What role do mini-proteins play in the development of brain cancer in children? How do stereotypes in online pornography affect the development of young people? How can we make the production of green fuel more efficient? These are just some of the questions that 97 experienced researchers are trying to answer with the help of NWO.

Last year, NWO awarded a record 101 Vidi grants. This peak followed a dip during the COVID pandemic. Four fewer grants have therefore been awarded this year. Utrecht University was once again the most successful body, receiving ten grants.

For this round of Vidi grants, NWO assessed applications from 551 researchers: 304 men, 244 women and 3 gender-neutral applicants. It was decided to award grants to 54 men (56 percent) and 43 women (44 percent). That is an acceptance rate of 18 percent.

TU/e 

The four TU/e researchers receiving a Vidi grant are Janne-Mieke Meijer, Wouter Meulemans, Tugce Martagan and Ruud van Sloun.

In her research, Janne-Mieke Meijer (Applied Physics) aims to explain how disorder arises during spontaneous self-assembly of micro- and nanoparticles. The research of Wouter Meulemans (M&CS) aims to take algorithms for information visualization to the next level by integrating visual complexity into those algorithms.

Tugce Martagan (IE&IS) researches drug production from the perspective of government, industry, insurers and pharmacists, with the ultimate goal of increasing patient access to affordable medicines. Finally, Ruud van Sloun (Electrical Engineering) focuses on optimizing the method of applying ultrasound as a medical imaging technology.

More information about the Vidi winners and their research can be found on the TU/e site.

Julius Caesar

The Vidi grants are part of the NWO Talent Programme, which offers Veni grants for researchers who have recently graduated, Vidi grants for experienced researchers and Vici grants for senior researchers who have already demonstrated the ability to develop their own line of research.

The grants derive their name from a message Julius Caesar sent to the Roman Senate in 47 BC following a victory on the battlefield: veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).