About us
The mission of the Institute for Gravitational and Subatomic Physics (GRASP) is:
- To gain understanding of the fundamental properties of space and time and of the basic constituents of matter and their interactions.
- To motivate and educate young people for this research via our master and bachelor courses.
- To contribute to society at large.
GRASP brings together an active group of curiosity-driven researchers who are contributing to the main physics questions of our time
With 10 scientific staff members and around 30 junior researchers the institute brings together an active group of curiosity-driven researchers in the fields of particle and astroparticle physics.
Our researchers are part of large international collaborations in the field.
We contribute to the main physics questions of our time by performing heavy-ion collision experiments with ALICE at the Large Hadron Collider and gravitational waves measurements with Virgo. In addition, we develop innovative detector technology needed in our experiments and in today’s world.
Members of the institute contribute to the education program of the university through several courses in the field of subatomic physics and gravitational waves, both on the bachelor and master level. Some of these courses are given in collaboration with Nikhef. The institute coordinates the master program in Experimental Physics.
With several research projects for both bachelor and master students, we offer a wide range of projects in the field. Additionally the institute regularly offers positions for PhD students and postdocs. A PhD at the institute is done in the context of the National Research School of Subatomic Physics (OSAF).