Scientific Case
Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam
Scientific case
The present activities in astroparticle physics at the UvA are concentrated at the two institutes –API and IoP. Both institutes have received excellent grades in the most recent national research assessments.
The individual researchers who will initially be actively involved in GRAPPA, 15 in total, are listed in the proposal and all have very strong research and funding records. Awards collected by them in the past years include e.g. two Spinoza Prizes (M. van der Klis, E. Verlinde), two senior ERC grants (R. Wijers, E. Verlinde), four VICI grants (R. Wijers, S. Bentvelsen, P. de Jong, K. Skenderis), one KNAW professorship (M. van der Klis), and numerous junior distinctions.
The GRAPPA initiative is established as an active research centre in 2011. Within GRAPPA, 5-6 new faculty members will be hired in 2011-2012. The new appointees will add significantly to the existing excellence. Given the expected rate of hiring, we envision 50+ publications per year around the theme of GRAPPA.