The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded Veni funding of up to 250,000 euros to two astronomers affiliated with ASTRON: Dr. Emily Petroff and Dr. Caterina Tiburzi. With this grant they can continue to develop their own research ideas for three years. A total of 154 promising young scientists received this scholarship.
Published by the editorial team, 17 July 2018
Dr. Caterina Tiburzi will follow space weather with pulsars at ASTRON. The solar wind and eruptions in the corona of the Sun influence the magnetic field of the Earth. To study this interaction, Tiburzi uses observations of pulsars (dead stars). With this she develops a new way to gain useful knowledge of space weather.
Dr. Emily Petroff is going to study the new mystery of astronomy at the University of Amsterdam in collaboration with ASTRON: Fast Radio Bursts (‘FRBs’). These FRBs come from distant galaxies. In a millisecond, these flashes emit more radiation energy than the Sun in a day, but we do not understand how. This project will study a large group of flashes to find out what their source is.
The Veni is awarded annually by NWO. In total, 1115 researchers submitted an admissible research proposal for funding in this Veni round. Of these, 154 have now been honored. That amounts to an awarding percentage of 14%. The applications were assessed by external experts from the relevant fields through peer review. With this Veni round, a total amount of 38.4 million euros is involved.