Vliegenthart Thesis Award
The Vliegenthart Thesis Prize was instituted to mark Prof Dr Hans Vliegentharts retirement as chairman of the Utrecht University Fund in 2004. The idea was and is to show a talented student to the world outside and especially the alumni community. The award consists of €1,500 and is awarded in turn in the disciplines of the Humanities, Life Sciences, Science and Social and Behavioural Sciences.
Winner 2023: Marien Raat
In 2023, the Vliegenthart Thesis Prize in the discipline of Natural Sciences was awarded to Marien Raat. He wrote his combined thesis called Computation in Nested Closed Timelike Curves for the master's programmes History and Philosophy of Science and Computing Science.
The thesis is precise, incisive and clear, as is the lecture summary that makes it possible for almost anyone to understand the basics of their thesis.
Read more about the award ceremony and the jury's verdict in this news item.
Selection criteria Best UU Master's Thesis
From nominations for the best UU master's thesis, a separate jury will annually select a winner in one of the four aforementioned categories, alternating each time. The criteria for selection are primarily:
- Quality (approach, structure and coherence in the way the research question has been addressed and conclusions drawn)
- Scientific relevance and innovation
- Originality and creativity
- Readability: grammar, style and spelling.
In addition, topicality and social relevance, as well as interdisciplinarity, are important. Next year (2024/2025) it is the turn of the Humanities category.
Previous winners of Vliegenthart Thesis Prize
2022: Sisi Chen Peer acceptance and victimization in the classroom: The role of student ethnicity, socioeconomic status and teacher-student relationship.
2021: Oxana Garritsen A systematic meta-analysis approach to identify novel microRNA-132 targets at the interface between adult hippocampal neurogenesis and Alzheimer’s disease
2020: Liselotte Podda Negotiating a Sea of White: Whiteness and Diversity in Dutch Opera Practices
2019: Özge Algül Pursuing peace: The Return of Bosnian War Refugees from ‘Paradise Lands’ to ‘Home’
2018: Felix Kümmerer On the Molecular Determinants of Modal Gating Shifts in Potassium Channels
2017: Aafje de Roest Vliegenthart Thesis Award for research on Dutch hip-hop artists
About Hans Vliegenthart
Prof Hans Vliegenthart was Chairman of the Utrecht University Fund from 1999 until 2004. His chairmanship was of great significance for the University and the University Fund alike. Starting in the 1990s, Utrecht University and the Utrecht University Fund made significant efforts to achieve good contacts with graduates. The guiding principle was the need for a joint alumni policy. Since 1999, the University-wide alumni policy and the duties of the University Fund have been integrated in a single organisation. Hans Vliegenthart is an eminent scientist, who has published hundreds of articles, especially in the field of organic chemistry. He has achieved multiple awards for his scientific achievements, including:
- Membership of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1990);
- Honorary doctorates at the University of Debrecen, Hungary (1992), University for Science and Technology in Lille, France (1993) and University of Stockholm, Sweden (1997);
- Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1998);
- Utrecht University Silver Medal (2003).