Inflationary Cosmology Promotor: Prof. dr. A. AchĂşcarro September 20th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-24
Koning, V.: On the geometry of fracture and frustration Promotor: Prof. dr. M. van Hecke October 26th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-25
Wortel, G.: Granular Flows: Fluidization and Anisotropy Promotor: Prof. dr. M. van Hecke November 26th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-26
Navarro, P.: Stable single molecules for quantum optics and all-optical switches Promotor: Prof. dr. M.A.G.J. Orrit November 13th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-27
Van Hoorn, H.: Cellular Forces: Adhering, Shaping, Sensing and Dividing Promotor: Prof. dr. Th. Schmidt November 26th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-28
Van Son, M.: Spin-label EPR Approaches to Protein Interactions Promotor: Prof. dr. E.J.J. Groenen December 4th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-29
Van den Berg, J.: Single spins in nanowire quantum dots with strong spin-orbit coupling Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. L.P. Kouwenhoven December 1st, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-30
Anastasopol, A.: Kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of Mg and Mg-Ti hydride nanomaterials Promotor: Prof. dr. F.M. Mulder October 7th, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-31
Roobol, S.: The structure of a working catalyst: from flat surfaces to nanoparticles Promotor: Prof. dr. J.W.M. Frenken December 2nd, 2014
Casimir PhD series, 2014-32
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Kamra, A.: Coupled spin, elastic and charge dynamics in magnetic nanostructures Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. G.E.W. Bauer January 8th, 2015
Casimir PhD series, 2014-33
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