This thesis aims to enhance our understanding of galaxies by testing theoretical models of galaxy formation against observations, particularly in the cases of extreme systems which have been found to have an excess of baryonic mass in their central regions, in the form of either supermassive black holes…

Whilst government’s ability to design ‘context-specific’ regional innovation policy is generally assumed to depend on the region’s decision-making power, the aim of this study is to investigate how regional government matters. In order to open up the black box of policy design, the study develops a…

In astronomy, the interpration of observations and measurements plays a crucial role: we rely purely and fundamentally on the information that reaches us as observers. And 80% of all matter in the universe is undetectable directly.

The focus of the dissertation

Mycorrhizas are symbiotic associations between soil fungi and most plant species.

Galaxies in the local Universe fall into two main categories of spirals and ellipticals. In this Thesis, we explore the structural evolution of galaxies into this bimodal distribution.

This thesis describes a study from both a theoreticaL and an experimental point of view.

The project Multimedia Research and Documentation of African Oral Genres: Connecting Diasporas and Local Audiences (Director: D.Merolla) focuses on multimedia as technology that allows scholars to share documentation and scientific knowledge with the cultural owners of the collected oral genres.

This thesis explores the theoretical and observational properties of distant massive galaxies that harbour active black holes in their centres and shine brightly at radio wavelengths.

Mechanical forces are known to play an important role in bacterial colonies. In this dissertation, we study the self-organization at various stages of growing bacterial colonies, and focus on the mechanical effects of cell growth.

Tin electrodeposition applications have rapidly evolved in the past 25 years.

For many system in statistical physics the microcanonical and canonical ensemble are equivalent in the thermodynamic limit, but not for all.

This thesis is a collection of theoretical works aiming at adjusting quantum algorithms to the hardware of quantum computers.

The overall theme of this thesis is to complement the electrochemical data acquired in fuel cell research with in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).

Understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems is one of the most fundamental challenges in astronomy. To directly image and study young exoplanets and the circumstellar disks they form from, dedicated high-contrast imaging instruments are built.

In this thesis, the research focuses on the properties of dark matter and dark matter haloes and how they connect with the galaxies we can observe in the Universe.

Promotor: J. Zaanen

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck

The high velocity tail of the total velocity distribution of stars provides essential insight into fundamental properties of the Galaxy.

The invention of neural networks marks a critical milestone in the pursuit of true artificial intelligence. Despite their impressive performance on various tasks, these networks face limitations in learning efficiently as they are often trained from scratch.

Promotor: J.W.M. Frenken

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotor: R. Heijungs

We present an extensive study of methods for exactly solving stochastic constraint (optimisation) problems (SCPs) in network analysis. These problems are prevalent in science, governance and industry.

Novel entities may pose risks to humans and the environment. The small particle size and relatively large surface area of micro- and nanoparticles (MNPs) make them capable of adsorbing other novel entities, leading to the formation of aggregated contamination.

Despite the history of studies on methanol formation from CO2, the dominant elementary reaction steps that constitute the chemical mechanism for this catalyzed process are not determined.

At the largest scales, two ingredients dictate the distribution of matter in the Universe. The first is dark matter, acting as an invisible scaffolding held together by gravitational forces.

In this thesis I highlight the applications of Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing. This technique is a relatively new approach in the sequencing field, where nanopores are embedded in a membrane, DNA molecules are pulled through nanopores and an electrical current serving as the sequencing…

Promotor: Prof.dr. I.A.G. Snellen, C.U. Keller

Stochastic resetting is simple enough to be approached analytically, yet modifies stochastic processes in a non-trivial way.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.W. Canters, Prof.dr. T.J. Aartsma

For centuries astronomers studied the Universe by collecting light. Nowadays, we are living in times of great technological advancements, which allow us to explore our Universe in a new way - though gravitational wave radiation.

Majorana fermions in superconductors are the subgap quasiparticle excitations that are their own antiparticles.

Innovation plays an essential role in firms' competitiveness and long-term success. It varies from different types, ranging from run-of-the-mill innovation that brings incremental changes to existing technologies to radical innovation that breaks from existing trajectories.

The work done during this PhD research, aims to investigate the effect of tidal heatingin the observability of extra-solar satellites around exoplanets.

Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is an ubiquitous part of oil refining that ensures that fuels are cleaned of impurities and environment release of pollutants such as SOx and NOx gasses are minimized.

Why do black holes emit thermal radiation? And how does a closed quantum system thermalize?

Promotores: Prof.dr. B.R. Katzy, Prof.dr. K. Sailer (Munich University)

Heterogeneous catalysis is one of the fundamental processes of modern life, being common in industrial refinery and hydrogen vehicles, all the way to the living cell. The dissociation of H2 on Cu(111) is an important benchmark system for studying heterogeneous catalysis, with a large and varied amount…

Metals surfaces form a group of effective catalysts for the reaction of small molecules such as hydrogen (H2).

Natural resources often stretch across borders that separate modern nation states. This can create conflict and limit opportunities for regulated consumption of their goods and services, but also provide opportunities for joint multinational efforts that exceed single country capabilities.

The ultimate goal of cosmologists is to find a cosmological model able to explain the current observational data.

Promotor: R. Cramer

Promotor: Thomas Hankemeier, Co-promotores: Heiko van der Linden, Paul Vulto

My work focuses on a class of astronomical objects called protoplanetary disks.

Dit onderzoek gaat over het gebruik en de interpretatie van hoeveelheidsuitdrukking in verschillende talen, met name in relatie tot telbaarheid.

Dit project gaat over (1) hoe de strategieën die gebruikt worden om epistemiciteit uit te drukken verschillen in hun interpretatie en gebruik; (2) welke strategieën kunnen gecombineerd worden en tot welke effecten dit leidt; (3) wat de uitdrukking van (verschillende aspecten van) epistemiciteit ons…

Dit onderzoek gaat over hoe automatische gebarentaalherkenningstechnologie verder ontwikkeld kan worden om statische beelden en tekstuele beschrijvingen van gebaren te analyseren.

This thesis explores Breaking of Ensemble Equivalence (BEE) in random graph models by examining the spectral properties of adjacency matrices. The goal is to identify spectral characteristics that differentiate random graph ensembles, enhancing the understanding of complex network structures and beh…

The way organisms develop from the initial single-cellular state to a complex final assembly like the human body, and how the final body is maintained throughout life, is one of the greatest mysteries and it’s understanding one of the biggest scientific challenges.

Over the last three decades, the discovery of exoplanets has revealed the boundless variety of worlds beyond our own Solar System⁠. Majority of planetary systems contain short-period planets that are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune⁠.