Research Themes
Materials and Energy
The profound importance of materials for society is reflected by the naming of epochs after the materials that were mastered (for instance the Stone Age). Now we enter the nano epoch in which we have control over essentially all materials on a scale as small as the nanometer, with many unprecedented and largely unexplored opportunities for applications in the area of sustainability.
To develop a sustainable society, we must reduce and subsequently eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. Nanomaterials will play a key role in reaching a sustainable society powered by a renewable, decarbonized energy system. However, it is not sufficient to only harvest renewable energy, it must in many cases also be transported and stored to balance supply and demand in time and location. To be able to satisfy the world’s strongly growing demand for computing, data transfer, and communication in a more sustainable way, energy efficiency has to be improved through software and hardware.
Research within the Materials and Energy theme can be found at:
Climate and Environment (including Civil Safety)
The fate of planet Earth is governed by the balance between biological, chemical and physical processes and human activities and a thorough understanding of natural science processes is indispensable for addressing a diverse set of questions related to climate, water, and air on global as well as local scales.
This theme offers many opportunities for (enhanced) collaborations between UU Faculties (Science, Geosciences, and Law, Economics and Governance).
Research within the Climate and Environment theme can be found at:
Public Engagement and Education
This research theme focuses on education and outreach activities.
The Institute for Theoretical Physics aims to establish a three-way feedback loop between researchers, students and the public in the UU-funded Community Engaged Learning project Turn on the Stars.
The Freudenthal Institute also aims at an integrated approach to sustainability, with the active participation of citizens and professionals, to reflect on the current needs and possible solutions for sustainability.