The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) awarded a staggering seven UT researchers a Veni grant. Hannah Roth, Ashkan Ghanbarzadeh-Dagheyan, Estefania Talavera Martínez, Sophie Langer, Robbin Jan van Duijne, Rai McLean and Marijn Nijenhuis will receive funding of up to EUR 320,000 to develop their research ideas further over the next three years. 174 promising young scientists received Veni grants this round.
Beaming Green Membranes
Dr Hannah Roth (Faculty of S&T)
Today membrane fabrication relies on fossil-fuel based polymers and fossil-fuel based toxic solvents.Leaving behind toxic solvents, the research project uses a new water-based membrane fabrication mechanism. The challenge lies now in transitioning to renewable polymers, and at the same time attaining the needed mechanical robustness through electron beam crosslinking. The anticipated sustainable membranes find appliation in water purification, medical devices, and gas separation.
Rethinking CTC Detection: Optimal & Tuneable Photoacoustic Ultrasound Microscopy
Dr Ashkan Ghanbarzadeh-Dagheyan (Faculty of S&T)
Circulating tumour cells (CTC) are among the earliest signs of metastasis, facilitating cancer spread to other organs. Metastasis is responsible for 67% of cancer-related deaths. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a method that can help detect CTCs early, and much research has been done on PA detection of melanoma (skin-cancer) CTCs. However, the feasibility of label-free PA detection of CTCs of other cancers is underexplored. In this project, I aim to build a new tuneable photoacoustic-ultrasound microscope (TPUM) to investigate the PA and ultrasound signals of non-melanoma CTCs. This is towards the long-term goal of detecting all CTCs in vivo.
Understanding social interactions in first-person videos with multimodal learning
Dr. Estefania Talavera Martínez (Faculty of EEMCS)
The automatic understanding of human interaction depends on the ability of algorithms to infer the meaning of the behaviour of people. If this understanding is implemented in AI systems capable of assisting people, their quality of life will be improved. In this VENI, my goal is to develop new methods to fuse different data modalities such as visual, audio and text derived from first-person videos, which emulate how assistive systems perceive the surrounding context. The outcome of this project will support the development of robust intelligent assistive systems capable of interacting with children, adults, and the elderly.
Image classification: A new statistical viewpoint
Dr Sophie Langer (Faculty of EEMCS)
From recognising faces to diagnosing diseases, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) excel in image recognition. However, their lack of theoretical understanding poses the risk of unexpected behaviour. How do CNNs detect objects? We must take one step back to answer this question. What is the right model for analysing image classification? What are the properties of CNNs? How do they learn? These questions form my research foundation. Through a novel statistical approach, I characterise images as highly structured objects with different geometric deformations. Besides providing theoretical guarantees for CNNs, this Veni redefines our perception of image analysis, bridging theory with practice.
How does climate change really impact labour migration in the Global South?
Dr Robbin Jan van Duijne (Faculty of ITC)
There is much scientific disagreement about the impact of climate change on human migration in the Global South. Our current forecasting methods have numerous problems, leading to inaccuracies in expected numbers of climate migrants. Using a new methodology, this research project investigates how droughts influence the availability of agricultural work across all 750,000 villages of rural Nigeria and India, and how this triggers out-migration among the male working population. Through methodological innovations this project helps us better understand the relationship between climate change and male labour migration.
EePeDe: Exoskeleton Entrainment for People with Parkinson’s Disease
Dr Rai McLean (Faculty of ET)
People with Parkinson’s disease have walking difficulties, often leading to severely reduced independence and quality-of-life. Current gait therapies have limited success at improving walking. This Veni project proposes an innovative new type of gait therapy, called gait entrainment, using a wearable robot (exoskeleton). The exoskeleton delivers small mechanical cues with fixed timing - the person subconsciously steps in time to the cue, reducing variation between steps and increasing walking speed. This research will develop the fundamental knowledge on how to use gait entrainment for maximum improvements in walking speed and step variability for Parkinson’s disease.
Understanding thermo-mechanical interactions for the next generation of mechatronics
Dr Marijn Nijenhuijs (Faculty of ET)
The world's most accurate machines, used e.g. in the high-tech industry and healthcare, face a heat problem. Heat sources cause unwanted elastic deformations, affecting precision. Current solutions are costly and inadequate. This research focuses on improving our understanding of these temperature effects and designing machines less affected by them. This will lead to more accurate and affordable machines for a wide range of applications.
Veni, Vidi, Vici
Veni, together with the Vidi and Vici grants, is part of NWO's Talent Programme. The programme gives researchers the freedom to do their own research based on creativity and passion. The programme encourages innovation and curiosity. Free research contributes to and prepares us for tomorrow's society. This is why NWO focuses on a diversity of scientists, domains and backgrounds.
NWO selects researchers based on the scientific quality and innovative nature of the research proposal, the scientific and/or societal impact of the proposed project and the quality of the researcher.
